The work that goes into winning makes victory even sweeter. Western Michigan Christian girls soccer can attest to the sweat and tears it put into securing Friday night’s Division 4 district championship win over North Muskegon. The Warriors topped the Norse 5-0 in front of a packed house at North Muskegon, securing the team’s first district title since 2016. While the final score indicates a clear rout by WMC, the win did not arrive as the final number indicates. After all, the Norse had been the premier Division 4 squad in the area as it has made it to either the state finals or semifinals for five of the last six seasons which included a state championship in 2021. Now WMC can say it has earned every bit of Friday’s win. “We battle (North Muskegon) every year, you know what you’re getting into,” said third-year WMC Coach Jared McFarland. “It’s a physical matchup, but it’s a battle of who wants it more, who can make the extra little play and thankfully tonight were on the end of those.” The 5-0 shutout victory over the Norse came to the Warriors in a patient fashion and with multiple players leading the way. Senior leader Nora Pollock was once again WMC’s shining star. Pollock tallied a hat trick in the win and also posted an assist. “At the beginning of the game, we wanted it so bad,” said Pollock. “We were nervous, but we were telling each other that we got it and we have time and the goal won’t come right away, but we can slowly work towards it and then we finally got the one and then it just kind of kept going and building from there.” But Nora Pollock wasn’t the only force holding the Warriors’ drive against the Norse. Seniors Maria Eenigenburg along with Molly Visser, Kirsten VanOrman and Hallie Lindale were key in keeping Warrior goalkeeper Elaina Clapp in the driver’s seat for her 13th shutout of the season. “They are incredible anchors on the backline for us,” said McFarland. “A lot of leadership from those girls.” The two teams traded possessions through the midfield in the first half of Friday’s action. Neither team was able to find solid opportunities on net in the first 25 minutes of play. It wasn’t until Gilly Beckley broke the seal for a 1-0 WMC lead with 14 minutes left in the first half, did the Warriors start to sense some sort of confidence in the game. Eenigenburg set up the play for Beckley on a long throw-in. Beckley managed the possession and dribbled around a pair of Norse defenders before burying a shot into the corner. “To come from Gilly, massive for her confidence and a boost for the team,” said McFarland. “Gilly has been dealing with an injury that’s been lingering all season long, but in the cafeteria today she came up to me and said that she was 100 percent and feeling great and said she had one in her tonight. “When she got on the end of it she was like, ‘I told you coach.'” With the first Warriors’ goal coming from Beckley, the pressure was taken off of Nora Pollock to carry the bulk of WMC’s scoring. “It’s nice to have the pressure off of me to score, but I want to score and so I just try to give it my hardest because I want it,” said P0llock. “I love to see my teammates score.” After a 1-0 break at halftime, WMC went right to work to start the second half. “I challenged the girls coming out of half time to find that insurance goal so that we can have a little breathing room and we can play within the game,” said McFarland. WMC sent a solid push right away into North Muskegon’s zone to start the second half. That early drive was led by Nora Pollock who made a pair of nifty maneuvers along the Norse goal line to leave their defenders reeling. A cross-pass to Eenigenburg in front of the net led to a massive collision with Eenigenburg meeting the goal post and Norse goalie Kendall Hibbard. Emersyn Paling was able to control the resulting loose ball to find Pollock set up right inside the box to throttle in a 2-0 WMC lead. “I wrapped around it (the goal post), but it led to a goal and I wasn’t hurt,” said Eenigenburg. “I was thinking more of someone please get the ball and score it.” The Warriors used the 2-0 advantage to build longer possessions to keep the Norse on their heels. That relaxation let Nora Pollock and the Warriors working together even more. With a perfect through pass set up by younger freshman sister, Eve Pollock, Nora Pollock was able to beat Norse goalie Hibbard to the ball near the 18. Nora sent in her second goal of the game for a 3-0 lead with 16 minutes left to play. “It’s so fun and such a special experience that not a lot people get to have,” said Nora Pollock about the experience of playing with her younger sister Eve, a freshman. “I’m definitely grateful.” McFarland also noted the experience of watching the two sisters playing together. “It’s fun because they push each other, they argue with each other but they love each other at the end of it,” said McFarland. “It’s super fun to get to see them play together, to share these moments together and especially before Nora goes off to college. It’s super fun to see that relationship between them.” Two minutes later, Eenigenburg set up Nora Pollock off a direct kick from 30 yards out that lofted perfectly between the Norse defenders for a bouncing-ball header for Pollock’s third goal of the game and a 4-0 lead. Mia Oppenhuizen added WMC’s fifth goal with eight minutes left. Oppenhuizen took a cross from Nora Pollock, touched it once in front of the Norse net and then sent the ball flying into the net for her first goal of the season and more Warrior pandamonium. “We ran into an awesome team today, we had to go for it and had to score, and you feel for your defenders,” said North Muskegon Coach Caleb Parnin. “When you have a kid as talented as Nora Pollock on your team, it’s so disrupting, but we thought we had something that worked and what’s so special about her is she’s so unselfish and as much as you want a kid like that to be a ball hog, she’s not and I just have immense praise for what she does.” WMC outshot North Muskegon 11-3 in the game as Clapp posted the shutout win in goal. The win advances the Warriors to Tuesday’s 5 p.m. regional semifinal with Kalamazoo Christian at WMC. The Comets defeated Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep 5-1 in overtime.