Finals Preview: The Golden Goal
November 2, 2012
There's a definite Grand Rapids feel to this weekend's MHSAA Boys Soccer Finals.
The higher-ranked teams in all four championship games hail from that city and its near neighbors, and have combined for six MHSAA championships. Their opponents have combined for two titles, and two of the four will be playing in their first Finals on Saturday.
All four games can be watched live at MHSAA.tv. See the schedule below:
- Division 1: East Kentwood vs. Grand Blanc, 3 p.m. at Troy Athens
- Division 2: Hudsonville Unity Christian vs. Petoskey, 3 p.m. at East Kentwood Crestwood Middle School
- Division 3: Grand Rapids South Christian vs. Williamston, noon at East Kentwood Crestwood
- Division 4: Grand Rapids Covenant Christian vs. Hamtramck Frontier International, noon at Troy Athens
Read on for background on all eight teams, including their most impressive wins this fall and some of the players who could make the biggest impacts on the final day of the season. (Statistics below do not include those from Wednesday's Semifinals.)
DIVISION 1
EAST KENTWOOD
Record/rank: 21-1-4, No. 1
Coach: John Conlon, 13th season (253-38-22)
League finish: First in O-K Red.
MHSAA championship history: Three MHSAA titles (most recent 2010).
Best wins: 3-1 and 2-1 (District Semifinal) over No. 2 Rockford, 2-1 over No. 5 Brighton (Regional Final), 4-0 over Division 2 No. 2 Ada Forest Hills Eastern
Players to watch: Charlie Constantino, sr. M (9 goals, 11 assists); Tyler Moorman, sr. D (10 G/4 A); Josh Hagene, sr. M (8 G/12 A), T.J. Ifaturoti, sr. F (16 G/7 A).
The scoop: East Kentwood has won at least 20 games for the seventh time over the last eight seasons and has been the dominant program in Division 1 of late with MHSAA championships three of the last five seasons. Constantino is considered one of the top players in Michigan high school soccer, and he’s one of 11 seniors on the team. East Kentwood’s only loss was 4-3 to No. 8 Portage Northern.
GRAND BLANC
Record/rank: 16-6-2, unranked
Coach: Greg Kehler, 14th season (217-62-29)
League finish: Second in Kensington Lakes Activities Association West
MHSAA championship history: Class A runner-up 1987
Best wins: 5-3 over No. 4 Rochester Hills Stoney Creek (Regional Semifinal), 4-3 over Lake Orion (District Final).
Players to watch: Chris Sullivant, sr. M (4 G/8 A); Dominic Mastromatteo, sr. F (11 G/6 A), Nick Berklich, jr. F (16 G/2 A).
The scoop: Kehler has 429 wins total between Grand Blanc’s boys and girls teams and took the latter to the 2004 Finals. This run has been a little more unexpected, especially after graduating Mr. Soccer Zach Carroll this spring. But the Bobcats are making good on lessons learned during nine games decided by a goal during the regular season, and have won three one-goal games plus another by two in overtime during the tournament. Sullivant is a four-year standout, and Mastromatteo in particular has been finding the net often during the postseason surge.
DIVISION 2
HUDSONVILLE UNITY CHRISTIAN
Record/rank: 24-2, No. 3
Coach: Randy Heethuis, 19th season (353-62-29)
League finish: Tied for first in O-K Green
MHSAA championship history: Two MHSAA titles (most recent 2009), four runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 3-0 over No. 2 Ada Forest Hills Eastern (Regional Semifinal), 2-1 over No. 1 Spring Lake (Regional Final), 2-0 over No. 7 Holland, 2-0 over Division 3 No. 2 Grand Rapids South Christian, 4-0 over Division 4 No. 10 Muskegon Western Michigan Christian.
Players to watch: Jared Timmer, soph. M (6 G/15 A); Jake Love, sr. F (12 G/13 A); Stephan Hooker, sr. M (19 G/8 A); Joe Honderd, jr. F (13 G/6 A); Nick Woldyk, sr. GK (0.76 GAA, 9 SHO).
The scoop: The Crusaders are the reigning runners-up from Division 3 and certainly earned their way here by beating the only teams ranked ahead of them in the most loaded Regional in any division. Unity Christian has shut out four of six opponents during the tournament and 14 total this season. The losses came on opening night to Division 1 No. 8 Portage Northern and to Holland in their second game against each other this fall.
PETOSKEY
Record/rank: 17-8-2, unranked
Coach: Zach Jonker, third season (35-26-9)
League finish: Third in Big North Conference
MHSAA championship history: Two MHSAA titles (most recent 2008), two runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 1-0 (OT) over No. 4 East Lansing (Regional Final), 3-1 over No. 9 Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood (Semifinal), 2-0 and 2-0 over Division 3 No. 7 Elk Rapids.
Players to watch: Louis Lamberti, sr. F (12 G/5A), A.J. Hoffman, sr. F (10 G/6 A), Evan Altman, sr. M (8 G/8 A), Drew Smith, sr. GK (0.92 GAA, 13 SHO).
The scoop: The Northmen loaded their schedule with tough competition early, and it’s paid off at the end. Their losses are nearly as impressive as their wins: to Division 1 honorable mention Warren DeLaSalle and No. 4 Rochester Hills Stoney Creek and to Division 2 No. 8 Bloomfield Hills Lahser during a 1-5-1 start. Petoskey is 16-3-1 over its last 20. The team also finished MHSAA runner-up in 2009 before making District exits the last two seasons.
DIVISION 3
GRAND RAPIDS SOUTH CHRISTIAN
Record/rank: 20-2-3, No. 2
Coach: Jason Boersma, second season (36-7-5)
League finish: First in O-K Gold
MHSAA championship history: MHSAA champion 2010, runner-up 2007.
Best wins: 2-0 over No. 3 Whitehall, 1-0 over No. 9 Grosse Ile (Semifinal).
Players to watch: Erik VerHoef, sr. GK (0.43 GAA); Kyle Doornbos, sr. D/M (6 G/12 A); Marlon Bykerk, jr M/F (14 G/13 A); Cody Kok, jr. M (13 G/6 A).
The scoop: The 17 shutouts by VerHoef and Zach Medendorp rank among the most in MHSAA history for one season, and total the team has given up only 10 goals. Seven Sailors have scored at least six goals, with senior Alex Klunder adding his ninth of the season in Wednesday’s Semifinal to push the team into the championship game. South Christian’s only losses came to Division 2 No. 2 Forest Hills Eastern and No. 3 Unity Christian.
WILLIAMSTON
Record/rank: 19-7-1, honorable mention
Coach: Brent Sorg, eighth season (106-69-12)
League finish: Second in Capital Area Activities Conference White
MHSAA championship history: Has never appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 3-1 and 2-1 (SO, Semifinal) over No. 7 Elk Rapids, 2-0 and 3-2 (Regional Semifinal) over No. 8 Freeland, 2-0 over No. 10 Frankenmuth (Regional Final), 2-1 over Division 4 No. 1 Lansing Christian, 6-2 over Division 4 No. 9 Ann Arbor Greenhills.
Players to watch: Hunter Lyle, jr. M (16 G/6 A); Zach Sundin, sr. F (19 G/6 A), Ross Needler, sr. M (17 G/16 A), Phil Erickson, sr. M (10 G/3 A).
The scoop: Williamston has won nine of its last 10 after also stacking the schedule early. The Hornets fell early to ranked Division 2 teams Holland, East Lansing and Haslett, plus Division 3 No. 5 Detroit Country Day and tied Division 1 honorable mention Birmingham Brother Rice during the first half of the season. But Williamston has been building toward this type of run with five straight seasons of either increasing or equaling the previous year’s win totals. This season’s District title was its second straight and fourth under Sorg.
DIVISION 4
GRAND RAPIDS COVENANT CHRISTIAN
Record/rank: 19-4-1, No. 8
Coach: Mike Noorman, ninth season (106-64-11)
League finish: First in River Valley Conference
MHSAA championship history: Has never appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 2-1 over No. 10 Muskegon Western Michigan Christian, 2-1 over No. 2 Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Central (Regional Semifinal), 2-0 over honorable mention Leland (Semifinal).
Players to watch: Jordan Van Oostenbrugge, sr. M/F (16 G/11 A); Corbin Prince, jr. F (16 G/12 A); Austin Brower, jr. GK (1.23 GAA/11 shutouts).
The scoop: Combined, Van Oostenbrugge and Prince have scored more than half of their team’s goals and more than the Chargers have given up this season. The District title was Covenant Christian’s third in five seasons and the team has increased its win total in each of the last four. The Chargers have 11 seniors, but also start two talented sophomores.
HAMTRAMCK FRONTIER INTERNATIONAL
Record/rank: 17-2, unranked
Coach: Nasser Algahim, third season (51-4)
League finish: Does not play in a conference.
MHSAA championship history: Has not appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 4-2 over No. 4 Birmingham Roeper (District Semifinal), 2-0 over No. 9 Ann Arbor Greenhills (Regional Semifinal), 1-0 over No. 1 Lansing Christian (Regional Final), 2-0 over No. 5 Genesee Christian (Semifinal).
Players to watch: Baleegh Algahim, sr. F, (23 G/10 A); Habeb Ghaleb, soph. M, (21 G/8 A), Mujeeb Nahshal, jr. M, (5 G/15 A), Mohammed Alfahad, sr. M (5 G/11 A); Ammar Abdullah, soph. GK (0.78 GAA)
The scoop: Frontier International is in just its third season as a program, but made the Division 4 Semifinals in 2010 and returned to Regionals last fall. Playing as an independent, the Knights faced a schedule loaded with bigger schools from all over the Detroit area, with losses only to Pontiac Notre Dame Prep and Berkley. Although unranked, no team aside from Unity Christian in Division 2 has knocked out as impressive a group of ranked opponents during the tournament this fall.
PHOTO: Hudsonville Unity Christian senior Logan Walters (21), here in last season's Division 3 Final against Detroit Country Day, will try to help the Crusaders to their second MHSAA title in three years.
Genesee Christian Ends Run "Perfectly"
November 7, 2015
By Chip Mundy
Special for Second Half
BRIGHTON – A perfect season by the Burton Genesee Christian boys soccer team had a perfect finish.
Four-year senior Jesse Oliver scored in overtime to give the Soldiers the winning margin in a 3-2 victory over Kalamazoo Hackett on Saturday in the MHSAA Division 4 championship game at Brighton High School.
It is the first MHSAA state championship in any sport in school history.
“I would say that definitely was the perfect ending to the season,” Genesee Christian coach Doug Anderson said, moments after having a bucket of cold water dumped on his head.
Anderson didn’t mind the gesture.
“It’s definitely worth it because it means that we won,” he said. “I didn’t want to prepare a losing speech for these guys, and I didn’t have one ready.”
The feeling of scoring the game-winning goal in overtime was overwhelming for Oliver.
“It’s exhilarating. It’s amazing,” he said. “This isn’t something you get to do every day. I really didn’t expect it, but I was in the right spot at the right time.
“It’s surreal. It really is surreal.”
Genesee Christian (28-0) had leads of 1-0 and 2-1 before being forced into the two 10-minute overtime sessions. Oliver broke the tie when he scored from right in front of the net on a pass from junior Riley Buchalski.
“The ball was at the end line, and it was juggling around a bit,” Oliver said. “I was crashing toward the middle, and the ball just shot out. I was in the right spot at the right time and put it in with my left foot.”
Oliver, who stands 6 feet, 5 inches, was not the most likely player to score the goal. But as a senior, it was a fitting finish.
“Jesse is my holding man,” Anderson said. “He has a couple of goals from set pieces and stuff, but he’s our stalwart back there; our workhorse, and I’m so happy for him. He has played all four years. He didn’t play a lot as a freshman, but he just kept getting better and better.”
Genesee Christian made it to the title game with a shootout victory over top-ranked Lansing Christian in the Semifinal.
“I’m sick and tired of these overtime games and the guys trying to give me a heart attack, but it does make it more exciting,” Anderson said. “Obviously, I would have liked to have a shutout, but it gets all the guys into it, and in the end we won, and that’s all that matters.”
Junior Cole Russell, who scored the first goal of the game for the Soldiers, praised both Oliver and Buchalski for the game-winning goal.
“Jesse’s composure to keep it down and put it in the back of the net to give us a 3-2 lead in the state championship game was unbelievable,” Russell said. “Riley was a beast in overtime. He was everywhere.”
Russell, a junior, gave Genesee Christian a 1-0 lead when he beat a defender and the goalkeeper, who came out of the net, and found the back post from about 30 yards out. Ryan DeWeese picked up an assist on the goal.
“Ryan DeWeese, it was all him,” Russell said. “The ball he gave me was unbelievable. I could not have asked for a better ball. I had the easy job, to be honest. It was all him.”
Russell also had an assist on Genesee Christian’s second goal. With the game tied 1-1, Russell got the ball to junior Tyler Rose in front of the net, and Rose scored on a header.
Kalamazoo Hackett (21-5-1) was in its fifth MHSAA championship game and first since 1995. The Irish had not lost in a Final and this time battled back twice from one-goal deficits.
Senior Will Knoll tied the game 1-1 in the 51st minute with an assist from Kieran O’Brien, and junior James Amat made it 2-2 in the 73rd minute on a free kick from 25 yards. The Irish scored twice on a team that had allowed just 10 goals in 27 games.
“Those were very quality goals by them, and they did frustrate us a little bit,” Anderson said. “They have a good team, and they played good defense against us.”
It was a highly entertaining game with several chances and close calls by both teams in addition to some fine saves by goalkeepers Zach Noecker (Genesee Christian) and Matthew Carpenter (Kalamazoo Hackett).
In particular, the last five minutes of the first half were thrilling. The highlight came when Carpenter was caught out of the goal, and the Irish players had to defend in his absence. Amat made two saves in a flurry in front of the net.
Russell nearly score in that span as well as his shot went just over the net and just under the crossbar on the goal posts used for football. He is one of many who have played together since the fourth grade.
“We had a feeling that when we were juniors and seniors that we were going to win the state championship, and we did,” Russell said. “Our teamwork is tremendous, and I am so proud of everyone who played on this team, from the person who played the least minutes to the player who played the most.
“We all put in the work for this, and we earned it.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Genesee Christian's Riley Buchalski works to keep control of the ball during Saturday's Division 4 Final. (Middle) Kalamazoo Hackett's Jacob Wurtz tries to push the ball past a defender.