BOYS SOCCER: Lumberjacks shut out at Sartell

SARTELL – The Bemidji offense couldn’t get its offense rolling Saturday and it turned out costing the Lumberjacks dearly.

Sartell-St. Stephen scored a late first-half goal just before halftime and held on to win 1-0 in Sartell.

“We had scoring chances,” BHS head coach Rick Toward said. “We just didn’t put one in.”

It’s the first time the Lumberjacks, now 10-2-1, have been shut out this season.

The Sabres (8-5-1) got on the board 37 minutes into the game, when Jared Forst got a steal deep in the BHS zone. He hit a shot off the far post that beat Bemidji goalkeeper Matt Bitter. Bitter was subbing in for regular keeper Connor McNallan, who had previous family commitments.

That goal would be all Sartell would need, as the Lumberjacks couldn’t find the back of the net.

“In the first ten minutes, we were doing everything we wanted, moving the ball and getting some shots,” Toward said. “We didn’t do that as well the rest of the game. They’re a decent team, we just let them hang around.”

The Lumberjacks actually outshot the Sabres 9-8 in the first half but couldn’t turn those shots into goals. Sartell had the 8-5 edge on shots in the second half.

“It was a game we maybe could have won,” Toward said. “But we were a bit shorthanded and just couldn’t put anything through.”

The Lumberjacks return to the field Monday at East Grand Forks. They have a chance to clinch the Lakes to Prairie Conference title with a win against the Green Wave. They’ll return to Bemidji Thursday to take on Moorhead in their final home game.

Sartell-St. Stephen 1, Bemidji 0
Bemidji 0 0 – 0
Sartell 1 0 – 1

Scoring Summary
First Half
S – Forst, 37:40
Second Half
No scoring