MCBAIN – For the second straight year, Shelby’s girls soccer team will be in contention for a D4 district title after a 2-0 defeat of McBain Northern Michigan Christian (NMC) Tuesday, May 27.
The Tigers are back at full strength with senior Alyse Erickson officially back from an injury that left her in a sling to finish Shelby’s regular season. Erickson played a pivotal role for the Tigers in their district semifinals win over the Comets, scoring both of her team’s goals.
Erickson got the Tigers on the board as time wound down in the first half. After neither team was able to score, Shelby caught a break when a handball was called on an NMC defender in the box. That set up a penalty kick opportunity for Erickson that ended with a 1-0 lead for the Tigers heading into halftime.
Shelby weathered the storm in the second half, keeping the Comets off the board completely. With 13 minutes left in the game, it was Erickson that put the final punctuation on the day. With an assist from Kylie Brown, Erickson grabbed her second goal of the day to advance Shelby to the district finals.
The Tigers finished the day with a lopsided number of shots on goal, outpacing NMC 14-5 in that category.
“(It was an) overall solid game defensively and through the midfield,” Shelby Head Coach Pete Peterson said. “We need to do a better job converting our scoring chances if we hope to move further in the playoffs.”
Shelby moved to 5-13-2 overall with the win and will turn its attention to a district finals matchup with Lakeview. The Tigers battled with Lakeview in early April, coming away with a 3-1 loss.
