Spooner soccer girls chilled by weather, St. Croix Falls

SPOONER — The wind was bitterly cold, but the soccer teams and fans alike braved the weather on Friday, April 19, as the Spooner Rails hosted St. Croix Falls.

Most of the girls had bare legs, while dedicated fans bundled up in winter coats, scarves and wool hats. By the end of the first half, the Saints held a 3-0 lead, going on to the victory.

“It was definitely a cold one,” said Spooner coach Nick Merkt. “We played with one sub for the majority of the game, which is a lot of wear and tear on our team. The majority of the team played the full 80 minutes and rotated spots regularly to stay as fresh as we could.

“I thought we stayed composed from our goalkeeper, Stella Weaver, to our attacking players. We are struggling to connect passes in the middle and final 1/3s of the field but are getting better every day.

“I think our backline is getting stronger and we are starting to do a better job of using the width of the field the attack rather than just kick it into the middle.”

The Spooner girls are still looking for their first win of the season at 0-5, but the team is playing hard and giving it their best effort each time out.

This week, the Rails girls will take on Washburn at home on Tuesday, April 23. Spooner then hosts Ashland at 5 p.m. on Thursday, April 25.

“We play two really good teams in Washburn and Ashland this week but will continue to improve,” said Coach Merkt.