Pirates drop regular season finale in shutout loss to Montague

By Brendan Samuels The Oceana Echo Sports Reporter

HART – The 2023 season has been a struggle for Hart’s girls soccer team and their matchup with Montague on Monday, May 22 was no different as they fell, 3-0.

The Pirates, who fell to 3-11-4 on the season with the loss, battled Montague tough for the first 40 minutes of the contest. Neither team was able to find much leverage, resulting in a scoreless first half of play.

“The first 15 minutes we had to find our feet. Monday games are never fun because you don’t have practice before,” Hart head coach Joe Gilbert said. “I’m pleased with the way the girls have come along this season.”

That changed quickly when the whistle sounded signaling the start of the second half. Just four minutes into that period, Montague found the back of the net to take the game’s first lead.

The Wildcats would strike again at the 22 minute mark when their forward lofted a beautiful shot that just missed the outstretched hand of Hart’s keeper Mya Chickering. That put Montague up 2-0 and left Hart scrambling to find a response.

While the offense was unable to do so, the Pirates’ defense gave an admirable effort. Chickering in particular made several great saves, including a full extension vertical grab that took a goal off the board.

“Defense did a great job keeping their composure and not panicking,” Gilbert said. “They looked to play out instead of launching into turnovers.

“We started to lose that in the second half as we started to lose our legs.”

Considering Chickering entered the game feeling under the weather, her performance was even more impressive.

“Mya told me she hadn’t been feeling good all weekend, but she handled it well,” Gilbert said. “She went up and handled balls in the air really well. That’s what we need from a tall keeper and we haven’t had that in who knows how long. Her height and athleticism are a huge asset.”

With just 43 seconds remaining in the game, Montague found one final goal that left them up 3-0 and effectively ended the game.

The Pirates tried to regroup on Friday, May 26 when they started the district tournament against Manistee. Unfortunately, Hart dropped that contest, 3-0, and ended their season with a 3-12-4 record.