MOUNT PLEASANT — Over the course of the 2023 season, the Petoskey girls’ soccer team never seemed to shake the struggle of putting the ball into the net.
It led to multiple scoreless draws and missed opportunities, which ultimately had them on the road to open the postseason.
After Thursday evening in Mount Pleasant, it also had them exiting their 2023 campaign.
In a match that played out closer to a district final than an opener, a full 80 minutes of effort came up blank for the Northmen in a 1-0 Division 2 district victory for the host Oilers.
While they took the shutout in the end, Petoskey head coach Zach Jonker couldn’t fault the energy his team brought throughout the match.
“This game was played at a district championship level in terms of intensity and skill,” said Jonker. “Both teams left it all on the field. I couldn’t have asked the girls to bring any more energy or effort. It was a wide open, entertaining match with both teams hitting multiple posts and surviving goalmouth scrambles.
“Mount Pleasant is a great team, and though it stings, we can live with not advancing, especially given our effort tonight. I think we will see Mount Pleasant cruise into regionals.”
The loss closes out a short 6-4-5 campaign for Petoskey, while Mount Pleasant moves on within the district to host Cadillac on Tuesday, May 30 in a district semifinal.
Cadillac earned a 3-2 shootout victory over Gaylord Thursday to advance.
A scoreless game at the end of the first half, Jonker saw multiple scoring opportunities come up empty for both sides, which then carried over into the second half.
“Both teams had plenty of chances to score in each half,” he said. “We had three crosses into the six-yard box that we were on the end of with only the keeper to beat and we just couldn’t steer it in. Mount Pleasant simply made one more play than we did.”
That play the Oilers made came with just four minutes left, when Grace Mease broke away on a ball over the top of the Northmen defense and finished in a one on one chance.
Along with the speedy Mease, the Northmen had to contain Oiler senior Izzy Struble, a future Northern Illinois player at the Division 1 level.
“She is really smooth player and a dynamic athlete,” said Jonker on Struble. “We did a great job of containing her and limiting her best chances to shots from distance. (Mease) is one of the fastest kids we’ve seen all year and we did a fantastic job on her as well.”
Petoskey’s Sadie Corey returned to the net after an extended time away due to injury, though with a shutout on the board most of the night, Jonker praised his backline and Corey’s work once again.
Petoskey now has to say goodbye to five seniors, which include Anna Dundon, Kate Farley, Mitzi Hoffman, Annie Jone and Hope Wegmann, the leaders of Petoskey achieving a team GPA of 3.75 this season.
“Year after year, I have the good fortune of working with incredible kids and families in our program and this year was no exception,” added Jonker. “The biggest bummer is not getting one more home game next week for our seniors. Each of them fully embraced their role this season. They are all fantastic students and teammates.”
There is some good news that comes out of Petoskey’s up and down moments of 2023, as so much youth took the field that Jonker hope many of the ties can be used as motivation for the future.
“Hopefully some good lessons for our young group and will add some fuel to the fire during the offseason,” he said. “We had seven freshmen and sophomores on the field at many key moments this season, so the future is really bright.”