Leland, Suttons Bay to meet on first night of Play.

All eyes will be on the much-anticipated rematch Monday of Leland and Suttons Bay on the first day of the Division IV District soccer tournament.

Glen Lake coach Mike Hesselbeck is hoping his squad has already put defending champion Traverse City Christian out of the race by then.

NORTHPORT GOALIE JASON TROPF keeps his
eye on the ball as Wildcat defender Christopher
Hammersley moves into support during Leland’s
2-1 win over Northport Monday afternoon.

The Lakers, who beat Christian 5-1 on Sept. 20, had better not look too far ahead, said Hesselbeck. Christian recently dominated Buckley, and picked apart Northport last Thursday, 7-1.

“That’s a scary team. They’ve got some good players,” said Hesselbeck.

Glen Lake is was 10-8 overall and 3-4 in the Northwest Conference heading into a contest last night at Suttons Bay. The Norsemen and Leland were both 5-2 in the Northwest, and appeared headed for co-championships with one game remaining for each.

Host Suttons Bay and Leland will meet at 7 p.m. Monday following the Christian-Glen Lake matchup, which will start at 5 p.m. Leelanau School will play the Christian/Glen Lake winner at 5 p.m. next Wednesday, Oct. 17, followed by Northport against the Suttons Bay/Leland winner at 7 p.m.

The title game is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 20, at 7 p.m.

County soccer teams have been wrapping up their regular seasons:

• Leland slipped by Buckley 2-1 last Wednesday after falling behind 1-0. Drew Gauthier’s header on a cross from Chris Burda tied the game; Eric Larsen scored the winner.

“Our guys came back pretty quickly after they scored,” said coach Ryan DeFour. “When they got one early, our guys didn’t panic.

Leland finished with three wins in the last week of play, including a 6-0 thumping Saturday of Cadillac Heritage Christian. Brian Zaryczy scored twice, with Larsen, Dustin Maleski, Burda and Alex Gulow also contributing goals. The Comets dominated, outshooting the visitors 33-3.

The Northport contest Monday was a different story, but with the same ending as the Comets held on for a 2-1 win. “Northport did a very good job — they played hard. it was a very close game, and their goalie (Jason Tropf) was exceptional,” said DeFour.

Leland took a 2-0 lead at halftime as Larsen scored with an assist by Gauthier, then Gauthier scored with help from Larsen. Junior stopper Nick Brown also looked strong.
Ryan Blessing brought the Wildcats back within one, and his teammates clamped down. “We played really, really hard,” said Northport coach Marshall Collins. “The kids came out reach to play soccer, so even through we lost to Leland I was proud of my team.”

Leland will host Bellaire Friday.

• Last week Northport also fell to Christian, 7-1, with Jessie Brusette providing the lone Wildcat goal, but beat Leelanau School 3-1.

Leelanau’s Thomas Frain scored first. But Pohai Muller with an assist Jason Holland tied the score. Quinton Buss scored unassisted for the lad, and Bressette with an assist from Ryan Blessing added an insurance score. Northport is 7-9-1 overall, and will host Glen Lake Friday.

• Suttons Bay quickly righted its ship after dropping three matches, winning thee times in the last week to improve to 15-5-1 overall.

The Norsemen easily dispatched Benzie Central last Wednesday, 5-0, with Shane MacDonald accounting for three goals and an assist. Also scoring were Jason McKisson and Ryan Gardner on a penalty kick as the Norsemen outshot Benzie 27-12.

Blaine Fritz scored twice and Cody Shumway tallied for a 3-1 win Saturday over Harbor Springs.

“They scored first, but we had been controlling play, and that woke up our players,” said Suttons Bay coach Randy U’Ren. The Norsemen outshot the visitors 19-11.

Suttons Bay took a 2-goal lead by halftime en route to a 3-0 drubbing of Christian Monday. Fritz scored first and last for Suttons Bay, with McKisson contributing a goal. Garner and MacDonald provided assists.

Suttons Bay outshot Christian 23-8, as goalie Jared Orban recorded his second shut since being placed in a starting role. “As a freshman to come in, that’s tough. But he’s so athletic, and being a pitcher in baseball has helped,” said U’Ren.

He credited the entire Norsemen defense including Shumway, Jesus Olivo, Lennart Folchert, Danny Holmes, Taylor Hoenshied and Reid Klintworth.

• Glen Lake knocked off McBain Northern Christian last week, 1-0, with Nate Sharpe’s goal the difference. Zach Hawkins assisted.

Keeper Ryan Black had 10 saves, and was backed on defense by Aaron King, Ryder Lewis, John Lee and Dustin Baker, according to Hesselbeck.