PENTWATER – Winning had become the norm for Pentwater’s boys soccer team when they entered a pre-district matchup with Buckley Friday, Oct. 11. The Falcons had won three of their four games prior and kept it rolling with a 1-0 win over the Bears.
The early going of Pentwater’s first postseason action was rather uneventful. Neither the Falcons or Bears were able to gain much momentum before the other snagged it back for themselves.
Pentwater did seem to find more opportunities at the net than their opponents in the first half, however. Senior Will Werkema-Grondsma was a bully in Buckley territory, fighting through defenders and finding a few quality shots.
Unfortunately, nothing found the net for Werkema-Grondsma and the Falcons, leaving a scoreless game at halftime.
It didn’t take long for Pentwater to get rolling in the second half, due mostly to a change in the lineup. Major contributor Jonny Arnouts had remained on the bench for the first half, but was inserted at forward for the second.
Immediately, Arnouts took control. Receiving the ball at midfield, Arnouts quickly turned and dribbled the ball toward the left sideline. After making a few Buckley defenders miss, Arnouts turned on his speed and drove in close to the net. With a one-on-one situation with the keeper, Arnouts put an easy shot through and gave the Falcons a 1-0 lead.
That’s where the score would remain for the final 30 minutes of play, pushing Pentwater to a win and advancing them to a district semifinal appearance.
Awaiting the Falcons in that semifinal game was Glen Lake, the host team of the district tournament. Pentwater traveled north Tuesday, Oct. 15, for what turned out to be a thriller of a game.
Both the Falcons and the Lakers traded shots throughout regulation, leaving the score knotted up at 4-4 when the final whistle sounded. That meant overtime was in store.
Unfortunately, Pentwater was unable to keep up the pace with Glen Lake, allowing three goals without finding one of their own. The Falcons fell by a final score of 7-4 and saw their season come to a close.
Pentwater ended their year with a 9-7 overall record.
