Alpena, Gaylord tie in thriller Big North Conference game
Alpena senior midfielder Mollie Girard gives Alpena the lead against Gaylord in the second half.
Alpena, Mich — The Alpena Wildcats and Gaylord Blue Devils both fought to stay alive for the Big North Conference title. Alpena (10 points in BNC) and Gaylord (11 points in BNC) entered the match on the bubble, with a loss eliminating either team.
The Wildcats struck first following a misplayed ball by Reagan Olli and cleaned up by Anna Young just over 3 minutes into the game. Rebecca Ross scored off a corner on a header a few moments later to tie the game at 1. It was a physical game that saw Young and a Blue Devil shown yellow cards in the first half.
Mollie Girard scored on a direct free kick in the early stages of the second half to put the Wildcats on top 2-1. Gaylord equalized with about 10 minutes left in the game. Both teams pushed to take the lead in the final minutes, but the game finished tied at 2.
Alpena (9-5-2, 3-3-2 BNC) picked up a point, but will not be able to claim a conference title. Gaylord still has an outside chance of claiming the title if they win the rest of their conference games.
The Wildcats are hosting a tournament Saturday with 6 other teams from across the state. It will be a round robin format with each game being 30 minutes each. Head coach Tim Storch is expecting a good performance from his team, and is looking forward to hosting division one defending state champion Novi.
