<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3FDLR8_0tJAbwSK00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3FDLR8_0tJAbwSK00" width="1280" height="853" ><figcaption>North Muskegon senior Kenndi Koekkoek (1) high fives North Muskegon sophomore Emmy Creed (2) as she comes onto the field before the game against Spring Lake at North Muskegon High School in North Muskegon, Mich. on Friday, April 12, 2024. Spring Lake won, 0-4. Becky Particka | MLive.com</figcaption></figure>MUSKEGON, MI – The opening round of the postseason saw plenty of noteworthy efforts from Muskegon-area girls soccer teams from hat-trick performances to down-to-the-wire finishes.Mona Shores, Grand Haven, Whitehall, Oakridge and North Muskegon battled their way into next week’s district semifinals, while Reeths-Puffer, Fruitport, Kent City, Orchard View, Newaygo, Muskegon Catholic Central, Ravenna and Grant saw their seasons come to a close.Below is a look at how each match played out Wednesday and what’s next for all the Muskegon-area girls soccer teams.---DIVISION 1 ---<h2>District 2 at Jenison</h2>OPENING ROUND (May 22)Mona Shores 1, Reeths-Puffer 0The Sailors and Rockets battled for nearly 80 minutes of scoreless action Wednesday before Mona Shores senior standout Shay Norden netted the game-winning goal with 3:43 left to play in regulation off an assist from Ava Freye to help lift the OK Green Conference championship past their rivals and into the district semifinals.Jersey VanderWall made two saves as she registered her 11th shutout of the season in net for Mona Shores.“Ton of credit to the Reeths-Puffer team tonight,” said Mona Shores head coach Dylan Darga. “They were well-coached and had a great gameplan for us tonight. They do a good job of not letting us get into our flow. They are dangerous in the air and set pieces.“I will give our girls a ton of credit tonight because they found a way. It wasn’t pretty at all but it doesn’t always have to be. Everyone from players who didn’t get in to players who logged 80 minutes tonight helped get that win. It is not easy to do what these girls have done this season. We found a way and sometimes that is the only thing that matters. We earned the right to play Rockford next Wednesday and our girls are excited about that.”Mona Shores improves to 16-2-2 on the season, while Reeths-Puffer closes out the season with a 7-11-2 record.---Grand Haven 3, Jenison 2The Buccaneers used a hat-trick performance from sophomore Kendall Gillis to secure a narrow win over the Wildcats on Wednesday and advance to next week’s district semifinals.Jenison got on the board in the first five minutes of the game but Gillis quickly answered with her first goal of the match off an assist from Mya White to knot things up at 1-1. Gillis continued to fire on all cylinders as she helped extend her team’s lead to 3-1, with Gillian Sorrelle assisting on the hat-trick goal.Jenison pulled within one goal in the second half but the Buccaneers fended off the Wildcats down the stretch to secure the district-opening victory.“I think we dominated possession, created a number of chances to score but gave away two long-distance goals,” said Grand Haven head coach Adam Dean. “The game got scrappy towards the end with both teams giving away free kicks, but we saw the game out.”---Forest Hills Northern 2, Grand Rapids Union 1---SEMIFINALS (May 29)Mona Shores vs. Rockford, 5 p.m.Grand Haven vs. Forest Hills Northern, 7 p.m.FINALS (May 31)Semifinal winners, 6 p.m.*Winner advances to Regional 1 at Hudsonville on June 4---DIVISION 2---<h2>District 18 at Mount Pleasant</h2>OPENING ROUNDMidland 8, Big Rapids 0Mount Pleasant 4, Bay City Central 0MAY 23Ludington (6-7-4) at Bay City Western (14-4-2), 5 p.m.Cadillac (8-9-3) at Bay City John Glenn (8-11-1), 5:30 p.m.SEMIFINALSMidland vs. Mount Pleasant, TBALudington/Bay City Western vs. Cadillac/Bay City John Glenn, TBAFINALSSemifinal winners, TBA*Winner advances to Regional 5 at Cedar Springs on June 4---<h2>District 19 at Spring Lake</h2>OPENING ROUNDAllendale 4, Fruitport 3The Trojans fell behind 1-0 early in the contest but responded with a goal from Jorja Blackmer followed by a successful penalty kick attempt by Mallory Smith to give Fruitport a 2-1 lead. Lauren Riedel added another goal for the Trojans late in the first half to give Fruitport a 3-1 lead at halftime.The second half was all Allendale, however, as the Falcons stormed back to score three unanswered goals to secure a 4-3 comeback win and advance to next week’s district semifinals.“Despite giving up the first goal, our girls gutted out three first-half goals,” said Fruitport head coach Kyle Hall. “Give credit to Allendale, who was able to fight through and come up with three second-half goals. When it comes to a competition, that is what you want to see – two teams leaving it all on the field for a complete 80 minutes.“Credit goes out to nine Fruitport seniors who have left their mark on the program and the game.”MAY 23GR Kenowa Hills (5-12-2) at Coopersville (10-5-2), 6 p.m.MAY 24Muskegon (0-16-1) at Sparta (5-7-1), 5:30 p.m.SEMIFINALS (May 28)Coopersville/Kenowa Hills vs. Allendale, 5 p.m.Sparta/Muskegon at Spring Lake, 7 p.m.FINALS (May 31)Semifinal winners, 6 p.m.*Winner advances to Regional 5 at Cedar Springs on June 4---DIVISION 3---<h2>District 35 at Reed City</h2>OPENING ROUND (May 22)Shepherd 6, Chippewa Hills 0Clare 3, Reed City 2Alma 3, Newaygo 0SEMIFINALS (May 29)Shepherd vs. Howard City Tri-County (15-6), 5 p.m.Clare vs. Alma, 7 p.m.FINALS (May 31)Semifinal winners, 6 p.m.*Winner advances to Regional 9 at Clare on June 4---<h2>District 36 at Manistee</h2>OPENING ROUNDWhitehall 1, Grant 0The Vikings used a goal from Abbie Berman off an assist from Alisha Jamison and a shutout effort from Clare Westerlund in net to fend off the Tigers on Wednesday and advance to the district semifinals.Whitehall improves to 7-7-1, while Grant finishes the season 5-10-1.“We had season-ending injuries to some of our starters early on but thankfully, this group was very coachable and we saw some improvement throughout the season,” said Grant head coach Daisy Gomez-DeLeon. “Bella Welch was a key player in every game. Her work-rate is unmatched. Nolana Davis is so versatile that she was our utility player. Nolana, had goals as a forward and many many recoveries as our center back. Lily Krepps was also instrumental in creating plays alongside Bella.“Overall, we had a good group of athletes that were coachable and had the ability to be competitive. Even with all the injuries, our team gave Whitehall a match. They had many experienced seniors and most of my players were new with some exceptions for the district match. Whitehall played physical and confident but our girls played with new knowledge of the game and it showed as Whitehall barely put one on the board. It says a lot about the Lady Tigers.”MAY 24Manistee (4-10-1) vs. Hart (11-8), 6 p.m.SEMIFINALS (May 29)Whitehall vs. Fremont, 5 p.m.Manistee/Hart vs. Montague, 7 p.m.FINALS (May 31)Semifinal winners, 7 p.m.*Winner advances to Regional 9 at Clare on June 4---<h2>District 37 at Oakridge</h2>OPENING ROUND (May 22)Oakridge 4, Orchard View 0The Eagles used balanced scoring and a strong defensive effort to shutout the Cardinals in the opening round of the district tournament on Wednesday.Amaya Anderson, Lilly Bowen and Destiny Bowen each tallied one goal and one assist for Oakridge on the attack, while Brianna Schaallema had one goal and Kyle Lacy added one assist.Alayna Weiss secured the shutout in net with two saves.Oakridge improved to 8-8-3, while Orchard View finished the season at 4-12-1.---GR West Catholic 8, Kent City 0The Eagles fell behind early and couldn’t recover during their matchup with Grand Rapids West Catholic on Wednesday, as the Falcons built an insurmountable 7-0 lead in the first half.West Catholic ended the game early in the second half to secure the 8-0 win.“We knew preparing for this match that it would be an uphill battle,” said Kent City head coach Pedro Sanchez. “The Falcons’ attack strengths were many of our weaknesses. I thought we prepared well but the athleticism and technical skill were too much for us to overcome. We are only losing four seniors, so I’m excited to see what we’ll look like a year from now.”MAY 23GR Covenant Christian (2-13-1) vs. Comstock Park (3-10-1), 6 p.m. (May 23)SEMIFINALS (May 28)Oakridge vs. Hudsonville Unity Christian (16-0), 5 p.m.West Catholic vs. Covenant Christian/Comstock Park, 7 p.m.FINALS (May 30)Semifinal winners, 6 p.m.*Winner advances to Regional 10 at GR South Christian on June 4---DIVISION 4 ---<h2>District 51 at Lakeview</h2>OPENING ROUND (May 22)Lakeview 2, Buckley 0Big Rapids Crossroads Academy 9, Benzie Central 3MAY 23Shelby (6-9-2) vs. Brethren (1-14-1), 5 p.m. (May 23)SEMIFINALS (May 29)Lakeview vs. McBain Northern Michigan Christian (15-1-2), 5 p.m.Shelby/Brethren vs. Crossroads Academy, 7 p.m.FINALS (May 31)Semifinal winners, 5 p.m.*Winner advances to Regional 13 at Big Rapids on June 4---<h2>District 52 at Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian</h2>OPENING ROUND (May 22)Wyoming Potter’s House Christian 3, Ravenna 1---North Muskegon 9, Muskegon Catholic Central 0The No.3-ranked Norse scored two goals in the first minute of play and continued to cruise past the Crusaders the rest of the match and advance to next week’s district semifinals.Emmy Creed registered a hat trick to power the North Muskegon attack, while Alex Johnson added two goals, Kennedi Koekkoek had one goal and one assist and Addysen Chase, Emelia Reid and Natalee Lindell each added one goal.“We scored the first two goals of the game in about 25 seconds and that really set the tone for us,” said North Muskegon head coach Caleb Parnin. “It was great to have everyone on our team contribute in a playoff game like that and I think we’re building a lot of positive momentum heading into what should be a difficult remaining district tournament with NorthPointe (No. 7 in D4) next week and Western Michigan Christian (No. 1 in D4) as a possible opponent in the district finals.“The girls are embracing the challenge that’s in front of them. It’s not often you see three ranked teams in the same district but that will only push us to elevate our game a little more and make us appreciate things a lot more if we are lucky enough to go on a run.”---NorthPointe Christian 8, GR Wellspring Prep 0---SEMIFINALS (May 28)Potter’s House vs. Western Michigan Christian (10-1-2), 5 p.m.North Muskegon vs. NorthPointe Christian, 7 p.m.FINALS (May 31)Semifinal winners, 6 p.m.*Winner advances to Regional 13 at Big Rapids on June 4---Follow Josh VanDyke on Twitter and Facebook for more West Michigan sports contentIf you would like your local high school sports news delivered free to your inbox daily, click here and sign up for one of our local high school sports newsletters.Love reading about local sports? Don’t miss any of the excitement from the season ahead. Purchase your subscription and get full access to every story on MLive.---</div></body>

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Muskegon-area girls soccer roundup: Five teams advance to district semifinals

MUSKEGON, MI – The opening round of the postseason saw plenty of noteworthy efforts from Muskegon-area girls soccer teams from hat-trick performances to down-to-the-wire finishes. Mona Shores, Grand Haven, Whitehall, Oakridge and North Muskegon battled their way into next week’s district semifinals, while Reeths-Puffer, Fruitport, Kent City, Orchard View,...

Muskegon-area girls soccer roundup: Five teams advance to district semifinals

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