Two big goals from freshman Lauren Koczenasz would not be enough for the girls varsity soccer team, as it fell to the arch rival Forest Hills Northern Huskies 3-2. Along with Lauren, while not scoring, sophomore Whitney Currie and senior captain Ashley Ward did a great job of pushing the pace and getting by a very physical FHN defense. Junior Kelsey Toole also did a great job on offense by getting some long passes and putting pressure on the Husky goalie.

The game started out with a goal from FHN in the first couple of minutes, which allowed the Lady Rangers to reassemble. Just a couple seconds later, Lauren scored an immaculate goal, giving FHC some confidence back on the offensive end. But FHN would storm back down the field for another goal.

In an early offensive slugfest, with 3 goals just 25 minutes into the game, the Lady Ranger defense did a better job after that third goal of connecting on passes to the midfield. Junior Ally Francisco and sophomore Autumn Burns did a great job of providing a physical presence throughout the first half. FHN would tap in another goal on a Lady Ranger miscommunication to extend the lead to 3-1, and FHC was faced with some adversity heading into the half.

The Lady Rangers responded well to that adversity early in the second half, as the whole team was connecting extremely well on passes, which resulted in another goal from Lauren. The Lady Rangers could sense a comeback coming with a very evenly-split crowd at Husky Stadium.  While the offense played a lot better in the second half, so did the defense.

Coach Ashley Ludtke made the decision to put junior goalie Hannah Becker into the game for the first time this season, and it paid off. Hannah played excellent, allowing no goals while making incredible saves to keep FHC in the game. However, the Lady Rangers couldn’t successfully complete the comeback, and they fell to the Huskies 3-2.

The loss puts FHC at 3-2 on the season and 0-1 in conference play. FHC has a chance to bounce back against a solid Northview team next. The Wildcats are coming off a 4-0 loss to the East Grand Rapids Pioneers, so they will be wanting to bounce back from a loss just like the Lady Rangers.