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November 2, 2005Suttons Bay earns first regional victoryDingrando has three goals in 5-1 win over Big BaySUTTONS BAY - With its first regional soccer victory in sight, Suttons Bay spotted Big Bay de Noc an early lead.Then the Norsemen took over. Three goals in a four-minute span of the first half helped power Suttons Bay to a 5-1 Division 4 victory and give the Norse that long-sought regional win. "It feels real good," Suttons Bay junior Alex Dingrando said. "We've come close about every other year, but we've had some heartbreaking losses. So this one feels real good." The victory - in just the second regional game for Suttons Bay - sends the host Norsemen (16-3-1) into Friday's championship against the winner of today's game between Harbor Light Christian and Big Rapids Crossroads Academy. Big Bay de Noc (11-11) scored just 7:25 into the contest when Jeremy Hardy put in a shot off the right post. Hardy came into the regional game with six straight hat tricks for the Black Bears, who were riding a 9-1 streak after a 2-9 start to the season. But once Suttons Bay got its offense on track, there was no slowing the Norsemen. Dingrando tied the game 16:32 into the first half on an assist from Mike Morrison. About three minutes later, Jason Sohasky netted the eventual game-winning goal on a back pass from Dingrando. A minute after Sohasky's tally, Morrison found the back of the net from in close on a through by Blaine Fritz. Suttons Bay took a 3-1 lead into halftime by out-shooting the Black Bears, 15-2. "That's the quick-strike their capable of," said first-year Suttons Bay coach Thomas Singer. "I've spent the year teaching them not to play from behind and not to play for the tie. "They needed someone to tell them it's OK for that offensive outburst and to head up (field). There's too much offensive firepower out there to not let them go." Dingrando said the Norsemen might have been took Big Bay de Noc too lightly in the early going. "I think we came into this game off our district win and thought we were going to walk all over them," Dingrando said. "After they scored, we settled down and played the way that we can." The second half was more of the same. Dingrando added two more goals in the second half in a five-minute span. Morrison assisted on the first goal, a low shot from about 16 yards away, while Fritz centered the second goal. Matt Ness was the winning keeper for Suttons Bay, which outshot Big Bay by a 30-2 margin in the game. Black Bears' keeper Fred Ranquette made sure the final score didn't reflect the shots. Ranquette made several outstanding saves, particularly in the second half. "He was a real good goalie," Dingrando said. "It was surprising because he came out real far and we weren't used to that." And Ranquette is just a sophomore. Only four of the 12 players Big Bay de Noc had on Tuesday are seniors. "We're only losing four players," Big Bay coach Todd Chambers said. "We'll come back strong next year."
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