The Comets turned Tuesday’s doubleheader against Crookston into a statement night, with both squads walking off Danielsen Field unbeaten.
The Hillcrest boys overwhelmed the Pirates 14-0 behind a relentless attack that produced 28 shots, while the girls broke through a stubborn Crookston defense late for a 2-0 victory. When the final whistle sounded, both Hillcrest teams had improved to 3-0 on the young season.
For the boys, the pressure began almost immediately. Senior Pedro Periera opened the scoring just five minutes into the match, hammering a shot off the crossbar and down after an assist from Benjamin Skaug. Three minutes later, senior Marco Salasar drove the left side and delivered a cross that Jakob Vindenes headed home. From there, the goals came in waves.
Noah Evardsen scored one minute later off a Periera assist before Skaug blasted home a finish following a corner-kick scramble created by Christopher Thorbjoernsen. Periera added his second goal in the 13th minute, assisted by Evardsen and Skaug, and Evardsen answered with his second four minutes later off another Periera feed. Myles Selvig joined the scoring in the 23rd minute after Isaac Fuchs helped create the attack up the right side. Davi Diniz finished a Levi DeYounge assist at 32 minutes, and senior Drake Veldhouse struck twice in a span of two minutes, including his second off a perfectly weighted pass through the middle from DeYounge. Salasar closed the first-half barrage with two minutes remaining, finishing another DeYounge assist to send Hillcrest into halftime leading 11-0.
The Comets added three more in the second half. Vindenes scored his second off a Thorbjoernsen assist, Evardsen completed a hat trick with an unassisted goal, and Filip Lund finished the scoring from a Fuchs assist. Hillcrest’s 14 goals came from nine different players, highlighting the depth of an attack that has helped push the Comets to a 3-0 start.
The girls’ match required a very different kind of performance. Crookston made Hillcrest work for every opening, and the Comets entered halftime locked in a scoreless battle.
Junior captain Alexa Ewan helped direct the midfield alongside Lauren Markovetz and Grace Carpenter as Hillcrest searched for space against the Pirates. Senior striker Kaia Fiskness repeatedly challenged Crookston’s back line with her speed, but the Pirate goalkeeper continually turned away Hillcrest’s early opportunities.
At the other end, freshman goalkeeper Leah Ravenscraft made her first varsity start and helped keep the match level through the opening half. Hillcrest increased the pressure after halftime. Junior Isla Frobish and senior Cecelia Wachlarowicz worked alongside Fiskness in the attack, while senior captain Paisley Garvin organized Claire Venberg, Amelia Lindgren, and Avery Uselman defensively to prevent Crookston from generating clean looks at Ravenscraft. Still, the match remained 0-0 deep into the second half until the Comets found a break in the Pirates defenses.
With less than 10 minutes remaining, Frobish dropped a pass back to Carpenter. Carpenter lifted the ball over the Crookston back line, where Fiskness broke free, controlled it around the goalkeeper, and finished into the net for the 1-0 advantage. It was Fiskness’ fourth goal of the season.
Hillcrest continued attacking. With roughly three minutes remaining, Carpenter again sent a dangerous ball through the Pirate defense. A Crookston defender attempted to clear it but instead lifted the ball over her own goalkeeper and into the net for an own goal, giving Hillcrest the final 2-0 margin. Ravenscraft completed the shutout in her varsity starting debut.
The win was the girls’ third straight to begin the season, matching the boys at 3-0 and opening the perfect doubleheader for Hillcrest, where the boys followed with a 14-point rout. The Comet girls travel to East Grand Forks on Thursday to face the Green Wave, while the boys return to action Saturday against Fergus Falls at Kennedy Field.