Big Bay de Noc senior Joey Rochefort prepares to deliver a shot against Munising Baptist on Aug. 22, 2025 at Big Bay de Noc School. (Adam Hinch/DailyPress)

GARDEN CORNERS — It came down to a shootout between Big Bay de Noc and Munising Baptist in a Northern Lights Conference soccer match here Friday with Munising Baptist picking up a 4-2 win.

Munising Baptist got on the board first as senior Dylan Swift scored with 12:21 remaining in the first half to put the Bobcats up 1-0.

Big Bay de Noc senior Joey Rochefort got a nice shot on goal with 5:52 to go in the first half, but Bobcats goalie Ethan Swift made the save. With 1:32 to go in the half Rochefort made a nice move toward the goal and scored to tie the game at one going into the half.

“I feel that both teams were evenly matched,”Rochefort said. “It was a back and forth game and they just seemed to have a little more gas in the tank.”

Munising Baptist had 11 shots on goal in the first half and Black Bears goalie Finley Morris stopped all but one for a save percentage of 91 percent.

“I messed up once in the first half,” Morris said. “Came back had a good second half and it came down to a shootout. It was just a good game.”

In the second half Rochefort shot just wide of the goal on a pair of shots before landing one up at the top of the net to put the Black Bears up 2-1.

“We can compete as a team better than I thought,” Black Bears coach Alex Ranguette said. “This is a young team. We have six new starters. We graduated eight from last year and you never know what you are going to have and if we aren’t one of the best in the league then I don’t know who is.”

With 15:30 to go in the game Dylan Swift scored on a nice move to the goal to tie the game at two.

In the shootout, Dylan Swift and Isaac Beaverson each scored as the Bobcats earned the win.

“It was our first game of the year,” Bobcats coach Hunter MacArthur said. “My main philosophy coming in was to get the young kids some experience. We lost three seniors last season and our defence is 100 percent new.”