Over the weekend, the Ranger girls’ soccer team had three big games, two being against top 10 teams in the state. They wrapped up the weekend with two wins and a loss.

The weekend started out with a rivalry matchup against Forest Hills Northern. This game was highly anticipated, because not only is it a big rivalry but both teams are also ranked fairly high. Although the girls fought hard, the game didn’t quite go their way.

“We struggled with connecting passes,” stated junior Ayla Thompson.

The girls ultimately lost 3-2, after being down 3-1 with only a few minutes left. As the game came to a close they were able to battle and get one last goal, giving something the girls can be proud of from the loss.

On Saturday, May 13, the girls traveled to Portage Central to play one of the top teams in Division 1. This game was huge because it was right after a big loss, and it was against a good opponent which is important as the playoffs linger ahead. This game ended 2-0 in favor of Portage Central, which was not quite the way the Rangers wanted it to go, but it was not a result that the team needs to hang their heads over.

“Obviously it is always tough not to win, but I am not mad about the result. Portage Central is a very good Division 1 team and we overall had a pretty good game with some really good moments we can now build on. It was nice for us to play a good team like Portage Central and earn some learning opportunities from it,” said junior Haley Ward.

The last game they played was against Northview. This game was different from the previous two, as the girls were able to move the ball around quite efficiently.

“Especially in the second half, our team did really well with connecting passes and switching the field,” stated senior Mackenzie Wintrich.

The girls came out on top with a score of 5-1. This game was a definite confidence boost, which is very important as they will take on the conference tournament next week.

The girls’ next game is against Grand Rapids Christian on Monday, May 15.