Gaylord soccer blanks John Glenn in districts, has Petoskey up next

BAY CITY — Round three is just ahead.

With an opening round Division 2 district victory Thursday night at Bay City John Glenn, the Gaylord girls’ soccer team set up another rivalry match with Petoskey.

The Blue Devils made the long journey to Bay City worth it with a 3-0 victory, which came as their seventh victory in their last eight games.

It took around 10-15 minutes for the Blue Devils to get going against the Bobcats, with a long grass surface something to adjust to for Gaylord.

"We play a lot of games on turf and they play on a grass field down there, so it took us a little bit of time to get into the game," Gaylord coach Christopher Adams said. "But, once we got going and got the momentum, we were pretty comfortable throughout most of the game, so that was nice."

Gaylord improved to 11-3-3 overall on the season and will now meet Petoskey (9-6-2) at 4 p.m., Wednesday, June 1 at Gaylord High School. Petoskey opened district play with a first round bye.

It's a game Adams is always excited to have his teams in, knowing Petoskey's always going to bring their best. 

"It’s always exciting getting to host Petoskey," said Adams. "We’ve got to respect what their program has done in the past and Zach (Jonker), what he’s done over there. It’s always a good challenge and good competition to face those guys. I really enjoy those games."

Also within their Division 2 district, Bay City Western earned a 2-1 victory over Mount Pleasant and will now host Cadillac Tuesday.

The winners of both games will then meet in a Division 2 district championship on Saturday, June 4, with the host location to be determined.

Against John Glenn, Gaylord’s goals came scored by Alivia Zaremba, Emma Ross and Claire Gorno, while Kate Mumford earned the shutout victory in goal for the Blue Devils. It came as Mumford’s fifth shutout of the season.

Against Petoskey, the Blue Devils will meet a team they obviously know well, not only from the regular season, but also the postseason.

Gaylord knocked the Northmen from the 2021 season with a 3-0 district win at home a year ago in the semifinals and Wednesday’s match will come as a fourth straight postseason meeting and sixth in districts since 2014.

In previous matchups this season, Gaylord earned a 2-1 victory in early May, then most recently a 1-1 tie against the Northmen.

"We’ve played them twice and won one and tied one, both games have been really close, so I expect another hard-fought, close battle with them," added Adams. "They’re a good soccer team, we’re a good soccer team. So I’m excited. They’re always fun, adventure filled games."

Contact Sports Editor Drew Kochanny at dkochanny@petoskeynews.com. Follow him on Twitter, @DrewKochanny, and Instagram, @drewkochanny