By Staff Writer: James Edwards

There was a chill in the air as the Howell High School girls soccer team squared off against the Grand Blanc Bobcats on Tuesday, April 1. The temperature was sub-40 degrees and it showed in the fans, as only die-hards and parents were the only ones to show, in isolated groups throughout the bleachers.

The name of the game was ball control, and Grand Blanc won that battle, easily keeping the ball in Howell’s zone for the majority of the game. The Highlanders were pushed to play on the defensive for most of the game and once Grand Blanc got on a roll, there was no stopping them.

The game started off without much action, until Grand Blanc’s Alexandra Lowes scored on a penalty kick with just over 18 minutes left in the first half. Goalkeeper Jordyn Roelofs made a few nice spotty saves, but she was no match for a Bobcat breakaway goal less than three minutes after the first goal. The Bobcats took a 2-0 lead going into halftime.

The Highlanders had some positives to look at during halftime, like the fact that they were really doing a good job keeping the ball out of the net, in spite of the constant pressure in their zone from the Bobcats.

The second half started out with a bang, with Grand Blanc scoring less than two minutes in, pushing the lead to 3 for the Bobcats.

A few more goals gave Grand Blanc a 6-0 lead with about four minutes left in the game. Grand Blanc scored on a corner kick to help finish off the Highlanders.