Clare soccer plays to 4-4 draw at Pinconning

By BEN MURPHY

Cleaver Sports Writer

The Clare soccer team had little trouble scoring in their Jack Pine Conference game at Pinconning on Wednesday, Oct. 7. Problem was, the Spartans were able to score too, and the two sides played to a 4-4 tie.

“We created a ton of chances in the game, but all of our shots seemed to go right to their keeper,” head coach Jim Bond said. “He did a really good job of always being in the right place and played a great game. Pinconning is a team that improved a lot from the first time we played them. We had a lot of shots on goal, but they did a good job of scoring when they got the chance.”

Things started off well for the Pioneers as they took a 2-0 lead, with both goals coming from Sergio Jaimes. Pinny rallied to tie the game at 2-2 by the half, however.

James netted his third goal of the night early in the second half to stake Clare to a 3-2 advantage, but the Spartans would strike back with the next two, putting them out in front, 4-3.

Clare salvaged a tie out of it though, when Kolen Pung chased down his own rebound in front of the net, sending the ball in with about six minutes to play.

Neither side was able to score as the rest of the match played out.

Logan Baldwin was in net for Clare.

“It was not the result we had hoped for, but sometimes you just have to give the other team credit for playing a good game,” Bond said.

On Monday, Oct. 5, Clare lost a road Jack Pine Conference game at Standish-Sterling, 3-1. The Pioneers had a rough start in this one, facing an early deficit.

“We actually scored an own goal to start the scoring and give them a one goal lead,” Bond said. “A couple of mistakes led to Standish taking a 3-0 lead at halftime. We picked up the pace in the second half and created more chances.”

The Pioneers got the ball in on a header from James, who sent the ball in from a Sutton Klaus free kick.

“That was as close as we got,” Bond said. “We got off to a very sluggish start in this game and could never quite get out of the hole we dug for ourselves.”

Tyler Thompson was in goal for the first half, with Baldwin coming into the net for the final 40 minutes.  

Clare (7-5-4 overall, 5-4-1 Jack Pine) had their final regular season game on Monday, when they played at Lakeview. The Pioneers opened up the Division 3 district tournament on Wednesday against tourney host Standish-Sterling, and the winner of that match plays Tawas Area on Tuesday. Freeland, Ogemaw Heights and Gladwin are on the other side of the bracket, with the championship set for Saturday, Oct. 24.

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