By By DON EDEN / Niles Daily Star
THREE OAKS – Brandywine advanced to the Division 4 district final against host River Valley as the Lakeland Conference eliminated the Red Arrow Conference on Thursday.
The Bobcats (10-7-3) blanked Michigan Lutheran (4-11) 4-0 and the Lady Mustangs held on to a 3-2 victory over Lake Michigan Catholic.
Senior goalie Amy Koehler had 39 shots to stop and made many key saves to keep Michigan Lutheran mercifully in the game.
Junior Emily Low of the Lady Bobcats found the left corner of the net barely over the 12 minute mark as she took a pass from sister freshman teammate Samantha Low.
The younger sibling was rewarded a penalty kick with 26:55 showing on the scoreboard and hit a low roller that gave a Low both scores.
Sophomore Michaela Greer finished the first half scoring with 58 seconds remaining after taking a pass from classmate Nicole Newman.
Greer found the net with a shot between the goalie and post dribbling down the right side.
"This was a good game to have after the effort the girls gave Tuesday in beating Bridgman," Brandywine coach Evan Winkler said. "We need to take more advantage of our shots, but I am very proud of these girls."
The final goal came 42:18 into the contest with Newman hitting the right post which bounced to the frosh Low who concluded the scoring.
Koehler had 18 saves and will be tough to replace for Michigan Lutheran as she was an aggressive goalkeeper who played admirably in defeat.
"All the games with River Valley are close and the game will be a battle which it should be to win the district," Winkler remarked. "The girls are excited about the opportunity and will need to get back the effort for another tough game."
The Division 4 district championship will be 7 p.m. at River Valley High School.
"Brandywine is a very team oriented squad who work the ball real well to finish shots and are getting better as the season winds down," River Valley (11-6-1) coach Shawn Beach observed about the Bobcats. "We got beat both games (2-0 and 2-1) by them as their defense is strong which keeps the games close which is key this time of the year and they also have the top goalie (Katie Smallwood) in the conference."
First Half
Emily Low (BR) Samantha Low assist 13th minute
S. Low (BR) penalty kick 27th minute
Michaela Greer (BR) Nicole Newman assist 40th minute
Shots Brandywine 24, Michigan Lutheran 1
Saves Katie Smallwood (BR) 0, Amy Koehler (ML) 12
Corner kicks Brandywine 1, Michigan Lutheran 0
Second Half
S. Low (BR) 43rd minute
Shots Brandywine 15 (39), Michigan Lutheran 1 (2)
Saves Smallwood 0, Koehler 6 (18)
Corner kicks Brandywine 2 (3), Michigan Lutheran 2