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Strykers top Kingsford to open season strong

KINGSFORD — The Copper Country Strykers opened their girls high school soccer season with a 1-0 victory over the Kingsford Flivvers on Thursday night. The Strykers were led by the exceptional play of junior goalie Maria Lorenzetti (Jeffers HS).

After a scoreless first half, Kira DeVoge (Houghton HS) beat her defender down the right sideline before slicing towards the middle of the field and punching one past Kingsford’s goalie midway through the second half.

Despite several opportunities off of corner kicks, Kingsford could not break through the Strykers’ defense to get one past Lorenzetti.

Kingsford, playing in it’s fifth game of the season, dominated play for the first fifteen minutes of the game and spent long stretches in the Strykers end. However, strong defense by Alex Houtari (Hancock HS), Annie Miller (Dollar Bay HS), and Geneva Archer (Houghton HS) kept the Flivvers from penetrating the middle to get many strong shots inside the 18 yard line.

As the game wore on, senior midfielder Meg Keranen (Dollar Bay HS) and sophomore Madison Mattila (Houghton HS) helped push the play out of the Strykers’ defensive zone and into the Flivver’s half of the field.

The Strykers’ coaches praised the team’s effort in the first outing of the season.

“We are pleased with the the performance this early on in the season. It is always a difficult transition to playing outside from practicing in a gym, and we are still getting acclimated to the large field. After losing 10 seniors last season, this is a developmental year for us. We have young players stepping up to fill those roles, but the average grade of the team dropped from senior last year to freshman this year. We have a lot of work to do.”

The girls stay on the road next Tuesday when they travel to Marquette to play the Redettes at Kaufman Field.

The Copper Country Strykers’ club soccer team includes girls from Houghton, Hancock, Jeffers, Dollar Bay, and Baraga.

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