Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

TIFFIN – Grant Kruse was responsible for putting up a lot of points on the turf at Clipper Field during his prep career.

None of those scores had come in a soccer match.

That changed at a perfect time on Tuesday.

The placekicker for the Clipper’s playoff football squad last fall, the first career goal of Kruse’s soccer career lifted Clear Creek Amana to a 1-0 win over Independence in a WAMAC West Division matchup in Tiffin.

“I didn’t think I was going to kick a field goal before scoring a goal that’s for sure,” Kruse said. “I thought I would have had a goal before now but it has all worked out.”

Kruse has been a part of producing goals in the past.

He ranked third on the team with six assists last season and already has an assist this year.

Prior to Tuesday he had yet to find the back of a net in a varsity game.

Kruse picked an opportune time to snap that streak.

His goal off a Hunter Schau assist in the 42^nd minute helped Clear Creek Amana (3-8) snap a four-match losing skid and improved the Clippers to 2-5 in WAMAC play.

“It felt good. It doesn’t even feel like my first goal,” Kruse said. “I’ve assisted on a lot of goals and helped my team get so many wins here. It didn’t feel like that accomplishment because I’ve played a lot here.”

Clear Creek Amana created scoring opportunities in the opening half but had nothing to show for their work.

The Clippers dodged a bullet late in the first half when a goal by Logan Zuck was wiped off by an offside call.

Clear Creek Amana wasted little time getting an edge after halftime.

Schau found Kruse in the middle of the box and the senior put away the goal to give the Clippers a 1-0 lead less than two minutes into the half.

“We made a few lineup tweaks here and there,” Clear Creek Amana coach Tim Benson said. “We moved a couple of guys around and Hunter made a play and Grant finished it off. That’s what we’ve been trying to do all year we haven’t done it much but we are trying to work balls through the midfield to a corner and cross it and those should be easy shots if we can find somebody on the end of them.”

The goal was a sigh of relief for Kruse who was a part of a few of the first-half near misses.

“I thought we were due after getting a couple of really close ones in the first half,” Kruse said. “That has always been a little bit of a struggle for us is scoring but once we get on a roll we can get some in the net for sure.”

The first career goal continued a strong senior year for Kruse across three sports.

That senior-season success for Kruse on the same turf on which he scored on Tuesday.

It started in the fall when he booted six field goals, 30 extra points and scored a touchdown helping Clear Creek Amana reach the 4A playoffs.

A Central College basketball commit, Kruse averaged a career-high 9.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game while leading the Clippers to a 16-8 record.

Kruse wants to end his strong senior season with more success on the soccer field.

“It’s been a blast the senior season for all three sports has been going good,” Kruse said. “I’m just trying to help my teammates get wins and build up a program that more kids want to play in.”

Did you enjoy this subscription free article? Help keep Your Prep Sports free by donating.