Whitehall pushed West Michigan Conference runner-up Fremont for the first half of Wednesday’s district semifinal in Manistee, but the Vikings couldn’t hold off the Packers’ attack forever, and eventually they broke through to eliminate Whitehall 7-1.
After conceding the first goal of the game, Whitehall came back just a few minutes later and put in a goal itself when Kate Beda assisted Ava Garcia with a crossing pass for a goal.
“To come back within five minutes and have that ball go across and the volley put in, they thought, ‘we have a chance now,’” Whitehall coach Adam Prince said. “When you have a bunch of young kids and they see that now we can play because the ball went in the back of the net, that creates hope. That’s what we tried to preach all season, was to play 80 minutes because it can change around.”
Even after Fremont went ahead 2-1 by halftime, Prince said he felt his team had the advantage possessing the ball in the first half, and with the wind in the Vikings’ favor in the second half, the team was optimistic of its chances at an upset.
However, Fremont took command of the game after the break, led by stars Mia Clemence and Riley Chase, who each scored three goals in the game. Inexperience helped keep the Vikings from battling back into the contest.
“That’s one of the biggest things we’ve dealt with all season,” Prince said. “The heart of our team is pretty much five freshmen, two sophomores and a couple seniors. When they’ve had to deal with adversity of giving up a couple of goals, it’s hard for them to have the maturity enough to rebound. That’s on me, because I should be getting them back in the frame of the game...especially in a situation like this, at the district where it’s win or go home.”
The Vikings will return many of their top players next season, and with the athletes on hand, hopes will be high.
“Our goalie (Clare Westerlund) has played six games (in goal), the first six she’s played in her career,” Prince said. “She’s never played goalie. She’s a basketball player and she’s got athletic ability. A lot of our girls have that. Some of our girls have played competitive soccer outside of here, and I think they’re going to be pretty good.”
