After Delay, Greenhills Storms to 1st Title
November 4, 2017
By Keith Dunlap
Special for Second Half
ROCHESTER HILLS – It wasn’t a pot of gold at the end of a literal rainbow over Stoney Creek High School’s field on Saturday, but an MHSAA championship trophy was still a great prize for Ann Arbor Greenhills.
For the first time in school history, Greenhills is a Finals champion in boys soccer following a 1-0 win over Kalamazoo Hackett in the Division 4 title game.
After the teams broke off for halftime with the game scoreless, lightning was spotted to start what turned out to be an 88-minute weather delay.
Skies eventually cleared, and the teams began the second half playing under a visible rainbow high above the field.
With 23:58 left, Greenhills made its trophy claim.
After earning a corner kick with a rush down the sideline and cross toward the middle of the field that was deflected out of bounds by a Hackett defender, Greenhills senior Jerry Tucker put home a perfect service into the box off of the corner by senior teammate Matthew Pumphrey for the game’s only goal.
Tucker said he deflected the ball into the wide-open net with his hip/waist area.
“In the moment, I saw it was going over the guy’s head and I couldn’t go too low,” Tucker said. “It went off my waist and into the goal.”
From there, Greenhills (20-6-1) didn’t sit back with the lead and managed to put a good amount of pressure on Hackett without giving up any dangerous counterattacks.
The Irish did manage to earn two corner kicks after the goal, but they were harmlessly cleared away.
Greenhills had lost in its three previous MHSAA championship game appearances, the most recent in 2010.
“To be able to win is very difficult to describe,” said Greenhills head coach Lucian Popescu, who coached that runner-up team in 2010.“It’s hard to have words about it.”
It certainly was noteworthy that Greenhills was able to shut out Hackett, given the Irish (19-2-2) entered the game having scored 34 goals in six playoff games and hadn’t been shut out since its season opener against Mattawan.
“We emphasized simple things we needed to do,” Popescu said. “Instead of marking the forwards, we were actually looking to play more aggressive to try and stop the pass to them. I think we were able to be successful most of the time.”
Hackett head coach Ian Troutman certainly had lofty praise for the defensive effort turned in by Greenhills.
“They had a great game plan and their back line, in particular their holding midfielders, did a great job keeping us limited in time and space on the ball, which we are not used to,” Troutman said. “We are used to having the lion’s share of possession. We had a little bit of a hard time controlling the ball in their half. Their intensity and speed on defense really helped them out.”
Both teams had to deal with a rare November thunderstorm that forced the lengthy delay, which started at halftime when the teams huddled up for talks with their coaches.
Tucker said he and the rest of his teammates stayed off their phones during the delay, opting for other ways to kill the time.
“We ate come Cliff bars and we stayed calm,” Tucker said. “We kept our phones away and were trying to stay focused on the game. We are good at keeping our mindset.”
Greenhills did, and that trophy at the end of the rainbow Saturday is now headed to its school forever.
PHOTOS: (Top) Greenhills players celebrate during Saturday’s Division 4 championship win. (Middle) Hackett’s Daniel Amat (4) attempts to gain possession.
Records May Not Show It - Yet - But Kingsley Soccer Improving, Ready to Rise
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
October 21, 2022
Kingsley did not go on unnoticed this fall in Northwest Conference soccer play.
In fact, many took considerable notice of the Stags.
And, the coaches of the league’s top teams are looking for even bigger things ahead from Kingsley. Quite, frankly, they’re hoping it comes to fruition for their own teams’ sakes.
“It’s always beneficial to have a solid conference – as it helps teams prepare for playoffs,” said Rob Sirrine, coach of this year’s league title winner, Leland. “We expect them to improve in the next few years.
“Kingsley has had a rough go of it the last few years – not unlike other schools in our conference that also have football teams,” he continued. “I think they have some potential based on the coaches they have brought in and volunteers that are helping out the program.”
Second-year Kingsley head coach Tim VanWingerden welcomed Mike Alanson as a volunteer varsity assistant coach and two middle school coaches — Bert Baker and Lars Mitchell — this fall. Baker and Mitchell had kids on the Stags’ middle school squad this season.
League opponents, including the varsity coaches, noted big differences already.
Buckley coach John Vermilya, whose Bears finished second this year after winning the crown a year ago, echoed Sirrine.
“Kingsley has shown incredible resilience over the last three seasons,” Vermilya said. “This season they bounced back with an influx of young players, and you can see their growing tactical awareness along with technical ability.”
Youth soccer is growing in the Kingsley community as well, adding to the excitement. In fact, VanWindergen has two boys —Ted, 10, and Gunnar, 9, playing in the youth program. Tabatha VanWingerden, wife of the Stags’ head coach, is the coach of the U-12 team.
Mitch Miggenburg, Kingsley’s athletic director, is pleased to see the growth in numbers as the Stags move through “a 3-5 year” plan to become more competitive in soccer and cross country. He’s hoping those sports can find success similar to that of the Stags’ football team.
Kingsley is 6-2 on the gridiron and looking ahead to the football playoffs again. The Stags are fielding a full squad of cross country runners this fall after some lean years.
With an enrollment of well under 500, Kingsley has been able to involve 62 boys in football, 10 in cross country and 17 in soccer. Miggenburg noted cuts had to be made to the school’s co-ed middle school team this fall.
“I think we’re headed in the right direction,” Miggenburg said. “If you look at our record, you might not see it.
“This is not something that is going to happen overnight,” he continued. “In order for us to develop the way we want to develop, we’ve got to put some time in outside the season. And we have some coaches willing to help and do that, and it will only benefit us in the future.”
The Stags have not won a game the last two seasons, but VanWingerden believes success, as defined by wins, is right around the corner. He knows his team has shown moments of brilliance in every contest before the goals mounted against the Stags.
VanWingerden and Kingsley have been praised for outstanding sportsmanship by referees, opposing players and coaches.
Other bright spots in 2022 included outstanding play by freshman goalie Nate Lamie and stellar defense by senior captain Zakkeus Bedford. The Stags will have to overcome the loss of Bedford, their only senior this year, who played with tremendous drive and was the leader on the field.
But, they should return rest of the squad hungry for wins. And, they’ll add some solid incoming freshman players.
“I think next year is going to be a big turnaround,” VanWingerden predicted. “So the next two, three years, we’re going to start turning some heads.”
Despite not experiencing wins either of the last two seasons, the Stags have enjoyed playing soccer.
“There is a camaraderie there with these kids I just can’t quite put my finger on, but it’s part of what binds them better, facing that adversity on a regular basis and getting though it together as a team,” VanWingerden said. “They’ve come to practice the next day determined to work hard and try to improve little by little.
“The common goal to get better pulls them together and gives them a determination that is hard to find.”
Many conference games this year were played 9 vs. 9 or 10 vs. 10 per conference agreement. Benzie Central and Glen Lake played with fewer than 11 players in every contest this season. Benzie Central, Glen Lake, Kingsley and Suttons Bay all compete in cross country, football and soccer. Leland and Buckley do not field football squads.
The Comets won a District championship 1-0 on Thursday at Suttons Bay. The Bears are playing in a District Final on Saturday in Lakeview. Kingsley’s 0-19 season ended with a Division 3 District-opening loss to Boyne City last week.
The Stags have already begun working on next year. Offseason plans include drop-in soccer and participation in a newly-developed strength and conditioning program.
“The program is not going to move forward unless we put in a ton of work,” VanWingerden acknowledged. “We’ve had glimpses into what we could be if we did it on a regular basis.
“It is really encouraging.”
Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Kingsley’s Rolando Torres works to gain possession against Traverse City Bulldogs’ Tyler Ritola (17), Jonathon Scott (27) and Syrus Ritola (19), as Josephine Arrowood officiates. (Middle) This fall’s Kingsley soccer team. (Below) Zakkeus Bedford lines up a kick this season. (Photos courtesy of the Kingsley athletic department.)