By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
SOUTH HAVEN—For the second year in a row, a district girls soccer contest between Allegan and Hopkins came down to a shootout.
And for the second year in a row, it was the Tigers who came out on top
In a Division 3 district final at South Haven on Friday, May 30, Allegan and Hopkins finished overtime deadlocked at 2-2.
Two 10-minute overtime periods didn’t change the score, sending the game to a shootout.
And with the shootout going to each team’s seventh kicker, Allegan prevailed 4-3 on penalty kicks to claim the 3-2 victory.
The district championship is just the second for Allegan in program history.
“This is definitely a big accomplishment for us,” Allegan coach Paul Legge said. “We have seven seniors this year, and this group has played together since they were young. So, this means a ton to them as it is their last time playing together.”
The fact that this will be Legge’s final season as a high school coach makes the district title even more meaningful.
“With this being my last high school season coaching, it means a ton to me as well, of course,” Legge said.
With the score deadlocked at 1-1 at halftime, Allegan took a 2-1 lead on a goal from Ireland Ashley at the 33:58 mark of the second half. Alyssa Macherzac—who scored Allegan’s first-half goal—was credited with the assist.
And that’s where the score stayed until, with 9:17 left in regulation, Hopkins came through with the equalizer that ultimately sent the game to overtime.
Following the scoreless overtime sessions, it was time for the shootout.
“I felt pretty good going into the shootout with Mya (Corbett) in goal,” Legge said. “She won in the shootout last season as well against Hopkins.”
In the opening round of five penalty kicks, the teams matched each other goal for goal: both squads converted in the first, third and fourth rounds, while being stopped in the second and fifth rounds.
That moved the shootout to the sudden-death round, and both teams failed to score on the first attempt. Allegan’s attempt hit the crossbar, while Corbett made a save on Hopkins’ attempt.
Then Macherzak stepped up for her chance for Allegan and converted, giving the Tigers a 4-3 lead in the PKs. That set the stage for Corbett, who made the save to preserve the win.
“As the shootout progressed, I was a little unsure of how things were going to go as we missed so key PKs,” Legge said. “When it got to sudden death shooters, I felt better knowing Mya was in the net. She came up with a big save and on to the regional we go.”
