History has a way of repeating itself, as the saying goes. Unfortunately, history does not take time off.
History came back quickly for the Clarkston Wolves boys soccer team.
Heading into their road game against Troy Athens (2-3-7, 1-2-6 OAA) on Sept. 27, the Wolves (9-2-2,5-2-2 OAA) battled to a 0-0 draw versus cross-town rival Lake Orion at home the night prior.
‘I’m proud of the way they kept their composure and the way they played with their heart, (but) 0-0 is not acceptable for the Clarkston Wolves soccer team,? said Wolves Coach Adam Bican.
‘We need to win those games, not only because it’s OAA division one, but also it’s a rivalry, and we need to take care of business next time, especially at home.?
The Wolves beat the Dragons on the road earlier in the season 3-2.
Oddly enough, the Redhawks engaged in a scoreless tie on the same night against Rochester.
Neither team would leave the field with a victory on the next night either, because they battled to a 2-2 tie.
The contest got off to a quick start for the Redhawks, Francisco Trujillo scored at 38:13 of the first half on a pass from Captain Tim Parker.
Athens found themselves on the scoreboard once again at 14:42 of the half, when Steve Boussie headed the ball to the net off a pass from Mike Ayotte.
Later in the half, the first of two critical Athens mistakes led to the Wolves? first score. Kupe was awarded a penalty kick after being taken down on the way to the net, which he converted. The teams headed to the half with Athens leading 2-1.
The second costly mistake by the Redhawks led to a goal by Barzin Aghamouali at the 36-minute mark of the second half after Athens? goalkeeper played the ball poorly. That would be the last score of the game.
From that point until the end of the game, both teams tried feverishly to net the winning goal, including several Wolves? chances down the stretch.
‘We played great. We just didn’t finish our chances,? Clarkston senior Jake Przybycien said.
Kupe had a near goal with seconds remaining, but the long rebound was not converted by the team.
‘It could have easily been 7-2 or 8-2, we had so many shots on goal. We need to finish those, it’s clutch, we need to do that,? Kupe said.
The Wolves outshot their opponents with 17 shots on net to the Redhawks? 12.
‘It’s our seventh tie, there’s a lot of good things took take out of it because they (Clarkston) are a good team, but we shot have shot ourselves in the foot all season. We made two mistakes,? Redhawks Coach Tim Storch said.
‘It was a good game, a hard game, but it was a game where we were up 2-0 and we gave them the two goals to get back in it, and that’s why we’re tying games, because we’re making mistakes at critical times.?
Bican said the Wolves may face stiffer competition in the near future. The second matches against other OAA teams will be more difficult for the Wolves because the other teams are familiar with Clarkston and their style of play, Bican said.
‘They won’t take us lightly.?
When Wolves met Athens earlier this year at Clarkston, Kupe scored one of his three goals with only one and half minutes left in the contest, giving the Wolves the victory.