By Greg Gielczyk
LocalSportsJournal.com
MANISTEE — Jacob Scharp helped the Manistee boys’ soccer team end its winless streak at two games with a pair of goals in the Mariners’ impressive 4-2 non-conference win over Cadillac on Tuesday night.
Playing on their home pitch, the Mariners quickly gained a 2-0 advantage, and after the Vikings tied the game, went on to score the game’s final two goals.
It was a solid win for the Mariners said Coach Brandon Prince.
“They’re a good team,” Prince said of the Vikings. “They are a young team. He (Cadillac coach Paul King) has something going here in the next year or the year after. He’s got good players, and he’s got a great system. I think they found spacing well and played into it well. But, we kind of anticipated it, so we knew when to sit in and take our chances and pressure.”
The Mariners created plenty of scoring opportunities in the first half, but Prince was a little frustrated they didn’t cash in on more of them and only led 2-1 at the break.
After the Vikings pulled even with the Mariners beginning the second half, Manistee scored twice more and recovered some lost confidence.
Manistee had struggled in its previous two games, battling to salvage a 3-3 tie against Ravenna and 1-1 versus North Muskegon in the West Michigan Conference.
“The key part is finishing with some nice goals,” added Prince. “That was good to see. We knew, even after those two ties, opportunities were there, we just had to capitalize on those moments. Tonight, they did. I’m proud of the guys tonight.
“We got some shots from different areas tonight, and our center backs had some shots, so we’re definitely bringing that attack as a group like we’re supposed to,” Prince added. “It’ll be exciting when the day comes that they grasp the whole idea of everybody kind of firing on all cylinders. We’re going to keep that our M.O.”
Scharp, who earlier this season recorded a hat trick and also had a two-goal game, led the Mariners with two goals and also contributed an assist.
The Mariners also got single goals from Mason Robinson and Jack O’Donnell, while Will Somsel came through with an assist as the Mariners showed a balanced attack.
Manistee has hung its hat on defense the last couple of years, and that continued Tuesday. Goalie Grayson Prince finished with seven saves.
Next up for the Mariners (4-0-2, 1-0-2) is a road trip to Shelby on Wednesday.
