Burt nets five goals for Cheboygan in 6-0 Senior Night victory

CHEBOYGAN – Kenzie Burt has been a joy to watch during her career on the soccer pitch.

On Friday, the Cheboygan senior star delivered one of those top performances she’ll likely remember for some time.

Of all nights, it came on Senior Night.

On a wet evening in Cheboygan, Burt netted a career-best five goals in one game and fueled the Chiefs to a 6-0 victory over Shepherd in a Northern Michigan Soccer League clash.

“It was a lot of fun,” said Burt. “It was my career best for goals. It means a lot, especially the execution to get it. We did a lot of good passing (in practice), so I think a lot of the girls were doing really good. It’s exciting. It’s one of the best games we’ve played (this season).”

After finishing with a hat trick and three assists in a 6-0 victory at Big Rapids Crossroads on Tuesday, then following it up with two goals in a 3-2 win at Ogemaw Heights on Wednesday, Burt came up with her second hat trick of the week in the first half, then scored twice more in the second for the Chiefs (7-1-3, 7-0-3), who picked up a third straight win.

One of those getting to watch the brilliance of Burt all season long has been Cheboygan goalkeeper Callie Wanke, a fellow senior who praised her teammate following the victory.

“Every time she takes a shot, I think it’s going in,” said Wanke. “When she scores, everyone gets so excited. It’s so fun getting to see everything from so far back. It’s like I’m watching a different angle than what everyone else can see, and I can see four passes before where it’s going. It’s a cool way to watch.”

Adding Cheboygan’s other goal was senior midfielder Cassidy Jewell, who scored in the second half, while Wanke made a handful of saves to preserve the shutout for the Chiefs.

“It was incredible,” Wanke said. “This week was really like a turning point for us. Everything kind of just fell into line and started clicking, from our first game this week until now. It just keeps getting better and better. Ogemaw (Heights), we were just clicking, and tonight we just put it all together again.”

Story continues

Friday’s win capped off a stellar week for the Chiefs, who seem to be hitting their stride once again.

“Like (assistant coach Seth Duncan) and I talked about (after the game), everything looked sharper tonight,” said Cheboygan coach Tom Markham. “We’ve been working awfully hard at getting our shape and getting in position to not only defend better, but then when we do win the ball, we’re organized, and we just put Cassidy (Jewell) and Kenzie (Burt) up top, and it’s so fun to watch, because I know I’m impartial when I say this, but there’s very few that are going to be able to hang with those kids when they’re playing well, and boy, did they look good.”

It was a special night for the Cheboygan seniors, who continue to mesh well with the younger group of players on the squad.

“It’s been a challenge because some of us are newer players, and we also have a group of girls that have played together since we were in second grade, third grade. I mean, we’ve been playing together for years, and this being our last year, it’s hard because I know it’s going to end at some point,” Wanke said. “It’s fun to lead the younger girls. We have some freshmen, sophomores on the team, so it’s fun to get to watch them develop as players, grow up and kind of follow our lead, and you can see they’re working with the older players, learning from them, and we’re still learning from some of the younger players.

“You always learn, too.”

Bench dedicated in memory of former soccer coach Gregg Spence

Hours before Cheboygan’s clash against Shepherd, the school unveiled a bench in memory of Cheboygan soccer coach Gregg Spence, who passed away in March. The new bench dedicated to Spence is located near the soccer field and right next to the concession stand.

“It’s just a great story,” Markham said of Spence. “It was Gregg’s teammates at Walmart, in the automotive department, they made a homemade bench and a nice little plaque of remembrance, and we put it underneath Mr. (Tom) Brcic’s plaque. People who have been around for as long as I have know both Tom Brcic and Gregg Spence and how many kids they worked with through travel soccer on, later on with the high school boys, and he (was a referee), and what a nice and appropriate place to put a memorial for Gregg here at the soccer field.”

This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Burt nets five goals for Cheboygan in 6-0 Senior Night victory