Experienced Cloquet-Carlton Girls Soccer Team Ready for Another State Tourney

The Lumberjacks will look for their first quarterfinal win since 2021 on Wednesday.

CLOQUET, Minn.- It’s almost gameday for the Cloquet-Carlton girls soccer team, who are set for their 4th straight state tournament appearance, would’ve been 6th if not for the pandemic.

The Lumberjacks will look for their first quarterfinal win since 2021 on Wednesday when they clash with the Orono Spartans.

Head Coach Dustin Randall says in games like Wednesday’s contest it helps having veterans that are familiar with playing on the big stage.

“I really like our defensive mindset. I like our back line. We have an experienced keeper, I think that’s big. That position in particular having some experience in a game like this will help us I assume. We have a big senior class so we’re going to rely on leadership from them. We’re going to try to be positive and pick each other up when we hit those road blocks and keep us working for the whole 80 minutes,” said Randall.

With the heavy presence of experience, that’s only built camaraderie and belief among the team.

“On the field, the connections that we have is very good. Like you can feel that we’re very confident in each other and we have trust in each other when we’re passing the ball. Off the field, about the same thing. After we graduate, I’m a little bit nervous for our team but I have confidence we’re still going to be good after we graduate,” added defender Ellise Boyd.

The Spartans and Lumberjacks begin battle Wednesday at 5:30 PM at White Bear Lake Area High School.