Boys soccer district roundup: Mt. Pleasant survives overtime scare, Ithaca cruises to victory

Boys high school soccer district play opened Wednesday night , bringing a mix of dramatic wins, dominant performances and season-ending losses.

Mt. Pleasant survived an overtime battle to advance, while Ithaca rolled to a shutout victory. Clare, Chippewa Hills and Shepherd saw their seasons come to an end in the opening round.

Mt. Pleasant needed extra time to survive its district opener, pulling away late for a 4-2 overtime victory over Bay City John Glenn.

The Oilers struck first late in the opening half after drawing a penalty in the box. Luke Wirsing converted from the spot, sending his attempt into the left side of the net to give Mt. Pleasant a 1-0 lead.

Mt. Pleasant doubled its advantage in the second half when Cameron Werth finished a chance after the John Glenn goalkeeper initially knocked the ball down but was unable to keep it out of the net.

The Bobcats responded minutes later. With the Mt. Pleasant goalkeeper off his line, Landen Beson-Montoya worked himself free and finished into an open net to cut the deficit to 2-1.

John Glenn then drew level with less than 20 minutes remaining after earning a penalty kick of its own. Justin Wingeier converted from the spot to tie the match at 2-2 and eventually send it to overtime.

Neither side found a goal during the first 10-minute overtime period, but Mt. Pleasant finally broke through in the second extra session.

Werth stayed with the play after an Oiler attacker was pulled down and scored his second goal of the night to put Mt. Pleasant back in front.

Marcus Black then provided the insurance goal with less than three minutes remaining, sealing the Oilers’ 4-2 victory and a spot in the district semifinals.

The Oilers face Bay City Western in the district semifinals.

Ithaca opened district play with a dominant performance, shutting out Perry 6-0 to advance to the district semifinals.

Jaren Paradise and Blake Hardman scored in the opening half to give the Yellowjackets a 2-0 advantage at the break before Ithaca pulled away over the final 40 minutes.

Preston Montgomery, Rayland Perez, Hardman and Paradise each added second-half goals. Wylie Martyn finished with three assists, including two off corner kicks.

Ithaca was just as strong defensively, with Montgomery, Lucas Little, Evan Wood and Beckett Foglesong helping keep Perry off the scoreboard. Griffin Marcy made seven saves in goal to secure the shutout.

The Yellowjackets advance to face Lansing Christian on Tuesday, Oct. 20 at 6 p.m.

Clare’s season came to an end in a tightly contested district opener against Standish-Sterling.

The Pioneers struck first just six minutes into the match when Tyler Thompson redirected a ball into the box to Sergio Jaimes, who finished the chance to give Clare an early 1-0 lead.

Standish-Sterling answered with three straight goals before halftime, sending Clare into the break trailing 3-1.

The Pioneers responded quickly in the second half. A handball in the box gave Clare a penalty kick six minutes after the restart, and Jaimes converted for his second goal of the match to cut the deficit to one.

From there, Clare’s defense kept the Panthers off the board and gave the Pioneers a chance to push for the equalizer. Colin McCaslin came up with one of the biggest defensive plays of the night, using a reverse bicycle kick to prevent a goal into an open net.

Senior captain Kolten Pung helped drive the attack late as Clare created several dangerous chances in the final minutes, but the Pioneers were unable to find the tying goal.

Clare finishes the season at 8-6-4.

Chippewa Hills’ return season came to an end with a 5-1 loss to Grant.

The Warriors finished their first season back on the pitch in nearly five years with a 3-10 record, gaining valuable experience throughout the year as the program continued its rebuild.

Shepherd’s season came to an end against unbeaten Hemlock, which advanced with a 9-1 victory.

Hemlock was firing out the gate, as they scored six goals in the opening half, holding a 6-1 lead at the break.

Shepherd finishes the season at 2-16.