Gaylord girls soccer thrives in pressure, wins first BNC title since 2002
Pressure had been building for Gaylord girls soccer throughout the BNC season; they released that pressure Thursday night on Click Rd. in Petoskey.
PETOSKEY ― Gaylord girls soccer entered the week with one goal in mind: Win the Big North Conference. Simple enough, but there was a lot of pressure building behind a seemingly simple task. With an unblemished league record heading into a game against Traverse City West on Tuesday, May 19, a second win over the Titans this season would've locked up an outright league title with one game to spare.
However, facing an improved TC West team on a windy, rainy afternoon, it was the Titans who came away with a pivotal 3-0 victory, sending GHS home with one last chance to Pressure added. Two days later, Gaylord had another chance to claim a share of its BNC title in 24 years, scheduled to take on their rivals, Petoskey, at 5 p. m.
Somehow, the bus meant to take Gaylord to Petoskey never showed up. The pivotal, final regular-season game would end up being delayed as GHS figured out how to get its team to the Click Road Soccer Fields. Pressure added.
The pressure has been building for the Blue Devils (14-2-1, 10-1 BNC) all season, but its been the way they've responded to that added weight that has been what pushed them into the position they were (eventually) in on Thursday, May 21, needing a win over the Northmen (8-6-1, 7-5 BNC) to earn a share of its first conference title since 2002. And, as the goals started to pile up, you could almost feel that pressure starting to release as GHS felt that championship feeling. Eighty minutes later, and it was all smiles and laughter on the Gaylord sideline as they celebrated a 4-0 victory and the program's first league title since 2002.