GAME SUMMARY:
Hayward Wolfpack FC earned their second win of the 2022 season over UPSL-side Granite City FC. The game was played in some severe wind, with sporadic rain throughout the match. Though the start of the game was pretty back and forth, the Wolfpack opened up the scoring in the 22nd minute, when Mally Lumsden slotted home a perfectly placed through ball from Finigan Huffington. The game then opened up a bit, with Dru Senich coming up with some huge saves in the last 20 minutes of the half to keep the Wolfpack ahead, including two breakaway saves.
The second half was dominated by Hayward's play, with the majority of the chances in the half coming for the Wolfpack. Lumsden secured his brace on another Huffington pass that broke the defensive wall in the 59th minute. Finishing off the Wolfpack scoring, Siji Gonzalez broke out on the wing to get a nice cross in over to Lumsden, who completed his hat-trick with a deflected shot into the bottom corner in the 72nd minute. Granite City were able to pull one back on a penalty kick in the 81st minute, but it was too little, too late for the Rocks. Dru Senich finished the game with 9 saves, while both teams finished with 10 shots on net each.
"Our boys were really pumped up for the game, and we knew it would be a good measure of where our squad is. We had never beaten a UPSL opponent, so that's something we're really excited about. Our team has grown so much over the past few years, and it's really cool to see that growth come to fruition. Mally had a great showing today, they had no answer for him, and it's good to see him continue to make his presence known on the pitch. We have a nice weekend off this week before we return home for our Wolfpack Classic games on May 8th. It'll nice to be back home." - Interim Coach Kaden Bergman
BOX SCORE:
4-23/Park Center HS/Friendly
Hayward Wolfpack FC......................................1 2 -3
Granite City FC......................................................0 1 -1
First Half - HWFC - Mally Lumsden (Finigan Huffington) 22'
Second Half - HWFC - Lumsden (Huffington) 59'; HWFC - Lumsden (Siji Gonzalez) 72'; GCFC (Unknown - PK) 81'
Saves: HWFC - Dru Senich (9 saves); GCFC - Unknown (7 saves)
LOOKING AHEAD:
The Wolfpack have this upcoming weekend off, before returning to play on May 8th for the annual Wolfpack Classic tournament in Hayward. The Wolfpack will play Green Bay's top Hispanic club, Toros FC, at 1pm, followed by old Duluth-area rivals Green Machine SC at 6pm. Other teams participating in the tournament are Barron Soccer Team, Poskin Jets FC and Superior Internationals FC.