Shelby girls soccer off to fast start in district tournament

By Brendan Samuels

The Oceana Echo Sports Reporter

SHELBY – It’s been a dream start to postseason play for the Shelby girls soccer team as they shot out of the gates with wins over Lakeview (4-1) and Buckley (4-2) in the first rounds of the district tournament.

The Tigers’ journey started Wednesday, May 24 when they hosted Lakeview in the district quarterfinals. Lakeview finished their regular season at 8-8-1, but that mark meant nothing when they were tasked with dealing with the speed of Kendall Zaverl.

It took nearly the entirety of the first half to find the back of the net, but Zaverl managed to notch her first goal with 4:37 remaining before the break. Zaverl ripped a hard shot toward the net and saw it bound over the keeper's head thanks to a helpful bounce off the leg of a defender.

Overbearing power on their shots and speed that kills proved to be the difference for the Tigers and led to more than one of their goals in the 4-1 victory. Zaverl notched her lone goal with speed first and then used her power to punch it in. America Cruz confused the defense on multiple occasions with strikes off her left foot.

“America is really good and she’s left footed, which is another problem because you don’t expect the ball to come from that side,” Shelby head coach Pete Peterson said. “You’re thinking she’s going to drive it to your right and you’ve got a second to gather up. Then she turns and hits it with her left and that thing curves.”

Cruz was responsible for a late goal that displayed that curve exceptionally. Loading up with a free kick from just outside the opponent’s box, Cruz sailed a shot that hooked downward in an instant, leaving the keeper grasping at air. That shot put a nail in the coffin and allowed Shelby to coast to a semifinals appearance with Buckley, a game that was played on Tuesday, May 30.

Zaverl took over in that semifinals matchup, recording a hat trick as the Tigers added onto their win streak, pushing it to four.

With only five minutes having come off the board, Zaverl found the back of the net to put Shelby up 1-0. Then, in the final 10 minutes of the first half, Zaverl put a penalty kick through and combined with Alyse Erickson to move her team’s advantage to 3-0.

A response from Buckley had the Tigers holding on to a 3-1 lead when Kylie Brown notched her second goal of the tournament thanks to an assist from Zaverl.

Buckley would score one more time near the waning moments, leaving

Shelby one win richer and booking them a spot in the district final with McBain Northern Christian.

After the Tigers initial win over Lakeview, Peterson shared his thoughts on what his team could face if they made it past Buckley.

“McBain Northern Christian are number two in their league up there,” Peterson said. “They play Charlevoix who’s apparently better than them because Charlevoix has beaten them twice. Everyone else is below them and looking at the records, they’re the top two teams there for sure.”

Shelby is set to take on McBain Northern Christian Thursday, June 1. The results from that contest were not yet available at press time.