By Nic McNenly
VIEW Sports Writer

GRAND BLANC — All good things come to an end, eventually. For the Grand Blanc girls’ soccer squad, that end was in the way of a 5-0 loss to the No. 1-ranked team in the state, Rochester.

The Bobcats felt like they were the underdogs going into the contest at Don Batchelor Field last Friday, just as they did heading into the District final game against Clarkston and in the Regional semifinal June 4. For some reason, when the team’s back has been to the wall, the best soccer has followed.

“Nobody expected us to get this far,” said outgoing senior Abby Keener, who played her last game in a Bobcat uniform against Rochester. “I’m proud to be a member of this team, but it’s hard to go out this way.”

The two teams kicked off at 6 p.m. and played the first 20 minutes of the contest like two kids on a see-saw. Rochester seemed to have the advantage finding passing lanes and moved the ball up the field with relative ease, but the Bobcats’ defense held tough and kept the scoring chances at a minimum. With 15 minutes left in the first half, Rochester scored the first of its three goals before the break. Within the next eight minutes, the Falcons knocked in two more with constant pressure.

“They had so many weapons that it was impossible to get to all of them,” said coach Greg Kehler. “Every time we gave up the ball, they did something positive with it. And they were getting to it when we had it because they brought so much pressure every time we had a touch.”

The opening minutes of the second half saw a renewed Bobcat squad. Grand Blanc pushed and tugged their way down into the attack zone and forced Rochester on its heels. At 9:19, Alyssa Wombwell fought through a couple defenders and had a chance to score with the sliding Rochester keeper. Wombwell was held up just enough by the fouling defenders that she struck the ball at the exact moment the keeper got her gloves on it. The ball bounced away and Grand Blanc resumed possession, but the goalie never got up. The play was whistled dead, and the injured player was escorted off the field while her back-up came in.

Because Grand Blanc held possession at the time of the whistle outside the keeper box, the Bobcats should have received a free kick when play resumed. Instead, the head referee called a drop-ball, which Rochester won, and the defense managed to clear the ball out to mid-field.

“I don’t know what the ruling on that was,” Kehler said. “Maybe it had something to do with where the ball was when she got hurt, but I thought it should have been a free kick for us. If we score there, it’s 3-1 and maybe we get something going.”

For the next 11 minutes, the two teams battled it out, going back and forth. The difference was that Rochester was now moving the ball up the field and was pushing Grand Blanc back into a defensive stance once again. At the 20-minute mark, the Falcons went up 4-0. Less than 10 minutes later, Rochester knocked in the last goal of the game and kept Grand Blanc from making any serious threats.

“They put us into a defensive shell,” Kehler added. “I think we gave up a couple of easy goals but it’s just because we couldn’t get the ball up to our midfielders. They are No. 1, and it’s because of games like this that they are ranked that way. They had depth and didn’t show any weaknesses.”

“Everyone knows what it takes to get to this level,” said junior midfielder Rachel Lawrence. “We came in knowing that they were No. 1 and that it would be difficult to get past them. Now we know what it’s going to take and we’ll come back next year and play better.”

Grand Blanc ended the season at 12-7-4, while Rochester remained undefeated at 20-2. The Falcons played Grosse Pointe North Wednesday at Rochester Hills Stoney Creek in the state semifinals. On the other side of the bracket, Northville and Novi battled. The finals will be played at Troy Athens Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

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