Harbor Light earns first postseason win in more than a decade
COOKS — It took a little over two hours for the Harbor Light Christian soccer team to get to their opening-round Division 4 district soccer match Wednesday in the Upper Peninsula.
They were certainly planning to make the most of a long trip.
And, they did.
Harbor Light pulled in a 3-0 victory over Cooks Big Bay de Noc to advance within the district for the first time in 12 seasons.
"We didn't play our best game, but we played well enough to get the job done,” Harbor Light coach Dave Caroffino said after the game. "Senior Isaiah Rauch played great on the back end for us, and Will Paulus had one of his best games of the year."
It’s the first postseason victory for Harbor Light since a 2011 win over Whittemore-Prescott and made them now 11-4-1 overall on the season and winners of four straight games.
Leading the way Wednesday was freshman Landon Jakeway, showing he’s just as good with the ball on his feet as he is with it in his hands on the hardwood.
Jakeway sent in a pair of goals for the Swordsmen, while senior Kirk Rose contributed one as well, his second score of the week.
Harbor Light will have a big challenge ahead as they try to earn a second district victory, playing the winner of the Charlevoix vs. Burt Lake Northern Michigan Christian Academy match.
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Charlevoix and NMCA will meet in Charlevoix on Thursday, Oct. 12. The Rayders have dropped nine straight games, while NMCA has fallen in five straight.
Harbor Light earned both regular season wins over Burt Lake. They’ll travel to the winner of that match on Monday, Oct. 16.
The last time the Swordsmen have picked up two postseason wins in the same season came the year prior to that 2011 victory, as they claimed a Division 4 district crown with wins over Harbor Springs and Burt Lake in 2010, advancing them into regionals.
Contact Sports Editor Drew Kochanny at dkochanny@petoskeynews.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DrewKochanny, and Instagram, @drewkochanny
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Harbor Light topped Big Bay de Noc in Division 4 district soccer
