After playing two games in sweltering heat earlier in the week and knocking two other teams out of their run for the district title, it was refreshing to walk into Pride Stadium to play the Clio Mustangs on Friday evening, with temperatures near 70 degrees.

This was it. Up until this point in the season, no other game had this much on the line for either team. Both teams had worked hard enough and been successful enough to reach the game that would determine the winner of District 31. One team would leave as the victors and the other would hang up their cleats for the rest of the season.

The Saints came out looking hot from the opening kickoff, earning multiple opportunities to put a ball in the net but weren’t able to finish. All of that ended in the seventh minute of the game, when senior Tayler Malone made a perfect cross through the box that found the foot of sophomore Elia Tracy, who buried it for our first goal.

The Mustangs fought back, but were only able to push through the solid defense of the Lady Saints far enough to take one rocket of a shot on our goalkeeper, junior Kara Donaldson, who was able to make an incredible diving fingertip save. 

The intensity of the game continued to grow as the first half progressed, with both teams knowing the magnitude of the contest. In the 26th minute of the match, Malone added another goal, doubling our lead to 2-0.

That is where the score remained for the rest of the half, and the rest of the game, as St. Clair came away with a 2-0 victory, as well as the plaque for having earned the title for District 31.

So the Saints now move on to compete in the regionals, with the first game slated for June 5 against Petoskey, with a 5:00 kickoff at 509 Burcham Dr East Lansing, MI 48823.