By Greg Gielczyk
LocalSportsJournal.com

LUDINGTON — Manistee won the first half, and Ludington the second.

But neither won the West Michigan Conference girls soccer game Wednesday, which ended in a 1-1 draw at Oriole Field.

The Chippewas might have had a slight edge over the Orioles in the first half, and it led to a goal just four minutes in on a rebound shot.

Emily Raebler launched a low shot and Ludington keeper Grace Ashley, who finished with four saves on five shots, made the initial save. But fortunately for Manistee, the rebound came out and was controlled by Reese Supercynski-Shively, who was following the shot and knocked it into the net.

“I felt like in the first half we came out, possessed well in the midfield,” said Manistee coach Kathy Smith. “We were finding players and making good runs off the ball. We knew they (the Orioles) were going to come out with pressure, and they did. I thought our defensive line did an amazing job of pressing and covering, trying to work the angles to prevent through balls.”

Ludington held the Chippewas without a shot on goal in the second half and turned the momentum completely around to dominate possession.

Local Sports Journal photo/Joe Washington

“We played with more energy and got better control of the ball first of all,” Ludington coach Kris Anderson said. “Then also we were winning more 50-50 balls in the second half. That was one thing we talked about. You can control your effort and how hard you play, and that definitely changed in the second half. But, we never capitalized on enough opportunities to quite pull out the win. That has to change.”

Maddy Billings put the ball in the back of the net with 10 minutes gone in the second half for the equalizer, with Ashley Stowe on the assist.

Cambria Britton was in goal for the Orioles in the second half, but she did not face any shots with the Chippewas seldom penetrating beyond midfield.

Ludington (3-6-1 overall, 3-1 WMC) travels to Fruitport for a non-conference game at 11:45 a.m. Saturday.

Manistee (5-1-1 overall, 2-1-1 WMC) has another conference game scheduled Monday against Hart at home.

Photos by LSJ photographer Joe Washington