BOYS SOCCER: Clarkston once again delivers knockout blow to Rochester Adams
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
CLARKSTON — It’s safe to say that Clarkston really does have Rochester Adams’ number.
For the fourth time in five seasons the Wolves ousted Adams from the Division 1 state tournament, this time coming in the form of a 2-0 victory Thursday in a pre-district contest.
It also marked the fifth time in seven years that the two OAA Red Division rival faced off in the postseason, with Clarkston going 4-1 in those games.
While Adams edged Clarkston, 2-1, in the 2014 regional finals, the Wolves defeated Adams in the 2016 pre-district (2-1), rallied for a shootout win over the Highlanders in the 2017 pre-district (3-2), then upended Adams in the 2018 district finals (2-0) to go along with Thursday’s shutout.
“I remember two years ago when we beat them in the district finals,” recalled Ian Jones, Clarkston’s third-year head coach. “Before that it was other coaches. But we seem to play them a lot in the playoffs.”
Clarkston (6-3-5) dominated Adams for most of the 80 minutes and the game was never in doubt. The Wolves held a commanding 16-5 total shots edge, including 6-4 with shots on frame, and also gained a 6-0 advantage with cornerkicks.
Clarkston scored the eventual game winner with 24:31 to go in the first half. Sophomore midfielder Richie Ludwig’s cross from the corner sailed through traffic, the ball deflected off Adams freshman goalkeeper John Coon’s hands and over to senior forward Nick Merritt, who tucked in a close-range shot.
The Wolves had a player taken down from behind in the penalty box while attempting a shot and Ludwig — one of the state’s top sophomores — buried the ensuing penalty kick into the left corner of the goal with 31:08 left in the contest to cap the scoring.
“I thought we really controlled play,” offered Jones. “When we play together we can be a really good team. I think we should have had a couple of more goals tonight. We had some nice chances. But in the tournament you just have to win and I thought overall we did a nice job.”
Clarkston’s defense didn’t allow a single shot attempt until there was 36:50 remaining in the game and that was junior Merrick Devlin’s long-range shot over the crossbar.
The Highlanders (3-6-3) had four shots on frame — all in the final 22:49 of the contest — but each of them were directly at Wolves goalkeeper Mason Walsh. The senior transfer notched four second-half saves to record the clean sheet, while senior Lochlan Gray anchored the defensive effort for Clarkston.
“We just didn’t have the same magic like last year,” sighed Adams coach Josh Hickey, whose team won its district a year ago despite a sub-five-hundred record. “We just couldn’t really get anything going. Clarkston is a very good team and they just outplayed us. They deserved it.”
It marked the Wolves’ sixth shutout of the campaign and second straight. Clarkston has outscored the opposition 21-9 this season.
Clarkston will face host Romeo at 5 p.m. Monday in a district semifinal clash. Rochester Stoney Creek and Utica Eisenhower meet in the second game at 7 p.m. with the district finals set for next Wednesday.
Romeo advanced by holding off shorthanded Oxford 2-1 on Thursday night.
“We don’t know anything about Romeo. I’ll have to make some calls to other coaches, call (Oxford coach Adam Bican) and find out about them,” said Jones. “I think if we play our game then we’ll be okay.”
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