Marquette's Matt Barsch and Kingsford's Trent Maki (3) battle for a loose ball during their high school boys soccer game played at the Kaufman Sports Complex in Marquette on Tuesday afternoon. (Travis Nelson/Mining Journal photo)

MARQUETTE — A high school soccer game is 80 minutes long, but it took less than a three-minute span during the second half for the Marquette boys soccer team to turn its home game around against Kingsford on Tuesday afternoon.

The Redmen began the second half trailing 1-0 but after those three minutes, turned the deficit into a 2-1 lead that it held onto for a victory at the Kaufman Sports Complex.

The visiting Flivvers controlled the first half and the beginning of the second half, looking well on their way to an upset win.

Marquette (8-2-1) seemed out of sorts early, but the Redmen’s talent emerged after the break. Two goals in 2:05 proved to be the difference as MSHS took advantage of Kingsford losing its composure, capitalizing with goals coming from a corner kick and a penalty kick.

With 29:09 left — about 11 minutes into the second half — a corner kick by Marquette’s Ezra Pickard came down right in front of the net, where Noah Bell knocked it in to get the Redmen on the scoreboard. This gave the Redmen momentum, as they began buzzing in front of the Kingsford net with opportunities.

Kingsford's Gavyn Laydon (18) winds up to kick the ball out of the reach of Marquette's Ezra Pickard during the boys varsity matchup at the Kaufman Sports Complex in Marquette on Tuesday. (Travis Nelson/Mining Journal photo)

Out of position, the Flivvers committed a foul to set up Marquette with a penalty kick barely two minutes later. MSHS sent 2021 record goal scorer Max Dawson up to kick, and the senior star did what he does best to give the Redmen the lead.

After lagging behind for most of the match, all it took was that short stretch for Marquette to take control.

“Kingsford came out with a lot of intensity, and they had us on the ropes,” Marquette coach Dan Salmon said. “We challenged our guys to keep to our game plan, which we were not really doing in the first half.

“We stuck to it in the second half, and we knew that we could turn the corner against these guys. What a great effort from them, that was probably the best game we’ve seen out of Kingsford while I’ve been coaching here.”

Just as quickly as Marquette took the lead, Kingsford had taken control in the first half. Like Dawson did, Jaxon Buckley earlier connected on a penalty kick for a Flivvers’ score.

But like a flip of a switch, after controlling the action into the second half, Kingsford lost all the momentum and ultimately the match.

“We had a couple breakdowns mentally, and we only had four guys come in, so we got a little tired at times,” Kingsford coach Jeff Gordon said about limited substitutions. “I have to change out guys a little bit more, but they were there physically, we were just lost mentally for about 12 minutes.

“Other than that, it would’ve been a good game.”

With only one goal scored outside of the penalty kicks, it was a defensive match. Each team was limited on its chances in the first half. In the second half, Kingsford got more aggressive on offense after losing its lead.

Immediately after Dawson’s go-ahead goal, the Flivvers had their best opportunity to retie it with a Buckley breakaway. His shot missed, even though it looked so dead-on that the KHS bench couldn’t believe it hadn’t gone in.

The Flivvers had another breakaway a few minutes later, but Marshall Shorkey’s run was stopped by Marquette backup goalkeeper Issac Johnson. He came into the game when starter Edan Hautamaki went down injured in the second half.

Kingsford goalie Landon Adam also made huge plays down the stretch. The Redmen could’ve stretched the lead with several insurance goals, but Adam made some nice saves to keep his team one shot away from tying it.

Gordon called his goalie’s play outstanding, and said he’s been playing like that all season.

“They played 110%, I can’t doubt that every player on this team played hard,” Gordon said. “It was a great game, both teams fought, and they just won this thing.”

Marquette hasn’t lost since a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Traverse City West on Aug. 20. The Redmen are 5-0-1 since then, including a scoreless tie against Boyne City.

After that tough loss to TC West, Salmon said his young team had a lot of work to do despite having a strong second half. Now that the Redmen haven’t lost since, he’s seeing that progress.

“Early in the season, I think those boys were still trying to figure out our system a little bit,” Salmon said. “After several practices and games, guys know where they’re supposed to be on the field, and they know what we expect out of them.

“I think we’re seeing the results of that now getting more wins, and we’re winning games as a team.”

Each of Tuesday’s combatants are back in action today, with Marquette hosting Sault Ste. Marie at 5 p.m and Kingsford entertaining Marinette, Wisconsin.

Travis Nelson, sports writer for the Mining Journal in Marquette, may be reached by email at tnelson@miningjournal.net.