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Growing pains continue

Wildcats show improvement in loss to Petoskey

News Photo by Jonny Zawacki Alpena’s Erin Bailey (15) and Petoskey’s Emma Decker (18) battle for a loose ball during the first half of a Big North Conference girls soccer game on Tuesday at Wildcat Stadium.

It has been a challenging season for the Alpena girls soccer team, especially in Big North Conference play.

The Wildcats were in search of their first conference win on Tuesday, but suffered some tough luck in a 4-1 loss to Petoskey at Wildcat Stadium.

“It was a fun game. The girls played very well and the difference was the fact that they finished better than we did, but we had several quality chances and I though we played well, possessed the ball well and defended the ball well,” Alpena coach Tim Storch said. “I’m really pleased to see the growth in our team and I think we’re getting better each time we step onto the field. Certain girls are really stepping up their game and to look at it and say we only start one senior is encouraging for the future if we keep progressing like we are.”

The Northmen opened the scoring 12 minutes into the first half on a goal from Jordan Young. Petoskey had several chances early on, but Wildcat goaltender Maren Winter continued to keep up her stellar play in net and made some key saves early to keep Alpena in the game.

Despite several big saves, Petoskey was able to get another one by Winter as Lexie Engler found the back of the net to give Petoskey a 2-0 lead with 12:25 left in the first half and the Northmen outshot Alpena 8-3 in the first forty minutes.

The Wildcats came out of the break and put pressure on Petoskey throughout the second half and Alpena had a golden opportunity slip away 15 minutes into the half, but had a perfect pass and shoot denied.

Petoskey looked as if it put the game away with 16:37 left in the contest when Megan Hannah scored to put the Northmen up by three.

The Wildcats continued to apply pressure the rest of the way and responded with a quick goal a minute later as Mollie Girard scored Alpena’s lone goal with a free kick that went just under the crossbar.

“We talked at halftime that with any luck we could have been up at the half rather than trailing 2-0. We knew the next goal was going to be huge and unfortunately we had some chances to get that next goal, but Petoskey got the goal and we didn’t,” Storch said. “The girls could have packed it in, but they showed the fighting spirit that they had and I was able to get some substitutes in at the end, but I’m happy with how everyone is coming along and getting better every day.”

After cutting the lead back to two, Petoskey put the game away with a goal from Engler with 10:05 left in the game after the Wildcats had continued to apply pressure and doing everything they could to get back into the game.

“I think the girls are understanding tactically about defending and marking, along with what their roles are and how to play and possess the ball rather than just bang,” Storch said. “We are still a work in progress and once we continue getting better at those things we are going to be a much dangerous team for the Big North and beyond.”

Alpena falls to 6-6-1 overall on the year and is still in search of its first conference victory as the Wildcats are 0-5.

The Wildcats will look to get their first conference victory on the road Thursday when they travel to Traverse City Central.

Jonny Zawacki can be reached via email at jzawacki@thealpenanews.com or by phone at 358-5690.

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