Wolves shut out Rochester in OAA

Alex Wilson moved in closer to the net and Holly’s goalie ran out to capture the loose soccer ball.
Wilson saw his opportunity and captured the ball, putting it into the net with ten minutes left in the first half.
The Varsity Boys Soccer team ended last Wednesday’s game with a tie after Holly scored their goal in the second half, 1-1.
“I don’t think it was our best effort. We were kind of flat tonight,” said Coach Chuck Lawhorn. “It’s Senior Night, the boys were pumped up at the beginning and we had a bit of a letdown in the second half.”
After Holly scored their scored less than 16 minutes into the last half, the boys couldn’t find another opportunity to get past the Bronchos.
“We couldn’t keep the ball on the ground,” said Lawhorn. “We were playing a lot of balls in the air. We weren’t winning a lot of balls 50/50 balls. We struggled and it led to turnovers.”
The Wolves played the next night in Rochester, where the ending was much different and more to their liking.
Wilson and Connor Hall added two goals to the game and goalie Tim Rogers shut the Falcons out in Clarkston’s victory.
“Our defense played really well,” said Lawhorn. “Drew Hopper had a great game. Tim played really well and came out for the free kicks. When Tim didn’t come out, Jarrett Kersten won every head ball.”
Lawhorn noted the boys did struggle a little in the first half, but turned it around in the next 40 minutes.
“I told them to be patient and not force anything,” he said. “When they started doing that we started mounting better attack and creating a lot more opportunities and held possession.”
The boys also kept the ball on the ground and kept control of it.
“The players created a lot of space for each other. It really helped with their passing,” he said. “Their accuracy with passing has been a lot better than it has been the last few weeks.”
The boys played Royal Oak on Tuesday and host the last game of the regular season against Lapeer East on Wednesday.
“They are both tough teams,” said Lawhorn. “East is a solid team. It will be tough for us to have back-to-back games again.”
They take on Lake Orion in the first round of district playoffs next Tuesday.
“If we keep momentum going and keep playing the way that way, we have an opportunity to win both games,” said Lawhorn. “We are going to take it one game at a time. I think the seniors will be emotional because it will be the last home games of the season.”
JV plays Lapeer East at 5:30 p.m., varsity follows. Clarkston takes on Orion on Tuesday at 7 p.m.