GAME SUMMARY:
The Wolfpack took on Granite City FC's UPSL Premier squad in a friendly on Sunday night in St. Cloud. Both teams brought a few trialists along for the ride and rust was knocked off through the first 20, with the Rocks controlling the vast majority of play. In the 21st minute, Granite City scored on a long ball that was mishandled by the Wolfpack keeper and ended up in the back of the net. After going down, the Wolfpack started to gain momentum and ended the half strong, with many new faces seeing the pitch throughout the tail end. Yabkal Demelash and Jack Burmood both smacked the crossbar off of free kicks and the Wolfpack had a penalty saved in the waning moments of the half to go into the break down by one.
The second half of the friendly saw the majority of play commanded by the Wolfpack, who seemed to get their legs under them. A couple more posts, and a few missed chances added to the frustration for the visiting squad. Although play was mostly in the Rocks' end, the home squad found a way to extend their lead when a counter-attack found the Granite City striker alone on net, and a cheeky chip doubled the lead. A few minutes later, another solo effort following a counter-attack solidified the win for the St. Cloud squad, and a late push by the Wolfpack didn't result in any damage. Granite City outshot Superior 10-7 in the match.
"I was really happy with how the boys played today. We have a young squad and this is the first time lots of these guys have played at this level of soccer. We controlled the majority of the game but we need to be more critical in our attacking third, something that will come as the guys start getting used to playing with each other. It's a good start to the season, and we have another friendly next week to get our lineup and system figured out before we start WPASL play in mid-May." - SWFC Head Coach Cole Bergman
BOX SCORE:
4-23/St. Cloud Tech High School/Friendly
Superior Wolfpack FC......................................0 0 - 0
Granite City FC...............................................1 2 - 3
First Half - GCFC - Unknown 21'
Second Half - GCFC - Unknown 80', GCFC - Unknown 83'
Saves: SWFC - Nate Olson (4 saves), Sterling Trok (1 save), Caden Holden (2 saves); GCFC - Unknown (7 saves)
LOOKING AHEAD:
Superior Wolfpack FC travel to St. Joseph to take on MRSL Division 1 champions Rock City FC in a friendly. The match will be at the College of St. Benedict Sports Complex in St. Joseph, MN on Sunday, April 30th, with the kickoff scheduled for 2:00 PM.