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November 5, 2005One goal enough for NorseSuttons Bay moves on to its first state semifinal gameSUTTONS BAY - Opportunity came calling in the first half on Friday.But after Big Rapids Crossroads Academy couldn't get to the door, Suttons Bay slammed it shut in the second. The Norsemen didn't allow a shot on goal after halftime and got one of their own with 18:04 remaining to win claim their first regional soccer title, 1-0. "At halftime I wasn't nervous," first-year Suttons Bay coach Thomas Singer said. "I knew they would pull it out; I knew they would win. There's a lot of passion and a lot of heart on this team." There's also a lot of history. Tuesday's title victory was the first in school history and now the Norse have a trophy to go with their regional championship. "It feels so much better," said junior Alex Dingrando, who had the only goal of the game. "I can't even believe it." "This feels real good," Suttons Bay senior Mike Morrison added. "It's a long time coming ... four years. I just think we wanted it more." Suttons Bay (17-3-1) now gets a chance to play some more. The Norse advance to Wednesday's Division 4 state semifinal at Muskegon West Michigan at 6 p.m. Suttons Bay will face the winner of today's regional final between North Muskegon and Hudsonville Freedom Baptist. Crossroads (20-2-1) outshot Suttons Bay 7-6 in the first half on Friday. But the Cougars couldn't get one past keeper Matt Ness or senior Jason Sohasky, who kicked out a Crossroads shot with just over three minutes left in the first half. "We had some good chances in the first half - a couple point blank right in front of the keeper - that we didn't put in," Crossroads coach Ross Meads said. "Look at the score, it was 1-0. "You knew it was going to come down to who made the most of their scoring chances because at this level, there's not going to be that many chances." Suttons Bay eliminated those chances in the second half. "It was pretty even in the first half," Dingrando said. "In the second half their offense came out pretty hard and our defense just stepped up and halted them." "We shut them down in the second half, that's for sure," Morrison added. With one side of the field shut off, the Norsemen were able to turn up the offensive pressure. "We made some adjustments in the second half to keep the ball in their end," Singer said. "I told our wide midfielders to attack their corners a little bit more." Attacking the corners led to the only goal of the game. Blaine Fritz drove down the right sideline midway through the second half. He crossed the ball to Dingrando, who beat Crossroads keeper Dan Huisjen to the right corner of the goal. "It was perfect," Dingrando said of Fritz's feed. "It was right where I needed it."
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