The Becker Bulldog boys soccer team traveled to Whitney Park in St. Cloud Thursday to play the Crusaders in an all-important match.
Cathedral 2, Becker 0
The game’s significance waned as both teams donned #11JW patches on their jerseys and stood arm-in-arm in solidarity for the family of Jacob Wetterling, whose body was recovered this past week and whose killer gave a grueling confession in the midst of the discovery.
Becker came into the match at 2-0 overall and 1-0 in the Granite Ridge Conference.
“It was a hard fought game with neither team gaining an advantage in possession,” said Becker Head Coach Alex Jurek.
“However, Cathedral capitalized on their two chances and we were not able to generate more than a handful of looks on goal.”
Despite the loss, Jurek and his players are looking forward to Sept. 27, when the Bulldogs will host the mighty Crusaders and possibly turn the tide on their home pitch.
“It’s a match that could decide the conference championship,” said Jurek.
Becker 2, Little Falls 1
The Bulldogs hosted Granite Ridge foe Little Falls Tuesday night and pulled out an exciting, one-goal win in overtime.
Coming off a great win against Monticello last Thursday, the Bulldogs looked to repeat their performance from last week as they pushed the Flyer's defense to the limit for the entire match.
Senior wings Logan Sticha and Tate Weise provided a lot of pressure on the Little Falls defense, however, time-and-time again the defense held for Little Falls.
As the first half drew to a close, the Bulldogs found themselves scoreless even though they out-shot their opponents, 12-2.
Early in the second half, Little Falls was awarded a penalty kick off of a defensive breakdown by the Bulldogs. Senior goalie Hunter McCalla made a dive but was inches shy of blocking the shot and the Flyers were first to light up the scoreboard at 1-0.
The Bulldogs were bending, but not breaking and late in the second half, sophomore midfielder Jordan Gruenes took a break away pass and pushed it through the five-hole of the Flyer keeper to tie the game.
Becker was relentless the rest of the way and they kept the pressure up, hoping to put the game away before the clock ran out in regulation. However, the push was too little too late and the match would go into overtime.
“I put my seniors back out there,” said Coach Jurek. “At the end of regulation I looked at them - tired as they were - and plainly stated that this is what memories are made of. We will win on the backs of the seniors.”
And that’s what they did.
The up-tempo play that Becker has played with this season eventually paid off. Early in the overtime, senior forward Logan Boyer was tripped up in the penalty box and the Bulldogs were awarded a penalty kick. Captain Qadry Fakhreddine was entrusted with the shot and he netted his second goal in as many games.
With just over six minutes left to play and Becker up by a goal, the Bulldogs sank back into a stalwart defense and played the ball to the corners of Little Falls until the final seconds ticked off the clock.
Up Next
Becker hosts Melrose Tuesday and Minnewaska Thursday. Both games start at 7 p.m.
