CADILLAC — After picking up a win over Gaylord the third time around in the district semifinals, the third time wasn’t the charm for the Petoskey girls’ soccer team against Cadillac.
Playing at Cadillac in a Division 2 district championship, the Vikings earned a third win of the season over Petoskey in a 3-0 final.
It closed out Petoskey’s season, then moved Cadillac to a tough regional matchup up next.
“I thought the girl's worked their socks off and executed the game plan very well,” Petoskey coach Zach Jonker said. “It was primarily a midfield battle with both teams only winning two corners a piece.
Cadillac was No. 8 in the state in the final D2 poll and are very worthy champions. They defended their title from last year and now see No. 2 Spring Lake in regionals, who they took to OT last year before Spring Lake went on to lose in the state finals.”
Cadillac’s matchup with Spring Lake will come on Tuesday, June 7 in Cedar Springs.
The Vikings held a 2-0 lead at the half against Petoskey, then picked up the third with less than two minutes to go in the second half.
The opening score came off a throw-in, while the second came on a direct kick that ultimately resulted in an own goal and made it 2-0.
“It's tough to give up all three goals off of dead balls,” said Jonker. “We were a bit unlucky on both first half goals, but credit to Cadillac they created their good fortune by putting the ball into dangerous areas.”
Despite the score, Jonker was happy with his team’s performance, knowing the things they wanted to do were executed defensively, they just couldn’t put one in the net.
“We keyed on Abby Kovacevich, their senior center forward who led the BNC in goals and had a hat trick at our place,” said Jonker. “We did a fantastic job limiting her chances and not letting her get on the scoreboard. We had some really nice stretches of possession and build ups into the final third. We just couldn't find that last killer penetrating pass to get us in behind.
“Cadillac's backline did a great job of flooding the middle of the field with numbers. We had some nice success getting around the edges but ultimately our crossing and finishing wasn't sharp enough.”
It wraps up a 10-7-2 season overall for Petoskey, one that also came with a 3-5-2 record in the BNC. A large senior group also departs for Jonker, which includes Haley Dixon, Suzie Carpenter, Dana Cole, Alaina Anderson, Audrey Corey, Hayley Flynn, Emma Flynn and Emma Nicholson.
“I loved coaching this group of girls with (assistant coaches) Madison Schorber and John Lennon,” added Jonker. “We had a bunch of great wins and were in every game that didn't go our way right until the end. As always, our seniors led us today with their fierce competitive spirit. I never once questioned our will or desire at any point this season. They represented themselves and the program with grace and dignity all spring.”
Contact Sports Editor Drew Kochanny at dkochanny@petoskeynews.com. Follow him on Twitter, @DrewKochanny, and Instagram, @drewkochanny