BUCKLEY – Freshman Annabelle Stark continued her late season surge Thursday, May 29, leading Shelby girls soccer over Lakeview 2-1, and punching the Tigers’ ticket to the regional tournament.
Stark has had an affinity for finding goals late in the year, notching her first varsity hat trick just a week prior in a 4-3 loss to Montague. On Thursday against the Wildcats, Stark led her team in scoring en route to a district title.
Lakeview was a familiar foe for Shelby. The Tigers fell 3-1 to the Wildcats in their third game of the season, getting their revenge with everything on the line.
Just 35 seconds into their rematch, Shelby gained a 1-0 advantage. Senior Alyse Erickson – returning from an arm injury that left her in a special compression brace – connected with Stark. 20 more minutes of battles ended with the Tigers adding another to their lead on another Stark goal, this time assisted by Kylie Brown.
All of the game’s goals came in the first half. Lakeview finished off the scoring with a penalty kick that found the back of the net with 15 minutes remaining before halftime.
The Tigers advanced to 6-12-2 with the victory and marked the second straight season with an MHSAA D4 district championship.
