Alpena started strong, with Lucas Thomson scoring 13 minutes into the first half to give the Wildcats an early lead.

Petoskey responded with several offensive pushes, but Alpena goalkeeper Drake Wheelock made two key saves to maintain the lead.

However, Petoskey’s Elijah Dettmer scored with four minutes left in the first half, tying the game at 1-1.

Coach Gregg Supiran reflected on the second half, saying, “Petoskey was able to score early in the second half. We preach trying to play 80 minutes with high intensity, and sometimes it takes us being down to get into that mindset.”

News Photo by Leslianne Johns Lucas Thomson celebrates with Owen Kaiser (15) after Thomson scores the first goal of the game on Tuesday night. The Wildcats only had one goal on the night in a loss against Petoskey, 2-1, ending their season.

Petoskey’s Samuel Nemec scored six minutes into the second half, bringing the score to 2-1.

Despite the Wildcats’ efforts to level the score, they were unable to find another goal.

Nemec received a yellow card with four minutes left, but the Wildcats were unable to capitalize on the opportunity.

“Teams are prepared to play at a high level in the playoffs, and Petoskey did just that,” Supiran said. “They came at us and made it difficult. We fell short tonight, but we finished third in the league this season, which is the highest in a while.”

While the loss was difficult, Supiran focused on the team’s progress throughout the season.

News Photo by Leslianne Johns Alpena’s Joseph LaCross defends the ball against Johnson Lipchil from Petoskey in Tuesday’s soccer game in Alpena. The Wildcats wrapped up their season in the district finals game.

“Like I told the kids, at this point, over half the teams in Michigan are out of the tournament too,” he said. “It’s only four teams that end up winning. The loss is tough, but we’ve grown a lot.”

Despite having previously defeated Petoskey 5-1 earlier in the season, the Wildcats were unable to replicate that success in this district match.

Supiran emphasized the importance of learning from the experience as the team looks ahead to future seasons.