Girl’s Soccer: Pair of penalty kicks leads Chemics past Western

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On Tuesday it took only one penalty kick for the Midland High girls’ soccer team to advance in district play.

Thursday, it took two.

That’s when a pair of free kicks led the Chemics past Bay City Western 3-1 and set up a matchup with Traverse City Central Saturday in Traverse City for the district championship.

That outcome was in question early, though, as the Warriors managed to strike first. Freshman forward Stephanie Topping notched Western’s only goal of the game at the 29:31 in the first half to give her team the 1-0 lead.

After that, the Chemics took over.

At the 19:19 mark in the first half, junior midfielder Gabrielle Mott caught the Warriors’ defense playing too high and ended up one-on-one with senior goalkeeper Devon Martin. After a collision, Martin came away with the save.

Moments later after the Warriors’ turned the ball over in their own end, Martin was forced to make another colliding save, this time on Chemics’ senior midfielder Britney Hansen. This time, however, a penalty kick was awarded and Hansen made it count to even the score 1-1.

Early in the second half the Chemics struck again on a penalty kick when junior defenseman Rebekah Dornbos was given a penalty kick after a handball in the box was called on the Warriors. Dornbos scored Midland’s only goal on a penalty kick Tuesday against Dow High and she would cash in on this one, too, to put Midland in front for good.

Sophomore midfielder Taylor Wallin added an insurance goal at 24:54, when she took control of a corner kick and deflected the ball off the far goal post.

Despite his team’s convincing victory, Midland High head coach Dick Campbell said his team’s normally aggressive play seemed absent.

“We seemed to pass the ball more to gold than to blue,” he said, referring to a high number of turnovers by the Chemics. “We were just off our game. Part of it was Western and part of it was our side. Give them credit for a hard played game.”

Campbell also said injuries sustained in Tuesday’s game against Dow may have played a role, but also said that’s just part of the game.

“We’ve got a couple of injuries and we’re paying a little bit of a price for that,” Campbell said. “We’ve got another day of rest [before Saturday]. But you’ve got to expect injuries, and just play through it.”

When asked about any adjustments his team might make for the district final, Campbell said the only changes the Chemics need to make are mental.

“We’ll be ready to play Saturday. It’ll be a totally different game,” Campbell said. “If we don’t show up ready to play, it’s hard to get in that groove. Then you get a little frustrated because you’re not getting calls, making runs, getting to the ball, all the little things. For us, it’s just about being ready to play.”

For more photos from Thursday’s game, click on “Photo slideshow” in the top right corner of this article. Reprints are also available for purchase by clicking “Buy photo reprints.”

Saturday’s game will be played at Coast Guard Field. Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m.

Photos by Cory Butzin