Cengic's First Goal Golden for Falcons
November 3, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
TROY – Junior Emir Cengic had played defender all season. He wasn’t even sure why his coach made the snap decision to move him up front.
But that astute maneuver by East Kentwood coach John Conlon on Saturday helped set up Cengic for the most memorable moment of his high school career.
Cengic hadn’t scored this fall, and hadn’t really had an opportunity while lined up on the other side of the field. But 20 minutes into the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final, Cengic found himself in front of Grand Blanc’s goal receiving a 20-yard pass from teammate Josh Hagene, and then right-footing his own rebound into the net.
His first goal this season was the only goal East Kentwood needed to claim its fourth MHSAA championship. The Falcons outlasted the Bobcats over the final 65 minutes at Troy Athens to come away with a 1-0 win in the final soccer game this season.
“The ball just came. It was a lucky shot,” Cengic said. “I never imagined something like this. It’s unbelievable.
“This is probably the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
East Kentwood most recently had won Division 1 in 2010, and this season’s title was its fourth in six seasons. The Falcons finished 22-1-4, giving them seven seasons in the last eight with at least 20 victories.
How they won this time bore some similarities to other recent title runs.
East Kentwood’s goal in the 2008 1-0 win over Livonia Stevenson also came from a primarily defensive player, Bung Jin Lee.
In 2010, then-sophomore Charlie Constantino played in the back as well, biding his time as many younger players in the program must before taking leading roles. He was the Falcons’ primary offensive player this fall, and Conlon expects Cengic to move up front fulltime as well next fall.
“I actually had him in class as a fifth grader, and the kid never gets rattled,” Conlon said. “I could put him anywhere on the field. I could probably put him in goal and he’d be fine. We just ask our guys to buy into their roles, and whatever their role is, to take advantage of it. And Emir had a great moment today.”
Only two minutes before, Grand Blanc had its best scoring opportunity. Junior midfielder Ali Mukhtar moved the ball ahead to junior forward Nick Berklich, who had a chance from point-blank range that was deflected by East Kentwood sophomore keeper Peyton Gonzalez.
Falcons back-up keeper Denis Duratovic also made a major impact. It was the senior’s suggestion that led to Conlon moving Cengic up on the far side as East Kentwood prepared to throw-in from the sideline side of the field.
The loss was another heart-breaker for a Grand Blanc team that total played in 13 one-goal games this season – but had won the last three and another by two goals in overtime over No. 4 Rochester Hills Stoney Creek in a Regional Semifinal. The Bobcats (16-7-2) could muster only six shots on goal this time, but freshman keeper Pearce Skinner had 11 saves and is one of nine players who should return in 2013.
This was Grand Blanc’s second championship game appearance, and first since 1987.
“I told the guys they’ll be disappointed (Saturday), maybe through the weekend. But when they reflect back on everything starting Aug. 9, the way we battled all year. I think they’ll be happy,” Grand Blanc coach Greg Kehler said. “To get to the Finals is a great accomplishment.
“The experience of this, you can’t replace it. And to have those kids get involved and be a part of this, I think is going to carry on to next year’s young kids. And obviously, that helps greatly.”
PHOTOS: (Top) East Kentwood’s Emir Cengic (second from left) celebrates his goal with teammates a little more than 15 minutes into the Division 1 Final. (Middle) Falcons sophomore Peyton Gonzalez goes high to make a save.
Pilgrims Complete Mission for Respect, Title
November 2, 2013
By Tom Kendra
Special to Second Half
KENTWOOD – Grand Rapids Covenant Christian was on a mission to take the final step after losing in last year’s MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 4 boys soccer championship match.
Apparently, somebody forgot to let Lansing Christian know.
The Pilgrims were on a mission of their own – for respect – and they walked off the Crestwood Middle School field with plenty of it Saturday after a dramatic 1-0 victory over Covenant Christian that earned the Division 4 championship.
“We loved being the underdogs today,” said Lansing Christian sophomore keeper Chase Hansen, who helped his team withstand a furious Covenant rally over the final 20 minutes. “There was a lot of pressure at the end, but I just handled it by playing goal the way I’ve always been taught.”
Jordan Terry, the Pilgrims’ all-state senior forward, scored the game’s only goal 7 minutes into the second half, taking advantage of a brief open moment against the Covenant defense, and whipping a point blank shot from the 18-foot box over the head of keeper Austin Brower for the game’s only score.
The goal came after Brower, an all-state keeper, thwarted several other quality scoring chances by Terry and junior teammate Martin Lang Jr.
“I can’t really describe exactly what happened on that goal; it was just a split-second and the ball was on my (left) foot,” said Terry, who finished his senior year with 27 goals and 11 assists for the high-scoring Pilgrims. “I just had a go at it, and it got in there on the top of the net.”
Lansing Christian (22-0-1) came into the game with an outstanding record and on a recent hot streak, but was still considered an underdog because of the outstanding soccer tradition and superior size of Covenant.
The Pilgrims were playing in their first-ever championship game and failed to make it out of Regionals the past three years. And, in spite of their unbeaten record, they could only manage to garner honorable mention status in the final Division 4 soccer coaches poll.
Led by four double-digit goal scorers in Terry (26 goals), Lang Jr. (18 goals), Brayan Guzman-Ortiz (11 goals) and Alex McDowell (11 goals), Lansing Christian outscored its six postseason opponents by a combined score of 22-1. The Pilgrims used their speed to overwhelm one larger opponent after another.
“We can’t do anything about how small we are, so we try to change the game,” sixth-year Lansing Christian coach Joel Vande Kopple said. We wanted to get the ball out on the pitch and run.”
Terry’s goal appeared to stun the Chargers, who dominated the final 30 minutes of play but were unable to convert on myriad scoring chances. Derek Dykstra nearly scored on a backward kick with 19:18 remaining; Corbin Prince, Travis Bouwkamp and Cole Bleyenberg had good looks down the stretch; and Jared Minderhoud was just high on a great chance off a corner kick with 6:29 to play.
“We just couldn’t find the back of the net today,” said 10th-year Covenant Christian coach Mike Noorman. “That’s really the only thing we didn’t do. They are obviously very good, and we didn’t capitalize on the chances that we had.”
Lansing Christian also had several other good scoring opportunities, most of them in the first half. Lang clanked a shot off the post 9 minutes into the game, and the Covenant defense almost scored a costly “own goal” 13 minutes before halftime.
The final minutes were a flurry of activity, as Lansing Christian defenders, notably Zach Hagy, Nick Ballein, Gabe Loredo and Josiah Granger, fought valiantly to protect the precarious one-goal lead. After the final seconds ticked off, the Pilgrims swarmed Coach Vande Kopple while the Covenant players lay strewn all over the field in disbelief.
“To be honest, in those last few minutes we were just holding on,” said Vande Kopple, whose team finished unbeaten, with one 0-0 tie in the sixth game of the year against Jackson.
The loss was particularly devastating for Covenant since it lost by a goal in last year’s Division 4 title game as well, 3-2 against Hamtramck Frontier International.
Covenant, which finished 22-2-3, was champion of the soccer-rich River Valley Conference and defeated No. 2-ranked Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Central (1-0) in a shootout in the Regional Final and highly-touted Bellaire (3-2) in the Semifinal. But once again, their quest for an MHSAA championship came up one game short.
On the other side of the field, Vande Kopple was struggling to find the right words.
“I don’t think I will realize exactly what we just did for a few weeks,” Vande Kopple said. “When it hits me, I’ll be able to explain it a whole lot better.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Lansing Christian huddles after claiming its first MHSAA title. (Middle) Jordan Terry celebrates after scoring the game's lone goal. (Click to see more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)