Prep report: Eklund scores two, Denfeld soccer bests Mesabi East
Duluth Denfeld's Sam Eklund proved to be the difference for his Hunters on Monday night.
The junior forward accounted for both scores in Duluth Denfeld's 2-0 win on the road against Mesabi East in Aurora. The striker got on the board in the 38th minute when he found the back of the net off of an Oli Corbett pass that gave the Hunters a 1-0 lead.
After the intermission, Eklund continued his stellar night with an unassisted goal in the 68th minute, his second of the evening. Eklund brought the spark offensively while senior goalie Cannon Peak earned a shutout in net with five saves.
Duluth Denfeld improved to 4-5-3 overall with the victory, which includes wins in two of its last three contests. The Hunters have gone weeks without an outright loss, the most recent was a 4-0 defeat on the road against Bemidji on Saturday, Sept. 7.
Claire Kaups did a little bit of everything for Hermantown on Monday night.
The senior tallied 16 digs and eight kills against Pine City, which marked the ninth-straight win for Hermantown. It's the best start to a season since September of 2022, when the Hawks began the year with 10 straight wins.
Hermantown is looking to eclipse that benchmark of double-digit wins to start the year, and it was a team effort to keep that goal alive against Pine City. After notching a 25-17 win in the opening set, the Hawks scored 25-10 and 25-23 wins to complete the sweep.
Contributions include Mikayla Sweeney's 13 set assists, Ella Shultz's 10 set assists and Gabi Arntson's 10 kills. Ava Broman also recorded 15 kills while Hope Kohanski finished the day with a team-high 5 ace serves.
Hermantown improved to 9-0 with the win while Pine City slipped to 2-10 for the season. The Hawks will be back in action chasing that tenth win on Tuesday night when they travel to Rock Ridge. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
Proctor's Reagan Rodberg put together a standout performance in three-set sweep (25-21, 25-8, 25-16) of Two Harbors, as she tallied 16 kills, 18 digs, and four aces in the win.
Joining her in the dominance was Kaytlin Hemming, who recorded 15 kills, 14 digs, a pair of acess and a block. Hannah Lynch helped keep the offense in gear, as she finished with 18 set assists in the win.
Two Harbors was guided by Alicia Hurd, who tallied 23 digs against Proctor. Rachel Bopp added another 13 digs while Olivia Hagglund finished with four kills in the loss.
Superior finished its regular season with a cumulative round of 199 at Tee Away Golf Course in Ladysmith, Wis., good enough for wins against Northwestern and the hosting Ladysmith Lumberjacks.
Senior Brynn Johnson led the charge for the Spartans with her round of 43. Johnson was a steadying force for Superior this year, as she finished first in every conference match except for one early in the season, where she finished runner-up.
Other scores for the day include Tara Stratton's round of 49, Liv Prendergast shot 53 and Makaela Reinke rounded out the varsity scoring with a 54. The Spartans are firing on all cylinders heading into the Heart O'North Conference meet, which is slated for Wednesday morning at the Luck Golf Course in Luck, Wisconsin.
Hibbing's Opal Valeri and Heidi Rasch scored 7-5, 6-3 wins against Hermantown's Lucy Grzbowski and Sophia Piede in the No. 1 doubles match, which set the tone for the rest of the afternoon.
Erin McCormick and Bella Jaynes followed suit for Hibbing with 6-1, 6-1 wins in the No. 2 doubles match before Brylee Conda and Gianna Manning completed the sweep of doubles competition in the No. 3 match with 7-5, 6-2 set wins over Hermantown.
The first of two Hawks wins came at No. 1 singles when Campbell Amundson defeated Hibbing's Kenedi Koland, 6-4, 6-3. Hermantown picked up its second victory in No. 3 singles, as Evie Sullivan bested Hibbing's Iris Hendrickson, 6-2, 6-4.
Hibbing finished the afternoon off with a pair of singles wins, as Mya McKenny defeated Alee Devlieger in straight sets, as did Kori McCormick in her No. 4 singles match against Kendall Hedley.
