By: Matt Scher, [email protected]
Clear Lake, IA – Humboldt boys soccer secured a key North Central Conference victory with a 4-2 win against the Clear Lake Lions Monday night.
The Wildcats came into Monday night’s match at Lions Field in Clear Lake looking to register their fourth consecutive season sweep of the Lions and move one step closer to securing a third consecutive conference title. The Lions would take an early lead on a Kinnick Clabaugh goal with 26 minutes remaining in the first half, but a Nico Christensen header on a corner kick would best the Lions’ goalkeeper Caleb Hall to tie the match at one with 15:44 left until halftime. Christensen’s goal was the first of the freshman’s career. Five minutes later, a loose rebound in front was tucked away by Humboldt’s Antonio Vicario to give Humboldt the 2-1 advantage after the first 40 minutes of play.
The second half would begin with a balanced attack by both squads, with Clear Lake’s leading goal scorer Adrian Ros breaking through to tie the match at two goals apiece with 30 minutes remaining in the match. A foul committed by the Lions with 26 minutes remaining in regulation would put Cristhian Ramirez at the line for a penalty kick, with the Wildcats’ leading scorer besting Hall to give Humboldt the 3-2 advantage. Ramirez would find the back of the net once more to seal the victory for Humboldt and increase the Wildcat’s head-to-head win streak to a ninth consecutive match.
With the win, Humboldt improves to 10-1 (9-1 NCC) and remains in second in the conference behind the undefeated Webster City Lynx 12-0 (11-0 NCC).
The Humboldt girls’ soccer team would also record a season sweep of the Clear Lake Lions with a 2-0 victory at the Humboldt High School Soccer Field. The Wildcats used a goal each by Ava McIntire and Elsie Hubbell in their shutout of the Lions. With the win, Humboldt improves to 8-5 (7-3 NCC).
Both soccer teams will be in Garner to face the Garner-Hayfield-Ventura Cardinals Tuesday night, with the boys’ match set to begin at 5:30 p.m. followed by the girls. KHBT will have live coverage of both matches, with pre-match coverage slated for 5:20 p.m.