Black River, Saugatuck girls soccer share SAC title with postseason rematch looming

Everything was equal.

The Black River and Saugatuck girls soccer teams took care of business and defeated everyone in their league.

When it came to the head-to-head matchup, it ended in a 1-1 tie.

The River Rats and Trailblazers ended up sharing the SAC Division title - the third in a row for Saugatuck and the first ever for Black River since it joined the SAC after winning several in the Alliance League.

Now, they could be on a crash course to meet in the district finals.

"This is a great momentum builder for our girls soccer program - it is our first conference championship since 2018 and has our girls believing that they can compete with any team on our schedule. It gives us a huge confidence boost going into the postseason," Saugatuck coach Kyle Lawton said. "Our team's strength is in our midfield - we have some really talented players that help control the game and help dictate play through the middle of the field."

Meanwhile, Saugatuck shut out the rest of the divisional opponents, but also scored a plethora of goals. Having an all-state goalie in Kennedy Gustafson doesn't hurt.

Meanwhile, Black River has an all-state player in Ella Sligh, who has 16 goals this season.

"Ella seems to get better and better every time she touches a soccer ball - this season she has improved her ball control and her scoring ability," Lawton said.

After a tie and a dominant season for both teams, a showdown could be looming. Of course in soccer, anything can happen. Black River must get past Fennville and Saugatuck will face Calvin Christian.

"If we face Saugatuck again in districts, a big key for us will be to neutralize their attack and try to score early on their stellar defense," Lawton said.

Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSports.