Local Sports Journal
The Western Michigan Christian boys soccer team had an eventful day in Kalamazoo at the Hackett Tournament Saturday, winning two of three games, all of which went to overtime shootouts.
The Warriors started the day with Allegan. The two teams battled to a 1-1 tie after regulation. Eli Vandervelde was the lone goal scorer during regulation for WMC. In the shootout, the Warriors’ Matt Vanderploeg, Will Deur, Dylan Mines, and Eric Bourdo connected and goalkeeper Michael Merz made a save to secure the 2-1 victory.
In game two, Ann Arbor Richard Gabriel Catholic battled the Warriors to a 1-1 regulation tie. John Larson was the goal scorer for WMC. During the shootout, Vanderploeg, Deur, Ben Mast, Mines and Bourdo scored for the Warriors, but all five Gabriel shooters also scored. Vandervelde scored as the sixth WMC shooter and goalkeeper Merz made the save on the next shot, leading to a 2-1 victory.
In the final contest, WMC battled Grosse Isle to a 0-0 regulation tie, leading to the third shootout of the day for the Warriors. The Warriors luck ran out, however, losing 3-1 in penalty kicks and 1-0 in the final score. Mast scored the lone shootout goal for WMC.
