LocalSportsJournal.com
LUDINGTON — Six different players scored goals on Saturday as the Ludington boys soccer team defeated Fruitport, 2-0 and Gaylord, 5-1 to win its own invitational to kick off the 2022 season.
Orioles longtime head coach Kris Anderson was especially happy with the win over the Trojans in the first game.
“That was a big win. That’s a quality win. “Fruitport is a good team,” Anderson said. “Gaylord is no slouch either. We played well.
“It’s not just our back line. We played strong, and put pressure on the other team. A lot of your defense is also how well you maintain possession and make passes. We were string passes together well.”
Gaylord actually took a 1-0 lead early, after the Orioles had a breakdown on their defensive line and there wasn’t anything their goalie could do.
Ludington’s goals were scored by Stidman, Ryan Millspaugh, Nate Wagner on a penalty kick, Parker Wendt and Yebe Boerema.
Spencer Holmes scored the Orioles’ first goal against the Trojans somewhere in the first 20 minutes, with Steven Stidham providing the assist.
Ludington took a narrow 1-0 lead into the half.
“We struggled probably about the first 25 minutes of the second half,” said Anderson. “We had played well in the first half, but Fruitport stepped it up to be the second half.
“We were a little bit on our heels, and they had a couple of quality shots. One hit the crossbar. The goal that we scored was with about 15 to 12 minutes left in the game.
“It didn’t really seal it, but it gave us just that little bit of breathing room. It kind of also helped us get our feet back underneath us.”
The Orioles got the ball to Parker Wendt, whose first shot was deflected by a Fruitport defender but went right back to Wendt’s feet, and he nailed the second shot.
Ludington has a busy week coming up, hosting Cadillac on Tuesday, traveling to Coopersville on Thursday and finishing with the second Badger Carferry Cup next Saturday with Lincoln High School from Manitowoc coming across on the Badger. Also scheduled to compete is Cedar Springs.