Clarkston’s Bradley scores late ‘Olimpico’ goal
Score lifts Wolves over Rochester, 2-1
In the final 10 minutes of Friday night’s match, Rochester was the team knocking at the door repeatedly for a goahead goal.
Then, in the final two minutes, visiting Clarkston won a corner kick.
Wolves senior midfielder Emma Bradley made the most of the opportunity, scoring directly from it with 1:19 remaining to give her team a 2-1 victory over the Falcons.
“It’s pretty exciting,” Bradley said of the goal, known as an “Olimpico.” “I was trying to (whip it in) all game, get it to someone’s head, and then just got the lucky bounce there to seal the game. Knowing there was only like one minute left on the clock, it was a pretty cool moment. We knew it was going to be tough due to the conditions, and we put out a great team effort.”
In the minutes leading up to the match-winner, Rochester played several combinations that put Clarkston’s back line under pressure, including a sequence involving sophomore Allison Jeric setting up senior Katelyn Guolia.
“We talk about how we have to take care of the little things and finish opportunities, connect passes when need be and be clinical, but we didn’t take care of the little things, and it’s disappointing,” Falcons head coach Doug Steinard said. “But I’m not sure we deserve it if we don’t take care of those little things.”
It’s arguably the second-most painful letdown of the week for Rochester. Rochester Adams stole a victory from the Falcons with one second left in Tuesday’s game to draw, 1-1.
“We’re getting beaten to second balls, giving the ball away too easily, not being focused on restarts,” said Steinard, whose team went undefeated in 2023 until losing to Stoney Creek in districts. “We’ve got a long list.”
Prior to Friday, the last time the Falcons lost a regular-season home game was a 1-0 defeat to Adams on May 14, 2019.
Offense was difficult to come by for either side in the first 40
minutes due to strong gusts coupled with steady rainfall. Arguably the best chance of that act came on a shot by Bradley that produced a kick-save by Falcons junior netminder Alice Max. But when both rain and wind began to subside after intermission, the goals arrived quickly.
Rochester established a rhythm almost immediately in the second half, getting plenty of touches around the opposing 18-yard box, and a low cross found its way to freshman Lucia Errecalde Santisteban for a shot that Wolves sophomore goalkeeper Avery Eastman couldn’t keep out to put the Falcons ahead 1-0 with 33:52 remaining.
Almost exactly five minutes later, Bradley played sophomore teammate Emilia Cantinella through on a breakaway for a goal that knotted the match up.
“I put (Emilia) on the left, simply because our movement into those wide areas is better, and it’s basically her movement that got that through ball for the goal,” Clarkston head coach Damian Huffer said. “They were starting to get the ball forward a little bit earlier. They changed to a 4-3-3 I think in the second half and started to put a bit of pressure on us, but I did say to (our girls) that the ball into the channel for (Emilia’s) movement would be on every single time, and that’s how we ended up scoring.”
Now, after starting the season with a 6-0 defeat at Rochester Adams, the Wolves have responded with four wins and a tie.
“I tried a couple of things the first game and we were totally out of sorts, so we’re back to what we know, and we haven’t really looked back,” Huffer said. “Today, I thought, we controlled large parts of the game. It was more about character than anything else. At 1-nil, it literally could have been a situation where we could have gone on to lose by two or three, right? But the girls stuck at it, trusted the process, and as a result got the winner right at the end there.
“It’s really good to see. In really tough conditions, I thought some of the soccer they tried to play was really good to watch. A win like that gives us so much confidence and belief. If that doesn’t show that you can play with anyone in the state, I don’t know what will.” Clarkston will aim to keep its unbeaten streak going Monday against Romeo.
The Falcons (2-1-1) return to the field Tuesday in non-conference action at Pontiac Notre Dame Prep.