Revamped Rochester regroups to edge Clarkston
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
CLARKSTON — Having injuries to key players is part of sports. All teams have to deal with injuries of all sorts.
Some are bumps and bruises, some are long term.
Rochester High’s boys soccer team has had to deal with injuries, more than most teams. In fact, the Falcons have been so riddled with injuries that they were not only forced to bring up players from their junior varsity, but even asked a few players back that originally didn’t come out for soccer this season.
“We had a game against Dearborn where we had 11 of our 18 varsity players available,” said Rochester coach Chris Purgatori. “We brought up a couple of JV players. We also asked Paris Peireia and Mike Murri to play. They were both former soccer players. We needed bodies. We had seven guys out.”
The whole season has been plagued by injuries. Freshman Nash Popovic was hurt over the summer and will not play this season. Junior Miles Dale suffered a knee injury three weeks ago and is still out. There have been several other Falcons who have missed multiple games.
“It seemed like when we got someone back, we’d lose somebody else,” admitted Purgatori.
In recent weeks, the Falcons ventured through a 0-5-1 stretch where they were so short-handed that they were bombarded. A 5-0 loss to Troy and a 6-2 defeat to Clarkston were part of that skid. The Falcons also suffered a 4-2 loss to Dearborn and a 6-1 defeat to Auburn Hills Avondale in the same lowly period.
“We came back the next day in practice and talked about some things,” offered Purgatory. “We made some changes in (our alignment) on the field. But I think part of it was that we were starting to get some players back.”
Rochester has seemingly come back from its ailments, Rochester is 2-0-1 in its three four games, including Monday’s 1-0 victory over Clarkston. That is a complete reversal of the 6-2 loss to the Wolves suffered on Sept. 27.
“I think we are finally starting to fire on all cylinders. We have most of our guys back,” said Purgatori. “We don’t have Miles back yet, but everybody else is healthy. We are rejuvenated.”
Against host Clarkston Monday, senior midfielder Michael Bowyer scored off an assist from Sean O’Malley. Bowyer redirected a cornerkick in the box in the eighth minute, which proved to be the game’s only goal.
Junior Matt Hawes, a first-year goalkeeper, gained his second shutout in three games, making eight saves. The only goal in that stretch that Rochester (4-7-5) allowed was a late goal to Dearborn Heights Crestwood Saturday when the Falcons inserted a bunch of reserves. The Falcons also tied Lake Orion 0-0 last Thursday.
Clarkston is on a little bit of a slide. The Wolves (9-11-0) have now lost four straight.
“We haven’t played all that well. I thought we controlled play about 75 percent of the first half against Rochester and we were down at the half,” said Clarkston coach Chuck Lawhorn. “Rochester played with some energy tonight. I know they have been missing some players and they are trying to turn it around. But with the districts coming up, we need to start playing (with a sense of urgency). We can play a whole lot better. We have been very inconsistent.”
Henry Smith made six saves for Clarkston.
Both teams have two regular season games this week before kicking off the Division 1 state tournament Monday. Clarkston will visit Davison, while Rochester will play at Macomb L’Anse Creuse North.
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Category: Clarkston, High School, High School (M-Z), Prep Wraps, Rochester
