By Wendi Reardon Price
Clarkston News Sports Writer
Clarkston Boys Varsity Soccer opened the fall season with a 4-1 win over Grand Blanc last Thursday at home.
“It was a solid performance,” said Richie Ludwig, senior co-captain. “Put some goals in the back of the net in the first few minutes and got it going. The team works on solid energy and that’s what we needed.”
“We came out strong, which helped us out for a few goals early and then holding them off was crucial,” added Logan Sloan, senior co-captain. “We have really strong players off the bench which is going to help us later in the season with injuries.”

Ludwig scored a pair of goals in the first 16 minutes of the game. He scored nine minutes into the game off a pass from Brendan Gerard. Then, struck again with 24:17 remaining in the first half.
“It’s good to get back out on the field again and play high school soccer games,” Ludwig shared. “It’s good to start my season that way. It’s a good confidence booster. Hopefully I can continue to score goals and help my team out.”
Brayden Cooper closed the first half with a goal with 48.8 seconds remaining on the clock.
The Wolves continued to hold control of the ball and play in the second half and put multiple shots on Grand Blanc’s net.
With ten minutes left in the game, senior co-captain Connor Laming scored the fourth goal after Ludwig passed the ball back to him.
Grand Blanc closed the night with a goal from Jake Meinzinger with 2:33 remaining.
“As long as we can keep this intensity the entire season there are no doubts in my mind we can go as far as possible,” shared Laming, senior co-captain. “Because once we lose the energy, we start to lax that’s when it goes wrong.”
“For a lot of these players it was their first varsity game so it was awesome everyone got to play and everyone showed up,” Sloan said. “It’s going to help us as everyone has confidence for future games.”
JVA won their game against Grand Blanc, 2-1. Aidan Moreira tied the score with the Bobcats with 17:50 left in the second half. Preston Mogk sealed the win for Clarkston with his goal 12 minutes later.
The varsity team went 2-1 at the Gary Balconi tournament in Saline on Saturday.
They opened with a 2-0 shutout over Plymouth with goals from Ludwig and Cole Cooper with assists from Robbie Wisser and Tyler Niemi.
The Wolves defeated Saline, 6-4. Ludwig led with two goals and two assists. Laming, Sloan, Sean Trador and Brad Ratliff each scored one goal.
They lost to Detroit Catholic Central, 4-0, in their second game.
The Wolves opened the week on Tuesday against Detroit Catholic Central, which included JVB’s season opener.
JVB hosts Rochester Adams on Wednesday, 5 p.m. and heads to Berkley on Monday, Aug. 29, 5:30 p.m.
Varsity and JVA head to Troy Athens on Tuesday, Aug. 30. JVA plays at 5:30 p.m., varsity follows.

  Clarkston Athletics, Clarkston Boys Soccer, Soccer