DOWAGIAC — A youthful Dowagiac soccer team was no match for visiting Vicksburg in the Wolverine Conference opener for both schools Wednesday.

The Bulldogs scored three second-half goals to pull away for the 5-2 victory.

Vicksburg led just 2-1 at halftime thanks to a late goal from freshman Emma McCrorey and the goalkeeping of freshman Khloie Goins.

“Freshman keeper Khloie Goins filled in for Jenna Davis due to an injury to her hand and the freshman did an amazing job tonight. She had 23 saves,” said Dowagiac coach Chad Davis.

Dowagiac’s second-half goal was scored by sophomore LaReina Reina.

“I thought the girls played extremely hard tonight,” Davis said. “We’re dealing with a few injuries and they did a nice job of stepping in and covering each other and playing as a team even though we fell short. I was still happy with their production. We are starting to come together as a team in and start in the field.”

The Chieftains got off 12 shots on goal compared to 27 by the Bulldogs.

Dowagiac was scheduled to return to the pitch today against host Brandywine for a non-conference match.

The Chieftains will travel to Kalamazoo for the Loy Norrix Invitational on Saturday before returning home to face South Haven in a Wolverine Conference match April 24.

Michigan Lutheran at Cassopolis

No substitutions against a quality soccer team like Michigan Lutheran can make for a long match.

Host Cassopolis found that out the hard way as the Rangers dropped a 6-1 non-conference decision to the Titans Wednesday night.

Angel Gary scored the lone goal for Cassopolis, which managed to take as many shots (nine) at Michigan Lutheran.

“We were lucky to field a team against Michigan Lutheran,” said Cassopolis coach Kevin Waldschmidt. “Taylor Herwick was cleared to play by her doctor only an hour before the game. We had freshman Lauren Anderson at a track meet and freshman Isabella Gartland is still injured from Saturday’s tournament, leaving us with no subs for today. Their midfield definitely outplayed us tonight.”

Gull Lake at Niles

Powerhouse Gull Lake wasted no time getting on the scoreboard and cruised to an 8-0 SMAC victory over Niles Wednesday night.

“This is probably the best I’ve seen our girls play against Gull Lake,” Niles coach Abel Fonseca said. “As a coach, I’m proud of our Lady Vikings with their effort since we played with only three subs. As we watched Gull Lake sub on a whole new squad, they wore us out in the second half.”