MICHIGAN GIRLS SOCCER: Unbeaten Wolverine Conference champion Otsego hopes to leave mark
- Dan Stickradt
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
NATIONAL SOCCER NEWS: www.nationalsoccernetwork.com
OTSEGO, Mich. – Sometimes a team can have the right chemistry.
The right amount of talent. How about great balance and depth?
Throw in some confidence, maybe even a little luck, and a little bit of everything else and things kind of fall into place.
Such is life at Otsego, where the Bulldogs are enjoying one of their best seasons in school history. The numbers don’t lie.
Otsego is 14-0-1 this season and the undisputed champions in the Wolverine Conference. How good in the eight-school conference were the Bulldogs? Well, they outscored the opposition 42-1 over seven conference games with six shutouts and they finished with a 7-0-0 conference record.
“We had a pretty strong finish last season and we thought we’d have a chance to do well this season,” admitted veteran coach Levi Butcher. “But they have been playing really well. I thought we might contend. But the biggest thing every year is can anyone beat Plainwell. They’ve had some really good teams over the years.”
The only team to score upon Otsego in league play was Plainwell and it came in a 3-1 win over a program that has dominated the Wolverine Conference for more than three decades.
Last season Otsego came in third in the league behind Plainwell and Vicksburg at 5-2-0, posted a 15-5-1 overall record, compiled a 67-20 scoring edge, posted 10 clean sheets but were shut out four times. The last game ended with a 1-0 setback by perennial powerhouse Richland Gull Lake in the Division 2 district finals.
Overall this season, Otsego holds a 74-5 scoring edge with 10 shutouts in 15 games. The Bulldogs average 4.94 goals-per-game while conceding only 0.34 goals against. If the Bulldogs finish anywhere near that defensive mark, that should be a team school record.
Otsego has done well from the start of the campaign and the only tie was a 1-1 draw against Division 1 Battle Creek Lakeview back on April 25.
In the outright Wolverine Conference-clinching 8-0 win over Three Rivers on May 7, the Bulldogs picked up a hat trick from sophomore Peyton Dennany with sophomore Peyton Johnson grabbing two assists. Junior Allie Proctor, sophomore Olivia Witteveen, sophomore Addi Pfefferman, junior Kara Moore and senior Gracey Gerst also scored, showcasing the talent, depth and balance of the Bulldogs’ attack.
Dennany has double digits in goals and assists and Witteveen has also been consistent in terms of offensive production. After that, the numbers for goals and assists are truly spread around and Otsego will sub in a lot of players especially in games where they are comfortably ahead.
On defense, junior center back Constantine Taylor, senior Alexs Gross, another player who has racked up points off restarts, and Pfefferman anchor the stingy back line. Junior goalkeeper Zoe Alkire has been rock solid in her first year as a starter after she replaced a standout keeper.
The whole team has gained valuable minutes and the team for the most part has remained healthy.
Otsego hopes to make its mark in the postseason as well. The Bulldogs are in one of the toughest districts in the state again this season and their Division 2 district hosted by Richland Gull Lake features the No. 3-ranked and host Blue Devils, No. 8 Otsego, No. 12 Middleville Thornapple-Kellogg, No. 13 Battle Creek Harper Creek, longtime power but unranked Plainwell which reached the state semifinals two years ago, and three other schools.
Middleville Thornapple-Kellogg already ousted Battle Creek Harper Creek, the Interstate 8 Athletic Conference champion, 1-0 last week in the pre-district rounds. Otsego had an easier time in its pre-district contest with a 12-0 shutout of Battle Creek Central.
The Bulldogs will play Middleville Thornapple-Kellogg at 5 p.m. Wednesday in the district semifinals at Gull Lake while the hosts will face Plainwell in the second game at 7 p.m. Otsego defeated MTK last season 1-0 in the districts and that team returned 20 players this season. Thornapple-Kellogg is 12-3-2 this season and finished second to unbeaten Grand Rapids South Christian with a 9-1-2 record in the Ottawa Kent Conference Gold Division.
“Our district is very tough. A lot of different teams could win it,” admitted Butcher. “Gull Lake is Gull Lake – always very good. Plainwell has several players that are dangerous and can beat you. Harper Creek is having a very good season and Thornapple-Kellogg is playing very good and they are a team who brought back most of their roster. It will be interesting to see how we can do. We have a shot just like everyone else.”
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