By Brendan Samuels
LocalSportsJournal.com

MONTAGUE – Wednesday night belonged to the Wildcats as Montague soccer defeated Shelby 3-1 in the opening round of the district tournament.

A hotly contested first half saw the Tigers take control early. Seven minutes in, Ignacio Ortiz turned a pretty cross pass from Alan Arreola into a 1-0 lead for the Tigers.

Nearly 16 minutes later, Montague responded with a goal of their own. Carlos Meza found himself with a tight window, but somehow was able to fit the ball into the back of the net to knot things up.

“We scored first and we played some of the best 15-20 minutes out there,” Shelby coach Jairo Coronado said. “Then we kind of relaxed and one of our main guys in the middle, Isais Cortina, got injured and we lost him for a few minutes there. That cost us a goal.”

Both teams battled out the remaining 15 minutes of the first half with neither able to break the tie. The first half expired at a stalemate, 1-1.

The second half started fast for Montague. Nearly 5 minutes in, Trevor Trevino drove up the left side of Shelby’s net, before sending a cross shot that buried in the right corner of the net.

Up 2-1, Montague put their foot on the gas. With 16 minutes left in the game, Lucas Husband was awarded a penalty kick from outside Shelby’s box. Husband sent a lofted shot at Tigers keeper Ismael Valdez and watched Valdez nearly secure the save before the ball bounced off his hands over the line.

Shelby struggled to find an answer despite getting multiple looks at the net from Ortiz and Arreola. Time expired on the Tigers’ 2023 season, spelling the end for a talented group of seniors.

“At the end of the day, we’re humans first and then players,” Coronado said. “I’ve been following most of these seniors since sixth or seventh grade. They’ve improved a lot. Today we tried to play more as a team and they did phenomenal.”

Shelby finishes their season with an 8-9-1 overall record.

Montague (10-8-1), on the other hand, will advance to the district semifinals where they’ll face Fremont (18-1-1) next Wednesday at Whitehall High School. The Packers are fresh off a 3-0 win over Hart.

Photos by Brendan Samuels