North Muskegon snake bites Western Michigan Christian in chilly girls soccer season opener

LocalSportsJournal.com

There was no way North Muskegon was settling for a tie against Western Michigan Christian in its girls soccer season opener on Wednesday.

North Muskegon’s Katie Kinahan. Photo/David Reid

That cold attitude led Norse sophomore Alex Johnson to dig deep for the game-winning goal with 6.1 seconds left. That lifted the Norse to a dramatic 2-1 win over the Warriors.

“We weren’t going to let them tie, we tied them last year (in the season opener), we had to win, we can’t tie,” said Johnson. “It was so close, the defenders were within inches of hitting it away and I just had to smack in one time, it was definitely something.”

Johnson’s one-touched shot blazed into the top of net past WMC goalie Elaina Clapp.

The Norse fought off a tough WMC squad that managed to tie the score 1-1 with 3:30 left in the game.

WMC’s Nora Pollock knotted the score up on a perfectly placed shot from 20 yards out.

The goal rattled the Norse, but Johnson said her teammates were determined to get the win.

“I was just like, we have to keep fighting, we have to keep going,” said Johnson. “It feels so good, WMC is one of the teams that we are going to be competing with the whole way (this season) and hopefully meeting them in districts.”

Both teams played even soccer throughout the chilly night with temperatures in the mid 30s.

WMC goalie Elaina Clapp. Photo/David Reid

After the teams battled to a scoreless tie after one half, North Muskegon broke through with an Emmy Creed goal at the 10-minute mark.

“This is huge to start the season with a win against WMC,” said North Muskegon Coach Caleb Parnin, who led the Norse to a Division 4 state semifinal appearance in 2023. “As cool as it is to beat them, nothing was won tonight. We got a little pride, but we have to get through that team right there (in the post season).”

Both teams have been anticipating the opening matchup in the early season. The dramatic win just might be a precursor to an intense battle in districts.

Until then, Parnin knows his team has a lot of work cut out for it.

“We have a ton to clean up, but Nora (Pollock) is so good, to rip a shot like that at that point in the game” said Parnin, whose team had its first outdoor practice on Tuesday. “The resilience, though, you build it in moments like these, you step up and it was awesome. That was a great game.”

Norse goalie Emma Lamiman posted the win while Addison Reid had the assist on the game winner.

North Muskegon heads to Saugatuck on Tuesday, March 26.

WMC travels to Fruitport on Friday.