Gull Lake knocks off No. 1 Marshall to win girls soccer district title
Marshall was considered the best in the state at the end of the season.
But Gull Lake was the better team on Friday.
Gull Lake upset No. 1-ranked Marshall, 4-2, in a Division 2 girls soccer district championship contest at Marshall High School on Friday.
Gull Lake (17-2), ranked No. 6, advances to the Division 2 regional semifinals at Harper Creek on Wednesday.
"We had the belief all season long that we are one of the best teams in the state, if not the best. We knew were weren't playing an ordinary team tonight. They were ranked No. 1 for a reason and we had to show up today and play and we did," Gull Lake coach Colton Johnson said.
Marshall came into the district final undefeated and had climbed to No. 1 in Division 2 in the final weeks of the regular season.
The loss ends the Redhawks' season much earlier than anticipated.
"Everybody is a little disappointed right now," Marshall coach Hans Morgan said. "Being ranked No. 1 is a weird thing because I never once thought we were the best team in the state. I thought we were one of the best teams in the state. But when you get in the tournament, the rankings don't really matter. It's the team that's ahead on the scoreboard at the end of the day that gets to keep going."
For a district championship contest between two top 10 teams, there was a lot of scoring early.
Marshall struck first on a corner kick by Addison Waito that found Sydney Feasel for a goal and a 1-0 lead less than eight minutes in.
Gull Lake scored exactly one minute later on a goal by Aleah Minehart to knot it at 1-1 at the 31:37 mark.
The Blue Devils then took the lead as Maggie Westra found the net with 27:51 remaining.
The back and forth continued when Marshall's Malena Johnson kicked a soft floater over the out-stretched arms of the Gull Lake keeper to make it 2-2 with 21:16 left in the half.
The Blue Devils then took the lead into halftime as a goal by Madison Bilbia made it 3-2 with 6:44 before intermission.
"We are a very good defensive team and we knew the two goals we gave away in the first half, were just that, they were gifts," Johnson said. "So we kind of took that personally at halftime, especially having three captains playing in the back.
"We wanted to come out and lock it down in the second half and keep them off the board."
Both teams turned it up on defense in the second half, with only one goal scored. But that goal was enough to put the game away as Gull Lake's Aleah Minehart put a perfect corner kick near the far post allowing Mackenzie Ford to score on a header from point-blank range for the 4-2 lead with 37:29 left in regulation.
"We talked at halftime that the next goal could decide it," Ford said. "We have been working on our set pieces and we have been working on that play and when we scored that, it gave us the momentum for the second half."
The offensive shootout ended the season for Marshall at 20-1.
"Didn't expect a six-goal game, with five goals in the first half. That was completely unexpected from these two teams," Morgan said. "Hope the crowd enjoyed it, all the scoring, but obviously we were looking for a different outcome."
Contact Bill Broderick at bbroderi@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow him on Twitter @billbroderick.
This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: Gull Lake knocks off No. 1 Marshall to win girls soccer district title
