PETOSKEY — The Petoskey girls soccer team has gone the first 480 minutes and six games of the season without allowing a goal.
They deserve a few seconds of celebration every chance they get.
And in Friday night's nonconference meeting with Midland Calvary Baptist at Northmen Stadium, senior defender Quinn Matthews made the most of his minutes in the second half.
It could have been a way to stay warm in the frigid cold and wind, but Matthews decided to use the opportunity to work on cartwheels on the field.
“So, to be honest, I'm very excited to be here and our backline held very strong so it was just a dead ball period,” Matthews said. Ta. “Then she made friends with the girls on the other team, so I just laughed with her.”
Anyone who has watched Matthews over the years knows the kind of energy she brings to the field and basketball court, and they also know what kind of competitor she is.
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Matthews, one of the senior leaders of a finishing line group that helped the Northmen get off to a 6-0 start with a six-game shutout with Friday's 2-0 win over Midland Calvary, said all members of the batting lineup I feel like I'm playing at a high level right now.
“I think we know really well when to go to the ball,” she said. “I think we still lack communication, but we're playing hard and connecting passes. And when we kick, the ball goes all the way up the field and our forwards score goals.”
Petoskey head coach Zach Yonker praised the job Matthews and his backline have done this season, but knows there are other areas that can use a boost.
“It's definitely a great result,” Jonker said. “I think after a game like today you can see that the situation at the back is quite tight and organized, but we still need to work on our movement and combination play in the final third and we didn't have enough time tonight. There were many scenes where it was lost, both in ideas and shooting from a distance. ”
It was 0-0 at halftime of Friday's game against Midland Calvary, but Annika Gandhi scored with just over 11 minutes left, followed by Lauren Cole a few minutes later.
“I was happy that we continued to play the right way and created some chances in the second half,” Jonker added.
As Matthews said, there are still areas in his back that can be improved. After all, there are only six games left in the season.
But Jonker couldn't remember, and you'd have to go far back in the archives to find out if Petoskey's girls team has ever opened a season with a six-game shutout.
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More importantly, PHS opened the Big North Conference season with a 2-0 record last week with wins over Cadillac and TC Central.
“This is huge for us,” Matthews said. “Last year we tied with two of the BNC teams here and fell behind in district. So this year we're going to hammer it home. We want to win and we're ready to win.”
Petoskey has another big chance to join the BNC starting lineup this week against Gaylord on Tuesday, April 23rd, and TC West on Thursday, April 25th.
Please contact or submit game stats/information to Sports Editor Drew Kochanny at dkochanny@petoskeynews.com. Follow him on X, where he was previously known as Twitter (@DrewKochanny) and on his Instagram (@drewkochanny).