By Greg Gielczyk
LocalSportsJournal.com

LUDINGTON — Ludington’s soccer team saw its four-game winning streak snapped on Saturday in the Car Ferry Cup at Oriole Field.

However, it was not all bad news as the Orioles remain undefeated at 5-0-1. The Orioles played to a scoreless tie with Cedar Springs before rebounding to beat Manitowoc (Wisc.) in the afternoon. Ludington defeated the Ships, 8-0.

Manitowoc had to play back-to-back games, having faced Cedar Springs after the Orioles contest, while Ludington was able to rest in between games.

Already down a few players when it came across the lake on the Badger car ferry, Manitowoc had its numbers further reduced when a couple players were injured in the Cedar Springs game.

Ludington capitalized on the situation and dominated the game from the start, taking a 7-0 halftime lead.

“We created some good scoring chances, and capitalized on them as well,” said Ludington head coach Kris Anderson. “We had gained some confidence about how well we played against Cedar Springs. “So, we kind of put those things together, and kept building on the momentum that we’re starting to create right now on the season.”

For the third straight game, Ludington had a player record a three-goal hat trick, as Parker Wendt tallied three goals to lead the Orioles rout.

Scoring single goals were Steven Stidham, Nate Wagner, Lucas Peterson, Reinhold Heinrich and Yebe Boerema.

Spencer Holmes contributed three assists. Peterson added one, as did Aiden Malburg.

Already this season, three different players have scored three-goal hat tricks in a game for the Orioles.

“It’s quite an accomplishment, and just shows how we have a lot of people that at any point in time can step up big and score for us,” Anderson said.

Ludington limited Cedar Springs to just three shots on goal, but the Orioles could manage only two themselves in a very even matchup.

Anderson said it was a battle in the midfield.

“It was who was going to create the more dangerous opportunity, and capitalize on it,” the Orioles coach said. “It just went back and forth. Each team had some good scoring opportunities, but nobody seemed to be able to capitalize. It was a good indication of the level we can play at. Cedar Springs also plays very well. It will be kind of helpful to build on moving forward.”

Ludington is now 5-0-1 and will begin competition in the West Michigan Conference on Monday when it hosts Hart at 6:45 p.m. That is the first of three games in three days for Anderson’s team.