Traverse City Record-Eagle

Prep Sports

June 12, 2010

Glen Lake, Suttons Bay win regionals

BY DENNIS CHASE

TRAVERSE CITY — School may be out, but the soccer season is still in session for two Leelanau County schools.

Glen Lake and Suttons Bay captured regional titles Friday night with identical 1-0 wins.

Glen Lake (19-1-2) beat Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian in a Division 4 showdown at the Coast Guard field here, while Suttons Bay (17-4-3) downed Muskegon Oakridge in Division 3 at Manistee.

It was Glen Lake's first regional title in school history.

"Unbelievable. We just made history," Lakers coach Meg Murphy said minutes after receiving the trophy.

Suttons Bay, meanwhile, lost in the regional final a year ago.

"The girls were upset about that," Norse coach Casey Wilcox said. "This was redemption for them."

Suttons Bay captain Christy Miller agreed.

"It's an awesome feeling after what happened last year," she said.

Glen Lake pulled out its win when Jordan Lewis converted off a free kick by Kayla Siwicki with just 3:55 remaining. Goalie Sophie Ewing, and the Lakers defense, made it stand.

"From never having won a district title to playing in the semifinals, that's pretty exciting," Ewing said.

Glen Lake will play Kalamazoo Hackett in a 6 p.m. semifinal Wednesday at Holton. Hackett is the defending state champion.

"It feels amazing to finally get here," defender Paige Stachnik said. "We've waited four years to do this. We have a great team, a great group of girls. We've all worked hard for this."

Suttons Bay will take on Hudsonville Unity Christian at 7 p.m. at Hope College. Unity Christian has won five consecutive Division 3 state crowns.

Suttons Bay earned the right to face Unity Christian when Charlotte Seeley scored off a Brandey Alvardo pass with about three minutes to go in the first half. Alvardo had beaten two defenders down the right side of the field, then slid a ground pass toward the goal. It eluded two Norse players, but found Seeley, who was coming down the left side.

Goalie Brittany Mikowski, who had 10 saves on the night, came up with her biggest stop with about two minutes remaining to preserve the game.

"That saved our win," Wilcox said.

Ewing also had 10 saves for the Lakers.

"Sophie was spectacular in net," Murphy said. "She timed every ball correctly. She won it for us."

Ewing had to make a couple difficult stops.

"That's the most action I've seen all season," she said. "They're a strong team."

Ewing was helped by defender Hannah Wichern, who made a critical stop after the goalie came too far out of the net on one play.

"She (Wichern) did a great job," Ewing said. "She was there to help me."

Glen Lake's allowed just five goals all season.

"That's a credit to not only our goalie, but to our defense," Murphy said.

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