Petoskey soccer adds fourth straight shutout, open BNC on win
PETOSKEY — Each game this season for the Petoskey girls’ soccer team has provided a new challenge to their unbeaten record that first began less than two weeks ago.
And, each test has been passed with a similar result: At least a pair of goals on the board and a shutout on the other end.
That continued when the real season began Tuesday at Northmen Stadium, when Big North Conference rival Cadillac made the trip up and returned home with a 2-0 loss.
Petoskey head coach Zach Jonker has liked his team’s response in each matchup this season, all of them a little different.
“The pressure we’ve had to deal with has gotten progressively higher throughout these four games and we’ll really see with TC Central on Thursday,” Jonker said. “They’re probably the favorites of the league, the defending champ, so that’ll be the next level we’ll have to deal with. Up to this point, we’ve been kind of passing with flying colors.”
Tuesday’s win over Cadillac kept alive a streak of now three straight shutouts against the Vikings dating back to last season.
Petoskey’s run of shutouts in the first four games and at least two goals scored is also the first time a PHS girls team has done so in more than 15 years.
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A veteran backline group is to credit, along with junior keeper Sadie Corey, but as Jonker points out, it’s a team mindset of disrupting the opponent throughout the field right now.
“I’ve been really pleased with how Sadie and the backline have been playing,” Jonker said. “They’re the ones that have to be called on in case of emergency, but it’s really a team concept that we preach. Our pressing really starts even with our forwards. When everyone has their assignment and are dialed in, other teams have a tough time building up and putting us under pressure.”
Much of Tuesday night sat scoreless, up until Annika Gandhi followed her own original shot that was stopped by Cadillac’s keeper and buried the rebound into the net with 28 minutes to play.
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For Gandhi, it kept alive a scoring steak of at least a goal in each of the first four games, while also coming as her fifth of the season.
“She’s tough for defenders to handle,” Jonker said. “She’s got power and pace and she’s got a lot of range on her shot. She’s off to a great start.”
Petoskey’s second goal then came as a memorable one for the season, with freshman Madylin Smith notching her first career varsity score with just under 23 minutes left. Like Gandhi, Smith followed a shot off a free kick and cleaned up the deflection.
“She popped up at the right time,” added Jonker. “It was definitely nice to have that insurance goal.”
TC Central up next is off to a 2-1-2 record to begin the season, though it’s come against some tough foes and a tie against Traverse City West within the league recently.
Petoskey (4-0, 1-0) will head to Coast Guard Field in Traverse City on Thursday, April 18.
Contact or send game stats/info to 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: Petoskey girls soccer tops Cadillac in Big North opener
