Comets hang on for early-season win

Leland girls soccer held off Suttons Bay 3-2 in an early Northwest Conference match Thursday.
“We dominated the play on the field. We just didn't finish. We had some good chances in the first half and got to clean it up, but it's still early. 
We’ve barely been outside. We got a lot of rust to pick off,” Leland coach Joe Burda said. “We're doing a lot of the right stuff on the field. We're creating the chances, we're not putting them on frame. We have to tighten up the defense a little bit.”
Leland senior Addi Waskiewicz started the scoring off first before Suttons Bay senior Clarice Bardenhagen answered with a header courtesy of a cross from senior Megan U’Ren.
Leland sophomore Jaelyn DeFour found Lucy Baldwin outside of the 18-yard line, who lined up an upper-90 shot for the Comets to take a 2-1 lead.
“We've grown a deeper connection with each other throughout the season, we've been able to play with each other better throughout the first few games," Baldwin said. “Something you need to work on is our passing and putting plays together. Finishing is a big part of it.”
The Comets and Norse would trade chances throughout the rest of the half as the Comets went up 2-1 at the break.
Most of the second half was a defensive stalemate with Leland getting a majority of the chances.
Leland forward Lilly Connor would give the Comets a 3-1 lead after dodging multiple Suttons Bay defenders to take a commanding 3-1 lead with less than 15 minutes remaining in the game.
U’Ren once again found her senior teammate, Madelyn Hamilton, to cut Leland’s lead to 3-2 with under five minutes remaining.
After a rocky start to the season, the Comets (2-3) won their first game in the Northwest Conference.
The Comets have earned early wins over Hart and the Norsemen while falling to North Muskegon and Big Rapids to start the season.
Suttons Bay earned a 7-0 win over Traverse City Home School Monday, after losing to Hart 4-1 to start the season.
Both teams competed all night long during the first conference game of the season.
“I love the effort. The girls went until they couldn't run anymore. The effort there, and I couldn't ask for more on that,” Suttons Bay coach Randy U’Ren said. “To be able to keep one of the best teams in the region close and then have a chance to maybe even get a tie at the end. We persevered and hung in there with them.”
The Norse traveled to Kingsley Friday before hitting the road again Wednesday to Glen Lake.
Leland travels to Kalkaska Saturday before turning around and taking on Traverse City St. Francis Monday.