Adrian downs Ypsilanti 2-0 for elusive playoff win
ADRIAN –– Adrian girls soccer downed Ypsilanti Community 2-0 on Tuesday in the pre-district round of the Division 2 MHSAA playoffs.
Brooke Patterson’s two-goal performance powered the Maples to their first playoff victory since 2017.
Lilly Hassan stood tall in net, giving up zero goals as Adrian outshot the Grizzlies and retained possession by a significant margin.
With the Maples’ playoff win drought coming to an end, Adrian head coach Rangariro Mutatu said their victory over the Grizzlies is a “big deal” for his program.
“It’s been tough over the last four years,” he said. “We’ve been eliminated, mercied even in the first round. Just to be able to get past this stage is progress and it’s something we’re going to look to build from, even as we go into our next and potentially in the years to come.”
After kickoff, Adrian wasted no time driving into Ypsilanti Community’s territory with Helayna Nieto serving up the first shot three minutes into the game. The Maples set the tone on defense as well, cutting off any early offensive attempts.
In the 17th minute, Patterson took advantage of the Grizzlies’ pressing adjustment and drove up through the defense to get a clean look on net. She swung her leg into the ball and netted it in the low left corner of the goal to put her team ahead, 1-0.
The Grizzlies failed to generate any meaningful offensive chances until the final 3:30 of the first half but Lilly Hassan stood tall in goal to send Adrian into the half with the lead.
Ypsilanti generated some more meaningful offensive chances early in the second half, only for Adrian to drive them back and regain possession for attempts of their own.
In the 58th minute, Lauren Ferguson sent a high corner kick right in front of the net. Once again, Patterson made a move on the long pass and slipped it past the goaltender to give the Maples a commanding 2-0 lead.
Adrian closed the final 20 minutes of the match with deep run after deep run into Ypsilanti Community’s territory and won 2-0 after the full 80 minutes.
The Maples will play South Lyon East in the district semifinals at 5 p.m.on Tuesday at Pickney.
Michigan Center 4, Onsted 2: At Michigan Center, Onsted was eliminated from the Division 3 MHSAA playoffs.
Liz Hill and Bailey Brandly scored a goal apiece for the Wildcats.
Cloe Gerschwiler picked up 15 saves in goal.
Onsted finishes the season 7-10.
Chelsea 3, Tecumseh 0: At Chelsea, Tecumseh girls soccer’s season came to an end in the Division 2 MHSAA playoffs.
Vera Denison notched a penalty save for Tecumseh as she did what she could to keep her team in the game.
Tecumseh finishes the season with a mark of 12-6-3.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Adrian girls soccer downed Ypsilanti in MHSAA pre-districts
