COMMERCE TOWNSHIP – The Walled Lake Northern Knights claimed the Shield by defeating rival Walled Lake Central 4-1 Saturday night.
The Knights dominated early and jumped out to an early lead when Kayla Budziak fed Grace Vogt, who ripped a shot from 25 yards out that found the back of the net, giving Northern a 1-0 lead just 6:47 into the game.
“Central always brings their game with us. I feel like they are a very physical team, and they work very hard. So that was our game plan, how can you outwork them, how can you start quicker than them, how can you take the momentum from them right away, and I though the girls executed it to a ‘T’”, Knights head coach Mitchell Thompson said.
Walled Lake Central at Walled Lake Northern girls soccer photo gallery
Budziak would bang in a loose ball about 15 minutes later to double Northern’s lead, and Maura McClerren would score shortly after that to stake the Knights to a 3-0 lead with 14 minutes still to play in the first half.
But Central would not go away. Led by the effort of Brianna Baiocco, the Vikings started creating a bit more offense and clawed a goal back with seven minutes to play in the first half when Joanna Ugolnik found a loose ball and bundled it across the line to get Central on the board.
The second half was a tighter affair as both defenses settled in a bit. Playing with only three in the back, the Viking defense of Marissa McClure, Anna Middleton, and Addy Wilson, held their own well and kept the Vikings within striking distance for much of the game before a late goal from Izzy Krause put the game out of reach.
“We were on our heels, and we were missing some key players,” Vikings head coach Joel Sharpe said. “I’m proud of my girls for fighting and staying in it and giving everything they had. I thought we played a much better second half.”
The Knights were led by a combination of captain Mia Czarnowski, Addyson Keelean, and Maura McClerren, who simply kept things organized up and down the field and helped the Knights grind out the win, making sure, along with Budziak at defensive midfield, to shut off the Viking counterattack for long stretches and ensure there was no comeback in the works for the Vikings.
“We just couldn’t get that ball forward enough and keep possession enough to really sustain much,” Sharpe said.
With the win, Walled Lake Northern improves to 8-4-1 overall. The Knights face Lakeland on Tuesday in their final Lakes Valley Conference regular season game. Northern will be looking to get a result and clinch second place and the corresponding number two seed in the conference tournament.
“If we win that game, we’ll secure second place in the conference. Obviously, we’re a little disappointed we didn’t win it. But give credit to Milford. They had a heck of a year. So all credit to them, they deserve it. And after we play Lakeland, we’re hyper focused on the tournament,” Thompson said. “We’re not going to overlook anybody,” he added.
Central (4-5-3) has a four-game unbeaten streak snapped. The Vikings play South Lyon on Tuesday before they also start the LVC Tournament on Thursday.
