Rayder soccer drops back-to-back games

ELK RAPIDS â€" Charlevoix’s girls soccer team came close to knocking off a team that’s been a thorn in their side on Monday.

Yet, the Rayders came up just short once again, falling to Elk Rapids, 1-0 on the road. The Elks scored the game-deciding goal with 4:34 left in the first half and held on to pull out the win.

The Rayders couldn’t find much offense and failed to find the back of the net for the second-consecutive game.

“I felt we did a nice job applying pressure to Elk Rapids,” said Charlevoix coach Pete Scholten. “We were unable to put together very many good passing combinations. Our passing needs to improve for sure. We had a few good chances and just were not able to convert.”

While the offense struggled, Charlevoix goalie Grayce Sprecksell held her own in net, recording 12 saves.

“Grayce Sprecksell came up big for us in goal,” Scholten said. “She had some really nice stops.”

The loss drops the Rayders to 1-2 overall and 0-1 in the Lake Michigan Conference.

Charlevoix will next compete in the North-South Tournament on Saturday in Norton Shores.

PETOSKEY â€" Petoskey’s girls soccer team made visiting Charlevoix pay for a couple of late first half mistakes by knocking in a pair of scores, then added three more in the second half for a 5-0 season opening victory on Thursday, April 4.

Though it came as a shutout by five scores, many of the goals came in bunches, making for a game that didn’t quite feel like a 5-0 shutout.

“At the half I told the girls, ‘I saw 37 minutes of great soccer,’” Charlevoix coach Pete Scholten said. “We just kind of ran out of gas the final minutes and it was 2-0 before we knew it. Similar things happened in the second half where we were gassed and we let our guards down a bit and they made us pay.”

Scholten knows his team picked up a good test against the Northmen, part of why he wanted to make the trip over, though also knows at times they held their own as well. The part he wants to see now out of his team is putting together solid stretches and a full 80 minutes without the breakdowns or lapses.

“I think we gave them a good game,” added Scholten. “Our focus now it just learning from this. The issue with us last year was we couldn’t seem to be an 80 minute team. We could play 75 minutes but as you know in soccer, it only takes 30 seconds and a mistake. One mistake can cost you the game sometimes. I think that’s one thing we need to work on.”

Scholten was happy to see a good team like Petoskey, knowing it’ll only benefit them moving forward.

“We have to play good teams to become an even better team and that’s really what this is all about,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of respect for the Petoskey program. I wish it wouldn’t have been 5-0, but we made some mistakes and it got away from us. We’re just going to take the positives from this now.”

Petoskey News-Review Sports Editor Drew Kochanny contributed to this story.

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