Marquette coach Dan Salmon said the game was “very exciting.

“First district game we’ve had here in a couple of years, and what a great way to come out and win it as a team,” he said.

In the first half, the Alpena Wildcats worked diligently to make sure the ball was only on Marquette’s side of the field, but it was anyone’s game.

Both teams were able to force their offense to pass the ball long distances in order to set up a shot.

Marquette Mining Journal Photo by Alexandria Alpena’s Owen Kaiser (5) moves in on Marquette’s Ben Wilson during a district competition on Tuesday in Marquette.

With 17 minutes left, Marquette began to overpower the Wildcats to attempt a goal unsuccessfully. A couple shots were incredibly close — just a little too much to the left, too far over the net, too far to the right — but they didn’t make an actual score until the end of the half.

“I think we moved the ball around OK,” said Alpena coach Gregg Supiran. “Defense played fairly well for most of the game. We got some unlucky calls and I think we … should have played a little better, but the boys worked hard and, unfortunately, we didn’t get the result we wanted.”

Nearly all players were surrounding Alpena’s goal, either working to defend or score when Marquette’s Finn Stiles scored the first point of the game.

“(Finn) had the first goal,” Salmon said. “It was a flurry of activity. I couldn’t even see who scored it. And the remarkable thing about Finn is that he’s a (junior varsity) player helping us out ’cause of some injuries.”

During the second half, the Wildcats seemed nervous to take a shot. Multiple opportunities fell flat as Marquette stole the ball mid-dribble.

Marquette Mining Journal Photo by Alexandria Bournonville Alpena’s Owen Kaiser fields the ball with Marquette’s Ethan Sandstrom in hot pursuit during a district competition on Tuesday at Marquette.

Marquette parents and fans cheered for what looked like a goal from Charles Hrodey, which actually went over the net, not in it.

However, the home team did end up scoring approximately four minutes later, when Kaleb Chipelewski made a goal from the right side of Alpena’s territory.

“Kaleb Chipelewski scored the other two goals, and he’s our leading scorer this year, so it’s kind of fitting for him to put two in,” Salmon said.

With a 2-0 score, Marquette was increasingly hungry for points. Chipelewski made another goal from the left of the Alpena goal.

The Wildcats, unhappy with the 3-0 deficit, were motivated to keep the ball solely on Marquette’s half of the field.

Of Marquette’s opponents, Salmon said, “We hadn’t played Alpena at all this year, but, looking at common opponents, we thought it would be a good game, but we thought it was a winnable game, as well.”

Despite their attempts, no additional scores were made, allowing the U.P. team to win.

Reflecting upon the Wildcats’ season, Supiran said, “We progressively got better, just not good enough to continue.”

“We got better every minute of the game,” Salmon said. “I think they know that, if they lose, they’re done … They just didn’t want to be done tonight, so we live for another week.”