Suttons Bay girls soccer is returning to the pitch during the 2026 season with a full team, talent, and the ability to compete with the area’s best.
The Norse are led by seniors Megan U’Ren, Clarice Bardenhagen, McKenzie Schaub, Kaelyn Kelenske and Madelyn Hamilton.
“It’s kind of surprising how fast, every year has gone. One day you are a freshman and sophomore, and you think you have all this time,” Suttons Bay senior Megan U’Ren said.
Suttons Bay cooperative soccer has a full 16-players this season with students from Northport and Lake Leelanau St. Mary making up a portion of the team.
The Norse dropped its first game of the season in a 4-1 loss against Hart on March 25.
After multiple cancellations over the past weeks, Suttons Bay will hit the pitch again Tuesday, April 13 against the TC Bulldogs.
The Norse finished the 2025 campaign with an 11-6 overall record and finished near the top of the Northwest Conference. Suttons Bay lost to Leland in the district semifinal and is hoping to compete for a Northwest Conference and district championship this season.
“We want to make it our best season yet. We’ve had a lot of good seasons, but we’re hoping to make this one really good. I’m excited to see what our team can do because we’ve got a lot of good girls this year, and I think that we have a good chance,” U’Ren said.
“From our first game, we have to improve on team defense, and creating chances for good scoring opportunities. I hope that we can prove that we can’t get the ball around. We can use good communication skills from the defense and the goalie.”
The Norse have been able to brave the cold for a few outside practices to get into soccer shape.
For Bardenhagen, the 2026 season is her last of a life with soccer.
“We played together since we were six years old, so it’s sad. This will be our last year to play with all these girls, we’ve played together for a super long time,” Bardenhagen said. “It’s just been really fun to grow up together.
We all used to play Leelanau Soccer Club together. We’ve created a special bond. It’s been a really great team.”
