LocalSportsJournal.com
The Shelby Tigers are district soccer champions for the first time in 15 years,
The Tigers broke their long title drought with an exciting 2-0 victory over Big Rapids on Thursday in a Division 3 district championship game at Kingsley High School.
Shelby led 1-0 at halftime after the Big Rapids goalkeeper inadvertently put the ball in his own net. Riley Garcia capped the scoring in the second half with a goal off a corner kick.
Shelby goalkeeper Bishop Lee was outstanding in net, stopping seven shots, including two that came on 1-on-1 situations against a Big Rapids attacker.
“All of them were excited about making history in our soccer program by winning a district title again after 15 years,” said Shelby Coach Jairo Coronado. “Most of the players were babies at that time.
“By the second half we were up by one, and I talked to the players about how we had 40 more minutes to make the history we had been talking about. I asked them to give their best 40 minutes of the season.”
The Tigers, 7-3-2 on the season, now advance to the Division 3 regional tournament at Clare. They will play Tuesday night against a still undetermined opponent.
