The North Muskegon girls soccer team had a close call on Thursday, but kept its bid for a second straight state championship alive with a thrilling 3-2 overtime shootout victory over Harbor Springs in a Division 4 regional championship game at Cadillac High School.

The Norse fell behind 1-0 in the first half and 2-1 in the second, but managed to tie the game with about nine minutes remaining.

Two 10-minute overtime periods were scoreless, then the Norse clinched the victory by outscoring Harbor Springs 4-2 in the OT shootout.

North Muskegon now advances to the Division 4 state semifinals on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Comstock Park High School. The Norse will play either Kalamazoo Christian or St. Joseph Our Lady of the Lakes.

“It’s funny, but the girls didn’t play like they were very worried, even though it was a nail-biter,” said North Muskegon Coach Caleb Parnin. “I think the coaches and the parents were more worried. I think falling behind woke them up like fighters, and they kind of picked up the pace.”

Harbor Springs opened the scoring in the first half, then the Norse tied things up when Natalie Pannucci scored her 19^th goal of the season with an assist from Jaylee Schultz.

Harbor Springs scored first in the second half to take a 2-1 lead, then sophomore Emelia Reid found the net for North Muskegon with about nine minutes left, with an assist from Sam Johnson.

That took the game to overtime, but neither team was able to find the mark through 20 extra minutes of play.

That led to the OT shootout, when each team sent shooters to go one-one-one with the opposing goalie.

All four Norse shooters scored, while only two Harbor Springs shots found the net. North Muskegon goalie Emma Lamiman made a great save on Harbor Springs’ first shot, while the second shot hit the crossbar.

Scoring for North Muskegon were Johnson, Molly Stewart, Schultz and Emily Judd, who nailed the game-clinching goal.

Parnin said the team had practiced composure in shootout situations, and it paid off on Thursday.

“The girls were calm and composed, and you could tell they were locked in,” the coach said. “We had practiced things like how you walk up to the ball, taking deep breaths, and they seemed very prepared.

“A lot of these girls have played in big games, but this is a new team this year, and we’re really proud of the way they responded. They never said die. I told them we might lose playing our guts out, but we’re not going to lose playing soft.”

The victory provided a bit of revenge for the Norse, because one of their three losses came against Harbor Springs in the regular season.

“As soon as the game was over the last time, we wanted them back,” Parnin said.

North Muskegon had a 21-6 advantage in shots on goal, but many of the Norse shots were not close, quality shots, according to the coach.

“A lot of our shots were from too far out,” Parnin said. “They had a really strong defense.”