By Murray Gleffe
Correspondent
SUAMICO – Mac Johnson and Emma Nagel each tallied a goal as No. 2-seeded Bay Port defeated No. 7 De Pere 2-0 in a WIAA Division 1 regional soccer game June 1 at Bay Port High School.
“We came out really strong,” said the midfielder Johnson. “I think Emma’s early goal caught De Pere by surprise. We got a ton of shots on goal in the first half, and we held on in the second half.”
The Pirates outshot the Redbirds 25-8 for the game.
In the fourth minute, Bay Port was awarded a free kick after a Redbirds’ foul.
Nagel sent in a high, curving 25-yarder that beat De Pere goaltender Dalaney Steger for an early 1-0 lead.
“You have to take advantage of your chances against Bay Port,” said De Pere head coach Andy Steger. “We got a few looks early with Sophie Hubbard, but defensively Bay Port played an excellent game. They took a lot of things away from us in the field of play.”
The Pirates went into offensive mode the final 32 minutes of the first half, outshooting the Redbirds 14-2 the rest of the half.
Johnson’s goal came in the 38th minute for a 2-0 lead.
“Mac had a wonderful turn and hit on that second goal,” said Bay Port head coach Brooke Mraz. “I said on the sidelines once it came off her foot, that one is going in (laughing). She has that uncanny ability as a playmaker to make things happen in crunch situations.”
In the second half with the Pirates clinging to a two-goal lead, numerous fouls incurred in the first 20 minutes, including a yellow card issued to Bay Port in the 63rd minute.
Bay Port advanced to take on No. 6 Appleton North June 5 in a sectional semifinal matchup at Bay Port.
“We’re really coming into our own right now,” added Mraz. “We fell into our zonal defense tonight and it really paid off, especially in the second half. The Fox Valley Association is a great conference. We have to be ready for the team that is in front of us and not look ahead. It was a great team win for us.”
Box score
De Pere: 0, 0—0
Bay Port: 2, 0—2
