SportsFOX 17 Blitz

Actions

Late first half goal lifts Kalamazoo Christian past North Muskegon in state semifinals

Posted at 11:08 PM, Jun 12, 2019
and last updated 2019-06-12 23:08:51-04

COMSTOCK PARK, Mich. -- Kalamazoo Christian's Emma Bertrand got her head on a corner kick for a goal with just 4.5 seconds left in the first half to lift the Comets to a 1-0 win over North Muskegon in a Division 4 state semifinal girls soccer game Wednesday night.

"I was yelling at my team, 'Just get the ball in, get the ball in,'" Bertrand said of her goal. "Sarah Miller put the ball perfectly across and finished it with my head, found it, buried it in the back of the net and now we're off to states."

Meanwhile K-Christian goalie Jenna Blackwell was able to keep the Norsemen off the board the entire game to seal the win.

"I was just thinking, 'Emma Bertrand, I love you so much.' Like that was just amazing," Blackwell said. "We know our corner kicks are one of our strong points, so we knew we could capitalize on it if we attacked the ball hard, and that's just what Emma did."

Kalamazoo Christian heads to the Division 4 state championship for a third straight season after falling to Lansing Christian in each of the last two.

"I'm so proud," Bertrand added. "It's been three years, and we're back again, and this year we're going to take it all the way and take it home."

The Comets square off with Royal Oak Shrine on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Michigan State University.