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Articles written by Jack Slater


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  • Lumberjacks topple East, former coach

    Jack Slater|Sep 20, 2024

    Last week's Cloquet-Esko-Carlton boys soccer matchup versus Duluth East was a head-turner, as fans of the program got to see an old coach in new colors. Greyhounds head coach, and former CEC coach, Dave Bergan returned to Bromberg Field Sept. 12 for the first time as another team's coach. With him came late-goal drama and a 2-1 Lumberjacks win over the Greyhounds. The Lumberjacks found their way early, in the fifth minute, as Collin Young touched his way around the Greyhounds goaltender to net t...

  • 'Jacks win a wild one vs. Marshall

    Jack Slater|Sep 6, 2024

    The Lumberjacks boys soccer team's 5-1 home win against Marshall was a heated affair that had it all - a lot of goals, a comeback, and a red card. A slow start for Cloquet-Esko-Carlton saw the home team trailing 1-0 in just the seventh minute of Tuesday's matchup. The Hilltoppers goal was scored by senior midfielder Foster Schultz. The lead lasted until the 28th minute, when 'Jacks senior forward Collin Young put away the first of many goals for the Lumberjacks. Five minutes later, senior...

  • CEC stymied at State

    Jana Peterson and Jack Slater|Oct 27, 2023

    The Lumberjacks boys soccer season ended in a shootout Wednesday, in a Class AA quarterfinal game against St. Cloud Tech High School that remained tied 1-1 through two overtime periods and ended 2-1 as the Tigers missed only one penalty shot to win. It was a hard-fought game and one Cloquet-Esko-Carlton led for 75 minutes, 1-0, after senior Joe Bailey scored on a penalty kick in the 24th minute. The goalkeeper dove left and Bailey went right to score, after refs called a handball on a St. Cloud...

  • Golden goal is ticket to State

    Jana Peterson and Jack Slater|Oct 20, 2023

    It was close, but the Lumberjacks boys soccer team is headed to State again after scoring a golden goal 2 minutes and 6 seconds into overtime. The Cloquet-Esko-Carlton team scored first and last in the Section 7AA championship game against Grand Rapids Tuesday night, in the Lumberjacks' first and last game this season on the new turf at Members Cooperative Credit Union Stadium. The stands were packed with fans - buoyed by the girls 7AA win in the first-ever game at the upgraded field - and the a...

  • 'Jacks return with hardware

    Jack Slater|Nov 4, 2022

    It's a third at state in run for the record books In a historic run for the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton boys soccer team, the Lumberjacks claimed third place in the Class AA Minnesota state soccer tournament on Wednesday, Nov. 2. The 'Jacks got a 3–0 win over Richfield to secure the hardware and a 2-1 record at state. The program's first state tournament victory came in a Thursday, Oct. 27 quarterfinal, 3-1 over St. Cloud Tech, before a Tuesday, Nov. 1 semifinal defeat to DeLaSalle, 4-0. Junior Elijah...

  • Lumberjacks topple East for the second time ever

    Jack Slater|Sep 23, 2022

    The annual match between Cloquet-Esko-Carlton and Duluth East finished with a dramatic 3-2 win for CEC on Thursday, Sept. 15. The 'Jacks had early trouble, with Greyhound senior Pete Onchwari scoring just 4 minutes into the game. It didn't take long for a sharp East offense to find their second goal, coming in the 16th minute from an Evan Tomczyk long shot. Their domination continued throughout the first half as the Lumberjacks were unable to find a foothold. CEC closed out the first 40 minutes...

  • Cloquet boys hit the volleyball courts

    Jack Slater|May 6, 2022

    Cloquet boys volleyball returns for its fourth year as a club sport, and expectations are high. This is the first year the Lumberjacks are fielding two teams, with 19 kids signed up including, for the time, players from Esko. Kelsey Motzko is back as head coach for the fourth year since the sport started, but only the third season due to Covid-19 cancellation in the spring of 2020. She's excited by the number of kids out for the season. "It's awesome, just the people that want to play up here,"...

  • CEC boys win playoff opener

    Jack Slater|Oct 15, 2021

    The Cloquet-Esko-Carlton boys kicked off their 7AA post-season play Tuesday, entering the game against Mesabi East as favorites and for good reason, winning 9-1. The first-half action started quickly as CEC's Elijah Aultman put one away 8 minutes in. Things really opened up for the No. 3 seeded Lumberjacks, with Elijah Aultman netting two more goals for a hat trick, along with one each from Sam Bailey, Ryan Tomsche and Brody Dushkin before the end of the first half. Gavin Benz recorded Mesabi...

  • 7AA Soccer: 'Jacks play back-to-back championship games tonight

    Jack Slater|Oct 15, 2021

    Both the boys and girls Lumberjacks soccer teams will take to the pitch tonight to play for a section 7AA crown and the right to advance to the state tournament. With a 14-2 record, the Cloquet girls soccer team are the top seed in Section 7AA and start off play against No. 3 seeded North Branch at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 19 at Public Schools Stadium. The Cloquet girls team had a bye in the first round and defeated Denfeld 2-0 in the semifinals Thursday, Oct. 14 in Cloquet to advance to the...

  • Eskomos lose way in the fog

    Jack Slater|Oct 8, 2021

    During a foggy Tuesday night game, fans barely saw the Esko girls soccer team fall 2-1 against a tough Denfeld side. A slow start for the Eskomos left the team unable to control a strong Hunters offense. In the 17th minute, Denfeld's Kamryn Hill broke the deadlock with a goal following a corner from Aliyah Bartling. Denfeld took the wheel early and continued to break through the opposing defense. The Eskomos responded with mounting chances near the end of the first half, but the game remained...

  • Rain clips 'Jacks surge against East

    Jack Slater|Sep 24, 2021

    In a stormy bout between the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton and Duluth East boys soccer teams last Thursday, the Lumberjacks were left with a 1-0 loss and an early exit as the weather prevented a full second half. CEC head coach John Sundquist felt his team got unlucky when it came to which half of the field they defended first. "That 30 mph wind was like an added player for them," he said. The game at East started windy, warm and sunny but storm clouds soon crept in. Throughout much of the first half, th...

  • We miss the coach who changed soccer for us

    Jack Slater and Woody Waugh|Sep 17, 2021

    In light of the one-year anniversary of Anthony L. Makela III's tragic death, we wanted to share with the world how much he meant to those around him. Tony passed away in a single-vehicle accident on Sept. 13, 2020. He worked as a counselor at Northwood Children Services. Beyond that, he was the assistant coach for men's soccer at Lake Superior College and Proctor High School. We played under Tony when he was head coach for the Cloquet U18 spring soccer team in 2019. Tony's enthusiasm and approa...

  • Redemption begins for 'Jacks

    Jack Slater|Sep 3, 2021

    After the undefeated CEC boys soccer team was stunned by Denfeld in the second round of the playoffs last season, things got only more complicated. The unexpected departure of head coach Dave Bergan - who took a leave of absence to move to Alaska with his family - left the team "sad but motivated," said senior captain Ryan Tomsche. The tide changed when John Sundquist took the reins of the rebuild. Sundquist, a two-year member of the coaching staff, knew the potential of his new team, despite...

  • Former Cloquet star drafted by NHL's Bruins

    Jack Slater|Oct 16, 2020

    Last year, former Cloquet High School student and hockey player Mason Langenbrunner made an unexpected move away from the Lumberjacks to play his junior season with the Eden Prairie Eagles. He's been busy ever since. Langenbrunner helped lead the Eagles to their second straight state championship appearance. Shortly after his move to Eden Prairie, he committed to Harvard to play Division I hockey. Last Wednesday, Oct. 7, Langenbrunner's childhood dream came true; he was drafted by the Boston...

  • Local players speak out in action and words

    Jack Slater|Sep 4, 2020

    Several Cloquet players including Mireye Moose and Katelyn Kelley (pictured) and Ilie Benson took a knee during the playing of the national anthem Tuesday before the girls soccer game against Esko. After the game, all three stressed that they were not kneeling to show disrespect for any current or former military members, but rather to show support for the Black Lives Matter movement and to protest police brutality and the unfair treatment Black people and People of Color receive more often at...

  • Experience will mark tennis team

    Jack Slater|Aug 28, 2020

    Tennis is back, and the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton girls team isn't letting Covid-19 stop them. With 38 girls on the team this year, coach Derek Johnson said that "is the most we've seen on the roster in the past 10 years." Johnson said they return six full-time varsity players, giving the team a strong core to build around. Johnson said the larger team includes a lot more Esko girls than he expected, including a number of volleyball players whose season was postponed to spring because of the...

  • Cloquet's Sam Baker wins state junior PGA tournament

    Jack Slater|Jul 3, 2020

    Even without a high school golf season, Cloquet's Sam Baker has stayed sharp and this week won the 2020 Minnesota Junior PGA Boys Championship at The Quarry at Giants Ridge in Biwabik. "It was a big relief to win that and to have an exemption into the [Minnesota] State Open, it was huge for me," Baker said. Baker shot a stunning 65 on Tuesday's final 18 holes, seven under par, to win by five strokes over second-place finisher Carson Herron. Baker was one-under for the tournament. The Cloquet...