Fennville’s Ellie Merson nets two goals in district win; Holland, Zeeland East, Black River also win

FENNVILLE - The Fennville girls’ soccer team achieved something that hasn’t happened at the school in five years: a win in Districts. Coach Mark Gray’s team secured a 2-0 victory over the Panthers.

“We knew going into the game that Delton Kellogg had some good girls and we played good defense early on,” Gray said. “The game changers in the first half were the girls running at the ball, Ellie (Merson) getting a foot on the ball and our strikers putting pressure on their back line.”

While the team played phenomenal defensively, senior Ellie Merson delivered the only two goals. The first came within the first 20 minutes of the game. She took a dish from teammate Marissa Mendoza, spun the ball to her strong foot and knocked the ball into the net off of the crossbar.

Merson displayed great field awareness and athleticism on her second goal. Late in the first half of the game, a teammate missed a shot, she caught the ricochet and tapped the ball out of reach of the keeper to extend the lead to two goals. Despite only netting two goals, she had her fair share of opportunities, nearly missing the goal multiple times.

“I could’ve taken better shots on goal, I took more than what I should have,” Merson said. “I had a great first shot, but I wish I would’ve squared up more to get some of my other shots to go.”

While the Blackhawks held control of the game for all 80 minutes of regulation, the first half was played very differently from the second. Not only did the pace of the game slow down, but the team’s aggressiveness also dropped. The ball control game worked in their favor, keeping the ball on the Delton Kellogg side of the field for the majority of the time.

Merson and her teammates are excited after winning a District game for the first time in five years, but they are not satisfied with just one win.

“I’m excited, we haven’t won a district game in five years,” Merson said. “I’m excited to see what we have and to play Holland Christian.”

Despite her high school soccer career being in its final stages, her mindset of enjoying her time on the field and with her team remains the same.

“(I want to) have fun and enjoy (the rest of the season),” Merson said. “(To keep the season going) we need to work hard together as a team and not against each other.”

Following the 2-0 victory against Delton Kellogg, Gray leads his team into the next round of Districts against Holland Christian May 31 at Unity Christian High School. According to Gray, advancing to the next round will require a lot of toughness.

“Holland Christian is going to roll deep on their bench, so our game plan is to try to play just as aggressive,” Gray said. “If you give Holland Christian too much time to settle the ball, they’re just going to pick you apart.”

DISTRICT ROUNDUP

Holland 2, Hastings 1

In the first round of the state tournament, Holland defeated Hastings 2-1 on Friday in the district opener.Hastings scored first in the match, but Holland was able to tie with a goal by Keoni Gainey midway through the first half.

After halftime, both teams attacked and counter-attacked without a result, until Keoni Gainey was brought down in the Hastings box with 40 seconds left in regulation.

A penalty kick was awarded, and Emma Margaron calmly put the shot past the keeper for the win.

"Hastings has a great season," said Holland soccer coach Greg Ceithaml. "They have speed and tenacity. I was glad we were able to compete and come from behind to win. It shows how much we have grown as a team. We look forward to moving on in the district tournament."Holland is now 7-11 will face Hamilton in the district semifinals on Tuesday at Middleville.

Zeeland East 3, Wayland 2

The Chix advanced to the Division 2 district semifinals with the win.

The Chix will play at Middlveille on Tuesday.

Middleville 5, Zeeland West 1

The Dux ended their season in with a first-round district loss to Middleville Thornapple Kellogg.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Fennville’s Ellie Merson nets two goals in district victory; Holland also wins