Balanced Falcons Bring Title Back Home
November 9, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
East Kentwood’s exit in the 2011 District Final was the team’s earliest from the MHSAA boys soccer tournament since 2003.
Although it came against a formidable opponent, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central, that was ranked just a few spots lower and had beaten the Falcons earlier in the season, the loss still didn’t sit right for a team that had won three of the past four Division 1 Finals.
East Kentwood made the fixes this fall to push that championship run to four of the last six.
The Falcons get a Second Half High 5 this week after finishing another title push with a 1-0 win over Grand Blanc in Saturday’s Division 1 Final at Troy Athens. They finished this fall 22-1-4.
“Every team has a personality, and the personality of this team was unity,” Conlon said. “That’s not coach-speak. They bought into each other, bought into their roles, were very unselfish.
“Last year, we focused on the wrong things, and that bit us at the end of the season. When you play great teams like Grand Blanc and Novi, it comes down to trusting teammates. And we won a 1-nothing tight game … because we trusted someone up top, and he scored.”
East Kentwood totaled an impressive 85 goals this season, considering especially the strong schedule again this fall. That lone goal in the Final came from junior Emir Cengic, a defender who will be part of the attack in 2013 but hadn’t scored this season before tapping in the team’s final goal of 2012.
That ending was indicative of the balanced contributions from all over the field. Senior midfielder Charlie Constantino is perhaps the team’s best-known talent, and he had a solid 10 goals and 11 assists. But senior forward T.J. Ifaturoti led the team with 16 goals and senior defender Tyler Moorman also added 10. Senior midfielder Josh Hagene had a team-high 12 assists, with junior forward Erick Pizano also totaling 11.
The balance extended to the net, where senior Denis Duratovic had nine shutouts and a 1.0 goals-against average. But sophomore Peyton Gonzalez finished the run with shutouts in the Semifinal and Final, giving him four in eight games with a 0.38 GAA. Both were beneficiaries of a group that prided itself on defense although it was known more for its attack.
“There’s definitely a pressure on the guys. We have a bunch of our former players who come back and tell them how good they were, so the guys have expectations to live up to,” Conlon said. “Honestly, we don’t talk a lot about state championships. We talk about doing the right thing and focusing on the game at hand. It sounds like coach-speak, but really, that’s what we focus on
The Falcons final moments of 2012 were part another show of unity and tribute to one of many who helped establish the program’s success and expectations before them. They posed in the team photo with their trophy and medals wearing black T-shirts with the words “Seal Team Three” in honor of former player David Warsen. The Navy Seal played for East Kentwood from 2001-04 and died in August in Afghanistan. Two of his brothers also played for the Falcons; Ryan was the main keeper when the team won its previously most-recent title in 2010.
“Today was just a fun celebration,” Conlon said after the photos were taken. “That’s the way we looked at the day.”
PHOTO: East Kentwood goalkeeper Peyton Gonzalez (far right) prepares to snag a shot amid teammates and Grand Blanc players during the Falcons' 1-0 win in the MHSAA Division 1 Final. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Performance: FHN's Jonathan Kliewer
September 28, 2018
Jonathan Kliewer
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern junior – Soccer
The junior goalkeeper had eight saves – a number of them “brilliant” according to a Grand Rapids Press report – to lead the Division 2 top-ranked Huskies to a 1-0 win over No. 2 Grand Rapids Christian on Sept. 17, earning Kliewer the Michigan Army National Guard Performance of the Week. The win also avenged last season’s Regional Semifinal loss to the Eagles, while providing a confidence boost as Forest Hills Northern pursues its first MHSAA championship in boys soccer.
The Huskies are 13-0-1 with 11 shutouts this season, and Kliewer has nine of those shutouts in goal while playing in the field for the other two. Heading into Thursday’s 2-2 tie against Grand Rapids Northview, he’d saved 93.8 percent of shots he’d faced in goal this season with a 0.27 goals-against average; FHN has outscored its opponents by a combined 57-5. Kliewer was the varsity backup as a freshman and then split starts last fall with Carter Clark. The keepers agreed early last season that whoever had better statistics would receive the team’s all-state push, and Carter ended up with a slight edge and all-state honorable mention – although FHN coach Daniel Siminski said both keepers performed at that elite level. They were set to split starts again this fall, at least during the regular season, but Clark was injured in August and Kliewer has taken over fulltime.
After playing in a summer tournament in Spain, Kliewer received an invitation to join the academy for the German Bundesliga’s Werder Bremen, but he elected to return to the U.S. and finish high school. He’s grown nearly six inches since freshman year and is pushing 6-foot-4, and more soccer opportunities surely are on the way. He also carries a 3.8-4.0 weighted grade-point average and is interested in studying chemical engineering or business after high school. Those decisions will be made later; in the meantime, he's hoping to help FHN to a historic finish.
Coach Daniel Siminski said: “Jon is a very tall and athletic goalie. He is a vocal leader out of the backfield that owns the box even in heavy traffic. This year, he has improved exponentially by also showing up in fantastic shape, which has helped with agility and range. He has shed the baby pudge and now looks like a chiseled statue back there. Overall, he does not have a lot of holes in his game, and he has been a fantastic last line of defense when things break down defensively. Between his stellar play, and the great play of our defense, we’ve only given up three goals on the season.”
Performance Point: “What I think was probably the best part was how the team came together,” Kliewer said of the Grand Rapids Christian win. “It was obviously a close game, and we knew that Grand Rapids Christian was really good. But we knew that we were better, and we came out and performed super well. … I was pretty pumped up because they kicked us out of Regionals last year. A lot of people probably don’t think playing them midseason is a big deal, but I think it was a big deal for our team, just to prove to ourselves that we can win state championships this year if we put our hearts into it. I think it’s going to really matter if we play them in Regionals this year; we can reflect back on that win and say we beat them that time, so we can beat them again.”
Last line of defense: “It’s been tough, but also a challenge that I really want to step up (and meet). It’s a lot of fun playing for the team, but when it comes to games there’s a lot of pressure to perform well. I deal well with that pressure, but I also need to work to get better. It’s a challenge I like.”
Prepared to play: “I came in (this fall) and I really wanted the starting position. I thought to myself, I don’t want to give Coach any reason to tell me I’m not good enough – so I’m going to get in shape, do everything as good or better than the field players running-wise and getting in shape. And then I also did some special training over the summer with a goalkeeper coach out in Detroit, just to get back into the routine of playing goalie.”
Standing tall: “I grew a lot since my freshman year, over my sophomore year, and just getting used to my new body. Getting up off the ground is a lot harder. It’s a lot more distance to cover. But (being taller) also helps in the air because I can come out and grab a lot of stuff faster, and I’m taller so I can come out and punch the ball, stuff like that.”
Trophy time: “(Winning the Division 2 title) would just mean the world to me right now. We’ve really bonded with the seniors, and they really want to win it. Coach really wants to win it – he’s gotten super close multiple times. We really have a good team this year, and that’s pretty much all we’ve been talking about. It would just mean a lot to us, honestly, as a whole team.”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2018-19 school year, Second Half and the Michigan Army National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom or protect lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Past 2018-19 honorees
September 20: Kiera Lasky, Bronson volleyball - Read
September 13: Judy Rector, Hanover-Horton cross country - Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Forest Hills Northern's Jonathan Kliewer dives to make a stop. (Middle) Kliewer goes high as opposing strikers converge on the net. (Photos courtesy of the Forest Hills Northern soccer program.)