Soccer downs Blissfield in district opener

The Stockbridge soccer team carried its hot play of late into the state tournament last week by blanking Blissfield 2-0 in the opening round of the D3 district.

Peyton Killinger stopped all ten shots in net to earn the shutout, while the defense of Baylee Heidrich, Paige Brown, Ori Hackworth, and Hailey Howard kept the Royals in check.

Kylin Heidrich continued to carry the play on the offensive end for the Panthers, scoring both of the Stockbridge goals. She took a long pass from Killinger and broke in for a first-half goal and a 1-0 halftime lead.

She then took a nice pass from Rachel Frazzini and sent it home to make it 2-0 and that is all the Panther defense would need.

Evey Ortiz-Martinez, Sylvia Whitt, and Megan Catron locked the Royals down the rest of the way keeping Blissfield from any quality chances.

The Panthers wrapped up the regular season with an 8-0 pasting of Barry County Christian.

Kylin Heidrich netted four goals to lead the Panthers offense. Bethany Plennert, Brown, Chelsey Asquith, and Megan Catron each scored single goals withPlennert and Brown both tallying their first goals of the season.

Frazzini, Alexis Killinger, Catron, Maria Risner, Brown, Whitt, Alic Hawkins, and Hackworth each picked up assists. Peyton Killinger and Plennert combined for the shutout in net for the Panthers.

The win was the fifth in the last six games for the Panthers. They improved to 9-9-1 overall on the season and return to action Wednesday at 4:30 against Brooklyn Columbia Central in the district semifinals at Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard.