East Kentwood Prevails in D1 Shootout
November 5, 2016
By Jeff Chaney
Special for Second Half
COMSTOCK PARK – It wasn't a shocker that the MHSAA Division 1 Boys Soccer Final went through regulation and two overtimes scoreless.
Not with a pair of goalies that were on average giving up about a half a goal a game with 15 shutouts each heading into Saturday's championship game at Comstock Park High School.
So it was fitting that all eyes in the vocal crowd at Comstock Park were on Troy Athens' goalie Mason Maziasz and East Kentwood's Haris Dzafic as both teams lined up to settle the championship on penalty kicks.
And when the five shooters were down for both teams, Dzafic stopped three Troy Athens shots, while Maziasz stopped two, just missing on the game-winning shot by East Kentwood sophomore midfielder Samuel Esquivel.
"I just tried to keep my cool, and expected to make the save," Dzafic said. "It was all about getting on the right side and getting a hand on it. It's an unbelievable feeling, knowing that the team is counting on you."
East Kentwood coach John Conlon, whose team has now won five Division 1 championships, the previous most recent in 2012, was glad he saw the potential in Dzafic as a goalie at such a young age.
"He is another one I have coached since he was like 6 years old," Conlon said. "I used to joke that we put him in goal because he was a terrible field player, and now he is the best goalkeeper in the state. He has been brilliant for us all season. He gave up two goals in the whole tournament, and he is only a junior."
Maziasz is a senior, and was just as solid in goal Saturday – if not better – because East Kentwood pushed the tempo for most of the game and kept peppering the Troy Athens goal, only to find Maziasz coming up with big save after big save.
He ended the day with nine total, and many clutch plays against a fast and talented Falcons offense.
"We died by what we lived by to get here," Troy Athens coach Todd Heugh said. "It's a coin flip when you get to a shootout, but their goalkeeper made some great plays, and credit to our kids for fighting, because I thought they took it to us for long stretches of the game.
"Mason has been great all season," he added. "Count the penalty kicks, this is his 16th shutout of the year, and he has 40 of them for his career. He has double-digit wins for the last three years he has been our goal keeper. He has made save after save, time after time. He's been excellent for us, and sometimes you take a kid like that for granted."
Dzafic ended his regulation and overtime play with six saves. But those three in the shootout will be remembered forever.
“This feels amazing; we just won a state championship," Dzafic said. "I have to give credit to Troy Athens. They are an amazing team with an amazing keeper. We just found a way to hold them off to the end, and then got them in the shootout."
Conlon breathed a sigh of relief.
"I have been on both ends of a shootout, the winning and losing side," Conlon said. "It just went our way today."
PHOTOS: (Top) East Kentwood’s Harris Dzafic makes a save during Saturday’s Division 1 Final. (Middle) Narcis Sprecic (11) works to gain possession for the Falcons.
Puma-Quick Potter's House Wins Matchup of 1st-Time Finalists
By
Perry A. Farrell
Special for MHSAA.com
November 6, 2021
NOVI – Wyoming Potter’s House’s first trip to the Division 4 soccer championship match was a successful one, to say the least.
On Saturday at Novi High School, the Pumas (24-3-1) lived up to their nickname, racing past Clarkston Everest Collegiate 3-0 to claim their first Finals title.
It was the first Finals appearance in boys soccer for both schools.
On its way to the championship, Everest (18-3-4), which had nine freshmen on varsity, beat No. 4 Royal Oak Shrine, No. 11 Lansing Christian and No. 10 Bad Axe.
Potter’s House had knocked off No. 2 Grandville Calvin Christian, with the Pumas winning three one-goal games and their District final in a shootout on their way to the Final.
Saturday’s battle wasn’t as close.
Potter’s House, boasting nine players taller than 6-foot, took the fight to Everest with their quickness for most of the first half as both teams missed a couple of scoring opportunities.
“These guys have been working passing patterns for the last month-and-half,’’ said Pumas coach Mike Colago. “Guys have been hitting their spots, playing between the lines. A lot of experienced players and a lot of guys buying into what we are doing. We just try to dominate from the beginning and play really fast.’’
That philosophy worked again.
Forward Jonathan Stout, the team’s leading scorer and a Michigan State recruit, finally got the Pumas on the board with a boomer from 25 yards out at the 15:27 mark of the first half. It was his 27th goal of the season.
“There were a bunch of alumni here and guys I played with in the past,’’ said Stout. “This is the first time we’ve made it this far. For future generations coming here, they can say we can do this because the team before us did it. It builds confidence.’’
Quickness paved the way for the Pumas’ second goal as Yosia Mukanda put the eventual winners up 2-0 with nine minutes left in the first half when the Mountaineers were unable to clear the ball out of their end.
“Until we get that first goal, we’re just pushing and pushing and pushing,’’ said Stout. “Once we got that first goal, in my head, I thought we were going to set back. But Yosia and Rukundo (Masengesho) had other plans.
Masengesho wasn’t technically credited with a goal because it hit an opposing player on the way. But he was the initiator of the action that led an Everest defender to accidentally put the ball in his team’s own net with 5:59 left in the half to make it 3-0.
“In the second half we’ve had to hold onto those leads, but we were fortunate enough to have a three-goal lead instead of a one-goal lead to hold onto,’’ said Stout.
PHOTOS (Top) Jonathan Stout (13) leads the attack for Potter’s House while Everest defenders Lucas Cross (10) and Luke Walker (22) pursue. (Middle) The Pumas’ Yosia Mukanda (16) and Mountaineers’’ Charlie Reichert (5) race downfield. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)