Suttons Bay and Charlevoix girls soccer battled underneath the cherry trees as the site for a classic Division 4 district quarterfinal Thursday.
The Norse defeated the Rayders 1-0, thanks to a secondhalf, game-winning goal from Suttons Bay junior Megan U’Ren.
“It felt like a little bit of pressure was taken off and provided more motivation to keep working hard and working together as a team,” U’Ren said. “We are trying to push every play and get all of the 50/50 balls we can.”
U’ren scored the game-winner thanks to a one-touch assist from Ada Wetherbee that was set up by Ava Anderson.
The Norse had plenty of runs at quality scoring opportunities. Still, a stealthy Charlevoix back line sniffed out most of the attempts.
“It feels awesome with all the hard work we put in. Today was a fun one,” Suttons Bay senior captain Jacqueline Hearne said.
Suttons Bay goalkeepers Mackenzie Schaub and Anna Porter were splendid in net, combining for the shutout.
“I give Charlevoix a lot of credit; they played hard. They had a gameplan that made it tough to score on them tonight,” Suttons Bay coach Randy U’Ren said. “Any district win is a great win. Every team gives it their all.”
The Rayders battled all year, even if it wasn’t with a full team. Charlevoix had to forfeit eight games this season after falling to only six players, but they battled back and fielded a whole team against Suttons Bay.
“They all stuck together through it,” Charlevoix coach Sean Simney said. “We had an opportunity to play with a lot of healthy players again. When you miss out on a month of your season, it gets tough, but I was really proud of that for today.”
The Norse have defeated the Rayders in consecutive district tournaments.
