BY WENDI REARDON PRICE
Clarkston News Sports Writer
The Wolves ended their run to the state championship last Thursday, finishing in the Elite Eight.
They lost the MHSAA Division 1 Boys Soccer Regional 3 final, 1-0.
“Thursday was one of those games where we dominated after 10 minutes to the end of the game,” said Ian Jones, head coach. “We just couldn’t score. It just wasn’t meant to be.”
The Wolves opened the week with a 1-0 win over Birmingham Groves in the regional semifinal, Oct. 26. The lone goal was scored by senior Ryan Bovee.
Jones added defense did great both games.
“I think they were basically perfect both games,” he said. “Our two center backs, Conner Laming and Logan Sloan, I don’t think got beaten once. The goal that did score, the goalie had his hands on it. It wasn’t even a shot. I think over the two games there were only three shots on the goalkeeper. Defensively they were really good.”
The Wolves finished the season 15-3-2.
“It was brilliant,” Jones said. “The four years I have been doing this – this is the strongest team Clarkston has had. When you get to the final eight teams, the margin of error is small. They work so hard and play a level of soccer that is extremely high. They play like a team. Credit to the boys, they did really good.”
They also finished ranked second in the state.
“It’s credit to them,” Jones said. “It captures what the team has done over the years. Hopefully we continue to grow next year – there are a lot of good players.”
He added a lot of seniors are leaving but there are a lot of good underclassmen returning and players from the JVA Boys Soccer team coming up after finishing their season undefeated.
“JVA had an excellent year – a lot of talent there,” Jones said. “This is just the start.”
The team graduates 14 seniors – Bovee, Sloan, Ethan Brock, Cole Campbell, William Childs, Liam Holloway, Josh John, Jacob Murray, Tyler Spitzer, Nate Thomas, Chase VanVallis, Dylan Walker, Logan Wise and Liam Zimmerman.
“You’ve got talented players who have been on the squad for two years, or three years in some cases,” said Jones. “They all contributed. They are very focused in building a team. It was all about the team. They worked hard. From a legacy standpoint, it’s good because the next seniors to come up know what the standards are and need to bring those standards to the younger players.”