GB Roundup 5/3/2007

Posted Thursday, May 3, 2007

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GOODRICH
Soccer
A new system with a flat-back three person defense has given Goodrich a chance to play a different, more aggressive style of soccer.
“It really varies from what the girls are used to,” said coach Nigel Barnett. “Everybody from the forwards on back to the keeper has to be more aggressive and they have to push the ball out and up.”
Until this week, the Martians have had a little trouble adapting to the new system.
“It’s new for them, but they are getting better and they are really playing good soccer.”
Goodrich fought to the very end, but ended up falling to Saginaw Nouvel, 4-2, Monday.
A 2-2 tie played throughout most of the second half, but Nouvel was able to take advantage of a tired Martian squad, adding two goals in the final 10 minutes of play.
“My girls played so awesome,” Barnett added. “We absorbed their offensive pressure for a long time and we just couldn’t clear the ball away. The girls were so exhausted that they just couldn’t get the ball out of the zone. I’m really pleased with their effort though. I think Saginaw was overlooking us a bit and we really gave them a tough time.”
Offensively, Heather Cardneau scored both Martian goals and has started to catch fire in the middle part of the season.
“Heather has really stepped it up and is playing outside of herself. It’s great,” Barnett added.
Between the pipes, Brittney Beard has been playing stellar soccer with a nagging shoulder injury.
“It doesn’t get any better than her,” Barnett added. “I may sit her down for a game to get her healed up, but even when she’s injured, she’s the best keeper in the region. She’s been improving so much and now with the way the defense is, she’s got to be more aggressive and she’s doing that. She’s communicating and she’s the extra set of eyes back there. I couldn’t ask for a better keeper.”
Last Thursday, penalties plagued the Martians and led to a 2-2 tie against Lake Fenton.
“The referees really changed the pace of the game,” Barnett said. “I was really disappointed in the way that game was called.”
Cardneau scored the first goal of the game, and Cassie Sheppard added one in the second half.

GRAND BLANC
Lacrosse
Briana Battiste and Nikki Steffes scored five goals each as the Bobcats (3-3-1) topped Carman-Ainsworth, 17-2, Tuesday.
Markie Lee and Amy Verturina scored two goals each, while Jourdan Drudi, Katie Bieber and Pam Wilson added one goal each.
Steffes and Sam Staroba scored two goals each and Battiste added one as Grand Blanc fell to Flint-Powers, 6-5, last Thursday.
For the boys’ squad, Chris Slater scored two goals and had three assists as the Bobcats dropped Swartz Creek 9-1 Monday.
All the scoring came in the first half, as the game was called one-minute into the third quarter because of lightning.
Justin Ruskowski had two goals and one assist, while David Abbott and Nick Spiller scored two goals each. Brian Hunt had one goal and one assist.
Last Thursday, Grand Blanc fell to Ann Arbor Huron, 13-2.
David Abbott and Wade McDermaid scored one goal each and Bobby Sullivan made 30 saves between the pipes.

Rugby
Grand Blanc continued its dominating season, improving to 4-0 with a 57-0 win over Brighton last Wednesday.
Chris Porritt got things started with an early interception and trotted in 50 yards for the first score of the game.
Chris Whetstone scored three times, while Jeff Holko, Dustin George, Zack Wirth, Andrew Doyle, Mike Belyaev and Chris Porritt added one score each. Shane Burr converted six kicks and was named Man of the Match.

Soccer
The Bobcats were shut out, 3-0, by Troy in a non-league match Tuesday.
Grand Blanc went down by three goals early in the contest, and could not recover to close the game up.
Alyssa Wombwell scored two goals in the second half of play to give the Bobcats (4-0 Big Nine Conference) a 2-1 win against Carman-Ainsworth last Friday.
Last Thursday, Grand Blanc out-shot Davison 38-2 to blank Davison, 2-0.
The Cats took control in the early stages of the game and held possession all the way.
Paige Burke scored in the first half, and Kristen Steffes added one in the second to seal the victory.

Tennis
Aaron Pfister kept his undefeated status by topping all challengers at No.2 Singles at the Grand Blanc Invitational last Saturday.
The Bobcats ended up with 13 points, which tied them for fourth place with East Lansing. West Bloomfield won the event with 19 points, while Detroit Country Day took second with 17 points. Birmingham scored 16 points for third place.
Pfister and the No. 4 Doubles team of Matt Williams and Nick Swanson were the only Grand Blanc flight champions.
RoundUp by Nic McNenly