Photos by Zach Zweigle | CatchMark
Fall was in the air Wednesday night at Whitehall’s stadium. The play of Whitehall’s boys soccer team was quite crisp, too.
The Vikings defeated visiting Oakridge, 3-0, in a West Michigan Conference matchup to improve their record to 4-7-1 overall and 2-1 in league play. The Eagles are 5-4-3 and 1-2-2, respectively.
Whitehall had to make some game-plan adjustments to account for the absence of a couple players out with concussions, but the Vikings are starting to hit their stride a bit.
“We’ve been focusing on taking the easy pass, putting the ball on feet, and being intense,” Whitehall coach Bryan Mahan said. “We’ve had it in parts, but haven’t been able to put it all together like we did tonight.”
The Vikings got off to a good start when junior Jack McDowell scored with 16 minutes remaining in the first half. Just a few minutes later, McDowell scored again off senior Kyren Bluhm’s corner kick.
In the second half, junior Jack Houtteman scored on a rocket off another Bluhm assist.
Freshman goalie Andon Palmer earned the first shutout of his high school career. Palmer made six saves and he received an ovation from his teammates during a postgame huddle when Mahan highlighted his accolade.
Whitehall returns to the field next Tuesday for a home match against Ravenna and visits North Muskegon next Thursday.
