Aukee nets hat trick in Devils' win

IRONWOOD TOWNSHIP - Ironwood scored four unanswered goals to defeat Phelps 4-1 in Northern Lights Conference action.

The Red Devils overcame a sluggish start as Phelps scored the game's first goal. But Ironwood's Isaac Aukee scored the next three, one in the first half to make it a 1-1 tie at the half, and two more in the second half for a hat trick. Riley Jarocki tallied Ironwood's final goal late.

The win puts Ironwood at 2-3 on the year. The Devils beat the Lakeland JV team 9-1 last month and went 0-3 in a tournament at Rhinelander last weekend.

Aukee scored his first goal Thursday off a rebound. The goalkeeper challenged him on the next two, but Aukee beat him both times, jumping over him after the second goal and colliding after the third. Both happened as the ball was on its way in the net.

"The first one, I drove past the defender, I shot off the goalie, it bounced back and I put it in with my left foot," Aukee said. "The second one, I got a through ball from, I believe, Josh Joki and I put it in the corner. The third goal was off my left foot in the corner and I think it was unassisted."

Ironwood's second half was much better.

"We possessed the ball a lot better, that was a big thing," Aukee said. "And we used our mouths. We definitely talked a lot more in the second half; communication was key."

Phelps has improved a lot, but Ironwood coach Don Cvengros still wasn't happy with his team's start.

"The first half, we stunk," Cvengros said. "We were flat. We reverted back to the old ways. In practice, we've been working on possession soccer. Soon as we get on the field, we bet back to the old way, everybody run forward, kick the ball. I think we were very fortunate to score in the first half to tie it up. That was huge to tie it up."

The Red Devils have a big roster, so they were able to substitute unlike Phelps. Ironwood has four seniors, one junior and 13 underclassmen. There's plenty of talent on this team, Cvengros said.

"I think we have a lot of potential, but we definitely need to work," Aukee said.

Ironwood fell to a stellar Kingsford team 7-1 at Rhinelander without Aukee. Ironwood played well but lost 3-0 to Rhinelander and Lakeland with him.

"We didn't win any games (at Rhinelander), but I was pretty happy; we got a lot of experience," Cvengros said.