SHELBY – Shelby’s girls soccer team couldn’t find the recipe for success Wednesday, May 14, falling to North Muskegon, the No. 2 team in the West Michigan Conference (WMC), 4-0.
The Tigers struggled mightily from the opening touch, allowing the Norsemen to keep the ball in scoring position for a majority of the night. After 13 minutes had gone by in the first half, North Muskegon found the net, following it up with another goal two minutes later.
Though Shelby tried, the Tigers couldn’t find a rhythm on offense. That has been the case for a majority of the season as they’ve scored just 24 goals through 18 games played. 15 of those goals came over the course of two games.
The loss of senior Alyse Erickson just over a week ago didn’t help. Erickson acted as a distributor in the midfield area, setting up strikers like Kylie Brown, Annabelle Stark and Kylee Hanson for scoring opportunities. Now, Brown has been forced to play more in the midfield, limiting her chances to get out and run.
Multiple times throughout the Tigers’ loss to North Muskegon, the offense found themselves one or two passes away from a clear look at the net. The Norsemen were sound on defense however, intercepting errant balls and turning them up the field.
That led to two additional goals in the second half that pushed the game out of reach.
For all the dysfunction that Shelby’s offense has experienced in 2025, the defense has kept the team in contention. That was no different against North Muskegon. Micaela Diaz, Sydney Reed and Audrey Horton did a nice job keeping the ball clear from keeper Brylee Friedman. The majority of shots that the Norsemen managed to get off, were met with gloves of Friedman on a plethora of saves.
Shelby fell to 4-12-2 overall with the loss as the Tigers stand at 1-8-1 in the WMC. Shelby will wrap up their regular season at home Monday, May 19 as they take on Montague. The Tigers will then prepare for a Tuesday, May 27 matchup with McBain Northern Christian to start the district tournament.
