Shelby girls soccer team drops tough district final to McBain Northern Michigan Christian

Shelby’s girls soccer team stood toe-to-toe with McBain Northern Michigan Christian in a Division 4 district final Thursday at Brethren.

Shots on goal were tough to come by in the tough matchup. Northern Michigan Christian managed to convert a couple more.

Jada VanNoord scored two goals to lead Northern Michigan Christian to a 3-1 victory over Shelby.

Shelby ends its season with an 11-10-1 overall record. Northern Michigan Christian (15-3-0) advances to next Wednesday’s 5 p.m. regional semifinal against North Muskegon (15-3-1) at Big Rapids High School.

“Overall, I was pleased with our effort and we gave it everything we had. We just came up short offensively today,” said Shelby coach Pete Peterson, whose squad was riding a four-game winning streak entering Thursday’s match.

Shots on goal finished at five for each team.

VanNoord got Northern Michigan Christian on the board early in the contest. She scored five minutes into the game, then tallied again seven minutes later as the Comets enjoyed a 2-0 halftime lead.

Just before the midway point of the second half, Shelby made things really interesting. Alyse Erickson scored on an assist by Aubrey Klotz, pulling the Tigers within a goal 18 minutes into the half.

Northern Michigan Christian answered with 15 minutes remaining on a free-kick goal by Joana Folgas from 40 yards out.