Alpena High girls soccer team wins Sunrise Side Challenge Cup

The Wildcats were wildly successful, dominantly winning all four games.

Alpena took on Bay City Central, Beaverton, Sault Ste. Marie, and Hazel Park, and won by 4-0, 8- 0, 2-0, and 7-0, respectively.

Game one got the Wildcats on the right foot for the day as Alpena faced Bay City Central.

Five minutes into the game, with precisely 15:00 on the clock, Reese Wisniewski kicked off the day, netting her first of many to put Alpena up 1-0.

News Photo by Owen Kinzey
Faith Dragiewicz travels down the field during a game in the Alpena High School’s Sunrise Side Challenge Cup on Saturday. Dragiewicz helped lead the team with several goals throughout the day and securing a hat trick in the final game.

The Wolves were aggressive and physical in every aspect of the game, leading the score to stay 1-0 into the half.

The second half began with back-to-back exceptional saves from Alpena’s Faith Henski.

After displaying great defense, Faith Dragiewicz found a breakaway opportunity and shot the ball around Bay City’s goalie.

Less than two minutes later, Wisniewski set up a perfect scoring chance for Dragiewicz, where she finished the open net.

Wisniewski put the game out of reach with one final goal at the 3:50 mark.

News Photo by Owen Kinzey
Reese Wisniewski defends the ball during Alpena High School girls’ soccer team tournament on Saturday in Alpena.

Alpena walked away with the 4-0 win, excited for game number two.

The second game picked up as the Wildcats quickly took care of business.

At 16:34, Beaverton earned a handball in the box, meaning Alpena was awarded a penalty kick.

Sophie Kindt took the kick and drilled it to take the lead.

Three minutes later, Wisniewski scored her third goal of the day, putting the team up 2-0 after she sunk an incredible shot.

News Photo by Owen Kinzey
Alpena High School’s girls soccer team hold their trophy on Saturday after their successful tournament, taking four wins and the championship trophy. The Wildcats hosted the Sunrise Side Challenge Cup in Alpena, taking on four opponents and not allowing a single goal against them.

The Beavers settled in for eight minutes until the Wildcats did even more damage.

Dragiewicz kicked her third goal of the day, and after a few more minutes, Laurel Alberts scored her first goal, assisted by Wisniewski.

Into the second half, the Wildcats were up 4-0, and Alpena altered its entire lineup with many positional changes.

Still, 57 seconds into the half, Kindt scored her second goal of the game.

Alpena’s usual defender, Sidney LaCross, even got in on the scoring action. She found the back of the net with 4:26 left in the match.

News Photo by Owen Kinzey
Ezra Peterson plays in Alpena High School’s girls soccer tournament on Saturday.

Alpena fired right back once again with another goal. This goal completed Kindt’s hat trick and put the Wildcats up 7-0, just one goal from mercy.

Just over a minute later, that mercy came to fruition after Madelyn Farley iced the game with the eighth goal.

Ultimately, game number three gave Alpena a challenge for the first time all day.

Despite most of the game going back and forth, Wisniewski and the Wildcats still got on the scoreboard early.

Twenty-three seconds in, Wisniewski put the ball in the back corner for the score.

News Photo by Owen Kinzey
Laurel Alberts kicks the ball during a game in Alpena High Schools girls soccer tournament on Saturday.

After a slow seventeen-minute scoring lapse, Alpena eventually got back in the scoring column when Wisniewski set up Dragiewicz for another easy goal.

Despite the game being in the first half, this would be all the scoring throughout the remainder, leading to a 2-0 lead over the Sault.

Finally, after three consecutive games, the Wildcats had an hour break between the final match that would secure Alpena the championship trophy.

The Wildcats matched with Hazel Park and took advantage of their poor backline play.

Both sides were gassed from the long day but continued to fight to win the trophy.

Dragiewicz kicked off the game early, with 18:33 left on the clock, to begin her hat trick game. Ezra Peterson received the shot’s assist, giving Alpena the early lead.

Less than a minute later, Dragiewicz was back in the net for the Wildcats to extend the lead.

Wisniewski couldn’t let Dragiewicz do all the scoring on her own, and as soon as she got open space to dribble the ball, Hazel Park’s goalie stood no chance.

Wisniewski snuck the ball between the legs of the goalie and even finished another goal 26 seconds before the half.

Coming out of halftime, Dragiewicz completed her hat trick and her last goal of the day.

Now, up 5-0, Alpena took most of its pressure off the net. That was until Laurel Alberts dribbled right up in front of the goal and fired a shot that extended the lead to six.

One last goal was added on top, this time from Kindt about 25 yards away from the goal.

She dropped the ball right over the head of Hazel Park’s goalie, finishing the game with a final score of 7-0.

“We really picked up some momentum today, and I think this could be big for our team moving forward,” Coach Supiran said. “It’s obviously nice to win your own tournament, and we came out and performed today. Faith Dragiewicz, Reese Wisniewski, Laurel Alberts, and Sophie Kindt were some standout players that really did everything I could’ve asked of them all day long.”