Nouvel Catholic and Valley Lutheran both won first-round district soccer games, setting up a third match between the Division 4 rivals. Nouvel won 7-1 against Montrose and Valley Lutheran won 4-0 against Laker High. Nouvel’s Lydia Jacobs scored five goals, taking her season total to 35, and Emilee Rosenberg scored twice, taking her total to 30. The teams will meet in a Division 4 district semifinal on Tuesday. In other Saginaw-area soccer playoff games, Heritage lost to Traverse City Central, Midland Dow beat Traverse City West, and Mount Pleasant shut out Petoskey. In baseball, Freeland swept Shepherd and Sanford Meridian claimed two non-conference wins against Coleman.
Nouvel Catholic and Valley Lutheran both secured first-round district soccer wins, setting up a highly anticipated rematch between the two Division 4 powerhouses.
In their first-round games on Thursday, Nouvel easily defeated Montrose 7-1, while Valley Lutheran shut out Laker High 4-0. The two teams will now face off in a Division 4 district semifinal on Tuesday at Valley Lutheran at 5 p.m.
Nouvel’s Lydia Jacobs scored an impressive five goals in their win over Montrose, bringing her total to 35 goals in just 17 games for the 12-4-1 Panthers. Emilee Rosenberg also contributed two goals, bringing her season total to 30.
Valley Lutheran, now 12-2-3, had a strong showing against Laker High to secure their spot in the semifinals.
During the regular season, Nouvel and Valley Lutheran faced off twice, with Nouvel winning the first match 3-1 and the second resulting in a 1-1 tie.
In other Saginaw-area soccer playoff games, Traverse City Central defeated Heritage 2-1, Midland Dow topped Traverse City West 2-1 in Division 1, and Mount Pleasant shut out Petoskey 1-0 in Division 2. In Division 3, Unionville-Sebewaing edged Birch Run 2-1, Caro knocked off Marlette 6-2, Bullock Creek claimed a 2-1 win over Gladwin, and Alma blanked Clare 1-0 to move on, but Shepherd was eliminated 7-0 by Big Rapids.
In baseball news, Freeland swept Shepherd in a non-conference doubleheader with scores of 4-1 and 10-0. Luke McLaren won the first game, allowing only one run and four hits while striking out eight in seven innings. Jacob Kowalski led the offense with two hits. Ryan Quackenbush threw five shutout innings for the Game 2 win, and Colin Dee and Mason Fleming had two hits each to lead the 23-10-1 Falcons. Sanford Meridian also claimed two non-conference wins, topping Coleman 17-3 and 14-3. Eli Olmstead threw a two-hitter in the first game, striking out four, while Ethan Wetzel led the offense with four hits and three RBIs. Robbie Edwards earned the win in the second game, allowing only two hits in five innings, while Reece Teer led the offense with three hits and three runs for the 19-14 Mustangs.
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