Grass Lake, MI. – It was rainy for most of Wednesday, and it seemed to pick up even more as the Pirates of Napoleon traveled to Grass Lake to take on the host Warriors. A small but loyal crowd turned out to make a lot of noise and support their Pirates despite the inclement weather.
The field was very slippery, but that didn’t slow down the Pirates, who were shorthanded because of injuries. So, sadly, all the Pirates had to play the whole game with no substitutions. But they all toughed it out and gave their all. Most of the play in the first half was spent down in the Pirates’ zone, where the Warriors got many good scoring opportunities, but Pirates senior goalkeeper Jacsen Hodkinson stepped up big, making 12 great saves and not allowing any goals.
After the halftime break, the rain let up, and with about 9 minutes gone in the second quarter, the Warriors were able to get a score. But the Pirates turned up the heat and put lots of pressure on the Warriors, and then, with a little over 21 minutes left in the game, it was Senior exchange student Alex Grosse outrunning all the Warriors up the middle and blasting a shot into the back of the net to tie up the game.
Both teams would get more chances, but neither was able to capitalize on them as they battled to a 1-1 tie. This was the second tie of the year for the Pirates, who are only in their second year. Hodkinson had 17 saves, and Grosse had several shots on goal as well as Donovan Keinath. The Pirates will travel to Michigan Center for a scrimmage on Saturday at 11. Then they will play host to their very first home game Monday at 5:30 against Jackson.
