Bay Port’s Erika Hess battles a Pulaski player for a ball in the Pirates’ 5-2 win May 15 (Rich Palzewic photo).
BY RICH PALZEWIC
CORRESPONDENT
SUAMICO – Bay Port girls’ soccer player Grace Krause doesn’t get the chance to score many goals, so you could understand her excitement when she scored two in one game.
The junior Krause and the rest of the Pirates beat Pulaski 5-2 in a Fox River Classic Conference game May 15 at Bay Port High School.
Emma Nagel, Hailey Kane and Cora Klemme also scored for the No. 4 ranked Pirates, who improved to 12-1 overall and 4-1 in FRCC play with the win.
Pulaski tried to employ a game plan where they basically kept all 11 players behind the ball to try and slow down Bay Port’s attack, but the patient Pirates eventually wore down the Red Raiders.
“It was a nice victory,” said Bay Port head coach Brooke Mraz. “The way Pulaski was playing us, it forced us to be very patient, pass the ball and not force it down the middle of the field. There weren’t a lot of openings. We needed to keep the ball on the ground and move it around. I think the way we moved the ball made them tired, which eventually led to more offense.”
The Pirates had 25 shots on goal compared to Pulaski’s three. Bay Port also had eight corner kicks, while the Red Raiders didn’t attempt one.
After Nagel had given Bay Port a 1-0 cushion in the 20th minute when her right-cross kick found the upper left corner of the net, Krause scored her most impressive goal of the night just after intermission.
Two minutes into the second half, Sofia Draghicchio sent a perfect corner kick to the front of the net to an awaiting Krause, who headed the ball in to give the Pirates a 2-0 lead.
Kane scored in the 58th minute to bump the lead to 3-0, before Klemme scored nine minutes later on a McKenzie Johnson assist. Krause tallied again with 16 minutes remaining off another Johnson assist to close the scoring for Bay Port.
“With me playing center-back, I really don’t get many opportunities to score,” said a smiling Krause. “The corner kicks are usually my opportunity and I’ve been looking for a header goal this season. My teammates did a really nice job working for the corners.”
Maggie Fernandez tallied twice for Pulaski in the last 14 minutes for the final margin.
The Pirates return to FRCC action when they host Green Bay Preble Thursday May 17 at 6:30.
