Sports · Bay City
Bay City soccer districts: Western hosts Mount Pleasant Monday, and Garber gets No. 5 Frankenmuth Tuesday
BAY CITY, Mich. — Three Bay County boys soccer teams play district semifinals this week, led by Bay City Western, which plays host to Mount Pleasant on Monday, and Essexville Garber, which has won four of its last five games and takes on fifth-ranked Frankenmuth on Tuesday.
Western and Mount Pleasant meet at 4:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 19, on the Warriors’ varsity field in Auburn in a Division 2 District 26 semifinal, according to Western’s athletic schedule.
Mount Pleasant needed two overtimes to get there. The Oilers beat Bay City John Glenn 4-2 in Wednesday’s district opener, The Morning Sun reported. Luke Wirsing’s penalty kick and a Cameron Werth goal put Mount Pleasant up 2-0 before Landen Beson-Montoya and Justin Wingeier, on a penalty kick, tied it for the Bobcats with less than 20 minutes left. Werth scored again in the second 10-minute overtime, and Marcus Black added an insurance goal with less than three minutes to go.
The loss ended a rebuilding fall for John Glenn, which had won the past two district titles and played this season under first-year coach Matt Kraft, MLive reported. Goalkeeper Nolan Waibel made 15 saves for the Bobcats, according to MLive.
Garber (8-12) opened Division 3 play with a 4-0 win over Birch Run. Fernando Espinoza scored twice, and Cass Walraven and Eliot Paul added a goal apiece. Seth Betzold had two assists, Elijah Rivet had one and Robert Raushi made the shutout in goal, according to MLive.
Coach Brent Betzold credited a player who can’t take the field. Jakub Vanek, who is injured, offered mid-game advice that helped the Dukes adjust. “Jakub has not been able to play due to injury, but he has a great soccer mind,” Betzold told MLive.
The Dukes won just four of their first 15 games. They play Frankenmuth at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20, at Montrose.
Pinconning (3-13-4) is also still playing. The Spartans, who had been shut out in seven straight postseason games before this fall and were without injured coach Mike Stoneback for part of the season, visit Roscommon at 4 p.m. Tuesday in a Division 4 district semifinal, MLive reported.
Bay City Central’s season is over. The Wolves lost 8-0 at Midland in Division 2 district play and finished 1-15 without scoring a goal; their only win came by forfeit, according to MLive.
Western stays busy after Monday. It hosts the Saginaw Valley League cross-country championships at 3 p.m. Wednesday at Delta College, then plays Bay City Central in volleyball at 7 p.m. that night. The crosstown rivals meet again Friday, Oct. 23, when Central visits Western for a 7 p.m. football game, according to Western’s schedule.
Sources:
Bay City Western High School athletics, “District 26 Semi-Final,” boys varsity soccer vs. Mt. Pleasant, Oct. 19, 2026, https://websites.eventlink.com/s/bay-city-western-high-school/Event/65f65b0f-d388-44ee-83a6-f0c95ab94710
Bay City Western High School athletics, events calendar (SVL cross-country championships, volleyball and football vs. Bay City Central), accessed Oct. 18, 2026, https://websites.eventlink.com/s/bay-city-western-high-school/Events
Shawn Robinson, “Boys soccer district roundup: Mt. Pleasant survives overtime scare, Ithaca cruises to victory,” The Morning Sun, Oct. 14, 2026, https://www.themorningsun.com/2026/10/14/boys-soccer-district-roundup-mt-pleasant-survives-overtime-scare-ithaca-cruises-to-victory/
MLive, “Bay City area soccer districts: Postseason openers bring out the best in local teams,” October 2026, https://www.mlive.com/highschoolsports/2026/10/bay-city-area-soccer-districts-postseason-openers-bring-out-the-best-in-local-teams.html
Photo: Lance Cpl. David Walters, U.S. Marine Corps, “MCAS Iwakuni hosts DoDEA Far East championship soccer game,” May 22, 2014, via DVIDS (https://www.dvidshub.net/image/1374692), Wikimedia Commons, public domain (work of the U.S. federal government), cropped and color-adjusted, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MCAS_Iwakuni_hosts_DoDEA_Far_East_championship_soccer_game_140522-M-CP522-432.jpg
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