No. 1 Ranked Northville Girls Soccer Wins In District Playoffs Match-Up Against Novi

The varsity girls soccer team continued their winning streak Thursday night in a game against Novi, as they move through the district playoffs.

The Mustangs beat Novi High School by a score of 3-1. Northville will now take on Canton High School in the district finals on Saturday at noon.

"Great win tonight against a great competitor," said coach Eric Brucker. "There was no need for motivational speeches tonight. This team knew what needed to be done and played with energy and passion for 80 minutes. I'm very proud of this team and their effort tonight."

Here's a recap from Coach Brucker:

Early in the game, Sophomore Jamie Cheslik corralled a ball in the left hand corner and slotted a ball in the center of Novi's box. Junior Gabbie Guibord received the pass with one touch and buried a shot through the scrum of people with the second touch.  

Just 38 seconds later, Novi evens up the match. Kendall Kramer raced down the left flank and played a low line drive cross the Northville goal mouth. Waiting on the back post was Erin Dircks who hit the cross with a one-time shot into the Northville goal.  

At the 32-minute mark, Northville Sophomore Megan Buckingham collected a deflected shot about 12 yards out from the Novi goalline. She faked out the Novi defender and fired a near post shot past the Novi keeper.

The halftime score had Northville up 2-1.

As Novi pushed all of their players forward, including their keeper, Senior Mallory Weber checked back to receive a clearing ball from out of Northville's defense end. With sheer determination and effort, she raced 70 yards past the Novi back line and keeper to dribble the ball into Novi's net. Junior Kiki Hilmer was in net for the win.

"Now we face another tough opponent in Canton. They knocked us out of the playoffs last year on their home field. We tied them 2-2 earlier this season," Brucker said. "Those two things alone are motivation enough for this next game."