Suttons Bay and Leland girls soccer teams fell to Elk Rapids and Harbor Springs during an MHSAA D4 girls soccer district semifinal Tuesday at Harbor Springs.
“Every team wants to win their last game, but only one team’s going to get to do that. (At the end) we talked about how proud we were as coaches of the effort the girls gave,” Suttons Bay coach Randy U’Ren said. “The girls worked hard all year, had a lot of fun, improved, and it was amazing to go through that process and journey with all of them ... A number of the seniors and some of the underclassmen, I’ve coached since they were little and in the club and travel teams. So just to see them go through and grow from five, six, 7-year-olds up to seniors in high school was a pleasure and joy. So I’m happy I got to do that with them.”
Suttons Bay simply loved going to practice together everyday.
“I would say that when the season started, this was a team that could both work hard and have fun. Not every team looks forward to practice like us because we all get to be together and enjoy each other.”
Elk Rapids and Harbor Springs meet in a district final Thursday at 6 p.m.
The Norse (8-5-1) end their season with third place conference finish.
The Comets end its season with a 9-7-2 record and NWC conference champions.
U’Ren, who is a coach and father of two Suttons Bay graduates, admits its tough watching his babies grow up.
“It’s really tough because of how much I loved watching, not just my girls play, but all of the girls. From a dad standpoint, watching your kids play and knowing that the high school chapter is over. That’s tough because we loved watching them,” U’ren said.
Norse knocks off Charlevoix; U’Ren breaks record Suttons Bay senior Megan U’Ren stamped her name into the record book as the all-time assist leader when she found senior Madelyn Hamilton to score a moon shot during the last few minutes of a MHSAA D4 quarterfinal district game Thursday against Charlevoix, 5-0.
“It’s amazing. We talked about it before the game, too. (Hamilton) told me to wish her luck and wish her foot luck,” U’Ren said. “It’s just the fun memories like this that we’ll remember from high school. I can’t break an assist record without my teammates, who are all such amazing scores.”
The Norsemen defended their home field while under the bloom of cherry blossoms.
Hamilton admits the ball found her right in her favorite shooting spot.
“I was just ready to whip it,” she said. “It’s super meaningful, because as seniors we grew up playing all together, all five of us, and four of us have played since we were little, on the same team, with the same coach, coaching us. So it means a lot to us.”
Both teams went back and forth to start the game.
Last week, U’Ren became the career leader in goals in Norsemen program history.
Suttons Bay junior Adrienne Schaub broke the tie with 12 minutes remaining in the half to take a 1-0 lead..
Right after the goal, a couple of Norsemen opportunities were turned away by the Charlevoix defense.
But eventually, Norsemen senior Clarice Bardenhagen found the back of the net to make it 2-0 going into halftime.
It didn’t take long for Suttons Bay sophomore Ada Wetherbee to put her mark on the game in the second half as the sophomore went around multiple Rayder defenders and scored on a rocket in the short side of the net. U’Ren made it 4-0 halfway through the final frame before Hamilton scored the fifth and final goal.
Ava Anderson, Megan Lint, Lilly Gmoser-Duhame, and U’Ren each tallied assists.
Harbor Springs (11-1-2) and Suttons Bay (8-4-1) will battle for a spot in the district final Tuesday at 5 p.m.
The Norsemen will need to keep the intensity if they hope to knock off the Rams.
“100% every second of the game, as much as we can,” Hamilton said.
Elks def. Lakers
Glen Lake fell to Elk Rapids in a girls soccer district quarterfinal last week, 6-0.
Glen Lake junior Taylor Randolph favorite moments of the season were close matches against Leland, Suttons Bay and Traverse City. St Francis thorughout the season during the turn around season for the Lakers, along with a full team to have subs.
The Lakers went from three wins in 2025 to seven wins in 2026.
“Having a full team really means a lot because being down a couple players, no matter the skill of the extras that are on there, it’s a big difference. Having extra people, makes games so much easier and it also makes it more fun because we’re more competitive in some of these,” Randolph said.
The Lakers will be returning next year with the entire team to build for even better year in 2027.
“I want to get better in the leadership role so I can continue to be a good leader for the underclassmen like I’ve had with some other girls in the past, as well as just improving my skill to be able to help the team,” Randolph said.
For another captain, junior Nora Ciolek, she’s see the growth from her team as a positive this year.
“They really kept the team energy up and it was just a really fun season with everybody,” Ciolek said. “The bus rides were definitely the most fun, just bonding with all my teammates, getting to know all of them is the best part of soccer. Not even just playing the games with them, but just hanging out hanging out with them outside of soccer as well.”
