2011 Finals: Detroit Domination

December 16, 2011

One team won an MHSAA title for the first time, another for the first in nearly two decades. And two more added to a significant pile of soccer championship trophies.

But the tie that binds all four of this season's Finals champions is location -- all four are suburban powers near the big city in the southeastern corner of the state.

Here's a rundown of Saturday's Finals:

Division 1

Daniel Ovesea's goal from just inside the midfield stripe gave Canton its first MHSAA Boys Soccer title since a Class A trophy in 1994, with a 1-0 win over Grand Haven.

Ovesea's boot lofted high over a group of players in front of the goal behind the Buccaneers keeper Ethan Beswick.

Canton (24-1-2) and Grand Haven (18-2-3) played to a scoreless first half and seemed headed to overtime prior to Oversea's goal.

The Chiefs got stellar play from netminder Steven Murphy, who stopped 10 shots in the victory.

Divison 2

One school was guaranteed its first MHSAA Boys Soccer crown in the Division 2 Final, as both Auburn Hills Avondale and Spring Lake were making first appearances in the championship contest.

In the end, it was Avondale hoisting the trophy following a 2-1 win over the Lakers.

Spring Lake (23-2) struck first with the only goal of the first half, a Tanner Berg tally at 35:45.

Avondale (18-5-2) got the equalizer early in the second half on Joe Davison's goal, and with just 1:53 to play, Skyler Russ nailed the clincher to give the Yellowjackets their first championship.

Spring Lake outshot Avondale, 18-11. Ben Richter got the win in goal for the Yellowjackets, while Harry Kriger stood tall in net for Spring Lake despite the loss.

Division 3

Detroit Country Day captured its MHSAA-record 13th boys soccer title with a 2-1 victory over another perennial power, Hudsonville Unity Christian.

The Yellow Jackets (20-4-1) fell behind just 5:28 into the contest, as Unity Christian's Jared Haverkamp found the net with an assist from Jake Love to put the Crusaders on top.

The lead was short-lived, however, as DCD's Dean Akeel evened things up with a marker at the 10:20 mark of the opening half.

Country Day got the game-winner from Oliver Harris 18:02 into the second half, and the defense held strong from there.

Unity Christian (24-1-1) outshot Country Day, 14-7, but it was not enough for the Crusaders to avoid their first loss of the season.

Country Day's Zachary Walker got the win in goal, while Unity's Zach Lier made six saves in the defeat.

Division 4

Allen Park Inter-City Baptist won its seventh MHSAA Boys Soccer title, and first since back-to-back efforts in 2005-06, downing Muskegon Western Michigan Christian 1-0 in overtime.

Steven Fiema scored off an Evan Kraatz pass with 1:08 to play in the second overtime.

 

Be the Referee: Soccer Offside

By Paige Winne
MHSAA Marketing & Social Media Coordinator

June 4, 2024

Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.

Below is this week's segment – Soccer Offside - Listen

We have an offside situation in soccer to talk about today. The offense sends a long pass from their own half of the field to a teammate way down at the defensive team’s 18-yard line … but she’s offside.

The assistant referee raises her flag and the referee blows her whistle for offside, and an indirect free kick is given to the defense. Where do they take the kick from?

  • Is it the spot where the offside player was when the assistant referee raised her flag?
  • The spot where the ball was when play was stopped?
  • The point of the infraction?
  • Or the spot from where the ball was originally passed?

If you said “at the point of the infraction” you are correct. In this case, the defense gets an indirect free kick where the offside occurred.

Previous Editions

May 28: Appeal Play - Listen
May 21: Lacrosse Foul in Critical Scoring Area - Listen
May 14: Avoiding the Tag - Listen
May 7: Baseball Pitch Count - Listen
April 30: Boys Lacrosse Helmets - Listen
April 23: Softball Interference - Listen
April 16: Soccer Red Card - Listen
April 9: Batted Baseball Hits Runner - Listen
March 12: Basketball Replay - Listen
March 5: Hockey Officials - Listen
Feb. 27: Less Than 5 - Listen
Feb. 20: Air Ball - Listen
Feb. 13: Hockey Penalties - Listen
Jan. 30: Wrestling Tiebreakers - Listen
Jan. 23: Wrestling Technology - Listen
Jan. 9: 3 Seconds - Listen
Dec. 19: Unsuspecting Hockey Hits - Listen
Dec. 12: No More One-And-Ones - Listen
Nov. 21: Football Finals Replay - Listen
Nov. 14: Volleyball Unplayable Areas - Listen
Nov. 7: Pass/Kick Off Crossbar - Listen
Oct. 31: Cross Country Interference - Listen
Oct. 24: Soccer Overtime - Listen
Oct. 17: Tennis Spin - Listen
Oct. 10: Blocked Kick - Listen
Oct. 3: Volleyball Double & Lift - Listen
Sept. 26: Registration Process - Listen
Sept. 20: Animal Interference - Listen
Sept. 13: Feet Rule on Soccer Throw-In - Listen
Sept. 6: Volleyball Jewelry - Listen
Aug. 30: Football Rules Similarities - Listen
Aug. 23: Football Rules Differences - Listen

(Photo by Gary Shook.)