By Robert Tomlinson
News Director
BERRIEN SPRINGS — When you face a team that has lost only one game all year, as Three Rivers’ girls’ soccer team did in the MHSAA Division 3 district final against Buchanan Thursday, May 29, you have to know what to expect to try and counter what makes the opposition great.
After giving up an early goal, the Wildcats seemed to figure out Buchanan’s defense and pounced on opportunity after opportunity, scoring four times in the rest of the first half en route to a 5-2 victory over the Bucks and a Division 3 district title.
“We knew this was going to be a battle; Buchanan had one loss all year, and we were ready for the challenge,” Three Rivers head coach Travis Shubnell said. “You watch lots of film, see what they do, and see what their good players do and try to shut that down.”
In the early going, it looked like Buchanan would have the run of the pitch as they scored just 100 seconds into the game with senior Evyn Pruett sneaking one in past goalkeeper Bekah Beachey to put the Bucks up 1-0.
Buchanan would have a few more chances in the first 15 minutes of the first half, but Three Rivers’ defense held up, allowing their offense to go to work. Nearly midway through the first 40 minutes, a crossing pass into the box from sophomore Natalie McGahan found a perfectly-timed run by senior Tori Thorbjornsen, who tapped it into the net past Buchanan keeper Sidney Smith to tie the game at 1-1.
“I think once we scored that first goal, we got some momentum and realized what we can do against their defense, and then we figured it out and went from there,” Shubnell said.
Three Rivers would pour on the goals from there, and grab the momentum for the rest of the half. About seven minutes later, McGahan made a run past midfield, nutmegged a Buchanan defender, and laced a shot just past the right side of the keeper and into the net to put the Wildcats up 2-1.
McGahan would add her second goal just five minutes later, receiving a pass just inside the box, getting around a defender that was on her back, getting to the middle of the box, and firing a strike into the back of the net to make it 3-1.
The fourth score for Three Rivers would come from a bit of defensive miscommunication by the Bucks with 5 minutes to go in the half, when a corner from McGahan bounced a couple of times in the box, pinballing off of a Bucks defender and into the net for an own goal to make it 4-1 to end the half.
Three Rivers would have plenty of chances in the first 15 minutes of the second half, capitalizing on another rocket from McGahan to get the hat trick just about 15 minutes into the half to make it 5-1. Buchanan’s Sutherland Philip would get a goal with 11:30 left in the game to make it 5-2 of a corner kick, but it would not be enough as Three Rivers cruised to their third straight district title.
Shubnell had plenty of praise for how his team executed their gameplan, and also praised McGahan for her performance.
“We worked hard, and each year is a new group of seniors, and they’re just as motivated as the seniors that left them previous, so we used that motivation, they worked hard and we earned it,” Shubnell said. “[McGahan’s] a solid player all around, I think it’s just motivation. This one means a lot to her, so it was a good game for her, and she came out strong. She kept shooting, kept shooting, and the ball kept going in the net.”
McGahan said she couldn’t have had the game she had without her teammates.
“I think we connected really well, and got to make some good passes and then some good finishes and celebrate together,” McGahan said. “We’ve been working, and that’s what we wanted. I hope to be able to finish strong with our seniors, because we will miss them.”
Three Rivers moves on to Tuesday’s regional semifinal against Allegan, who defeated Hopkins in overtime 3-2 to win their district. The game will be played at 7 p.m. at Fennville High School. Shubnell said his team is looking forward to seeing what they can do and trying to advance to a regional final.
“We’re excited about it, and we’ve been there before,” Shubnell said. “In the past we played a lot of the Unity, South Christian schools, and they’re D2 now, so they’re very, very good. We’re excited for a new challenge and another public school for once in the regional round, and we’re going to see what we can do.”
Robert Tomlinson can be reached at 279-7488 or robert@wilcoxnewspapers.com.
