Lumberjacks Girls Soccer Reloading With Young Lineup
9-0 home record in 2022
CLOQUET, Minn.- The Cloquet-Carlton girls soccer team has made their mark on the pitch in recent history, winning four straight section 7AA titles. Even without last year’s strong senior class, the Lumberjacks are ready to defend their crown.
Cloquet-Carlton’s 2022 season included a 10-game winning streak. They were also a perfect 9-0 on their home field. Head Coach Dustin Randall knows this year’s lineup will look a little different than from year’s past, but that doesn’t mean the Lumberjacks won’t be competing for another sectional championship.
“We’re kind of blessed with a lot of really good players that just keep coming through. It seems like there’s just more that are stepping in.” says Coach Randall. “We’ve just got to find our team identity. It’s always a reshuffling of players and just kind of getting that group mentality. This group tends to work together in the summertime, so we have a little bit of a head start from some of the other teams that are pulling people from all over.”
This year, the Lumberjacks will be sporting a youthful roster with only two seniors suiting up this fall. That means juniors and sophomores like Lauren Hughes and Natalia Hernandez will have increased roles with the pressure of getting back to state.
“I love just being with them, and I think with the new girls coming on, it’s been really fun.” says Hughes, who admits she’s taking on more of a leadership role following the exodus of graduation seniors. “I think really building that chemistry starting off the field really helps us on the field. We just really need to keep working on the smaller things, and just a lot of communication.”
“We just need to keep talking to each other.” Says Hernandez, who battled through injury much of the 2022 season. “There’s a lot of pressure, like, a lot of pressure to keep the streak going, but we can do it if we really try.”
For the third straight year, Cloquet-Carlton will face Saint Francis to open their season. The Fighting Saints defeated the Lumberjacks in both the 2021 and 2022 season openers.
