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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.
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Hornets' Sorg Soars as Top Coach, Official
October 2, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
WILLIAMSTON – Brent Sorg was a high school sophomore, on crutches a few weeks after knee surgery, when he stepped in to officiate a Lansing area 30-and-over men’s league soccer game although he couldn’t move more than a few feet from his post at midfield.
A dozen years later, Sorg ran matches at the highest U.S. level as one of 24 Major League Soccer referees during the 2004 and 2005 seasons.
That he remains one of the country's elite officials after rising so quickly is a story worth telling on its own – but only half of the 40-year-old's remarkable climb on the pitch.
Sorg is better known in Michigan high school soccer as the boys coach at Williamston, which he led to the MHSAA Division 3 Final last fall for the second time in three seasons.
That's quite a combination; in fact, he knows of only one other high-level official, from North Carolina, who coaches a high school team as well. But here's the kicker, pun intended: Sorg, a three-sport athlete in high school, never played a competitive soccer game past the eighth grade.
“It is sort of interesting to reflect on the path of how I’ve gotten there,” Sorg admitted during a Williamston practice last week. “The continuing education piece, surrounding yourself with good people, being willing to try things; that’s why I think I’ve been able to have some success. You don’t always do the cookie cutter approach. The game is very simple, but there’s always more than one way to go about it.”
He’s proof – although surely there are common strands tying together his officiating, coaching and day job success.
Soccer has become Sorg's passion. That, and sharp time management skills, play large parts in his pulling off coaching a contending high school team plus officiating high-level matches during free weekends, when he’s not working 8:30 p.m. – 6:30 a.m. most days protecting the capital city.
All in all, it’s been an eventful 365 days for the Hornets’ leader, who in addition to taking his team back to a championship game also officiated an NCAA Men’s Tournament Quarterfinal and a Women’s Semifinal, and was promoted to sergeant for the Lansing Police Department.
“He works hard at both (soccer) professions and continues to learn,” said Eaton Rapids coach Matt Boersma, a friend and colleague who has worked with Sorg on the board of the Michigan High School Soccer Coaches Association. “Brent is a great example of hard work. He has put it in in all three of his professions – cop, coach and ref – and has seen that hard work give great returns."
Starting down the path
Sorg did play under a legendary coach at East Lansing, but not five-time boys soccer champion Nick Archer.
Instead, he played junior varsity for the football program led by Jeff Smith, who won one MHSAA title and led the Trojans to two runner-up finishes during his multiple-decade tenure. Sorg also played basketball and baseball – but after tearing a right knee ligament as a sophomore, decided he was done as a high school athlete. He knew then he wanted to become a police officer and wanted to guard his knee for that future.
Sorg’s soccer playing career had ended a few years before; admittedly, he probably wasn’t good enough to play past junior high. But he had friends on East Lansing’s team and became a regular cheering them on – while he also became a regular on the pitch in another capacity.
He officiated his first games as a sixth grader at the request of his club coach, who needed someone to handle littler kids' matches at $6 apiece. That seemed like a pretty good deal. At 16 and 17, Sorg started making a few hundred dollars a weekend at youth tournaments and was part of the MHSAA Legacy Program. He later was mentored by Lansing’s Dean Kimmith in soccer and Rick Hammond for football and basketball, registering to officiate all three sports.
Sorg’s first coaching opportunity came from the same source. He graduated from East Lansing in 1994 and went on to Michigan State University, and a few years in his former club team needed a youth coach. Sorg and a buddy decided to give it a shot – and Sorg found another calling.
He stuck with coaching, moved up on the club scene, did the course work to earn his National "B" coaching license from the United States Soccer Federation, and then coached a season of junior varsity at Haslett in 2000. He also continued to officiate – he’s worked six MHSAA Finals in boys or girls socccer – eventually climbing the college ranks as well and earning his National Referee badge in 2002 on his way to MLS.
Sorg may referee only a dozen or so games in this season, depending on what his schedule allows. For example: He officiated at Virginia Tech on Sept. 27, landed in Detroit at midnight and finally made it to bed at 2 a.m. before starting his coaching and working life again the next day. Work duties eliminated the next two weekends from his officiating calendar.
But when available, Sorg gets games in the Big Ten, Atlantic Coast Conference, Horizon League and American Athletic Conference, and handled the NCAA Division III Men’s Final in 2013.
“Brent is a great referee. I can't remember if I've ever had a complaint about him,” said Steve Siomos, who assigns officials for the Big Ten and Horizon League among others. “The only thing that held him back to go to the top was his job and his coaching high school kids. Those were the two priorities; referee(ing) was after that.”
Building the program
Josh Ward is the second from his family to play for Sorg. He followed his brother Jake, joining the Williamston varsity for the 2012 playoff run.
Josh knew the Hornets' program probably more than most newcomers, but still chuckled to himself the first time he heard Sorg’s annual start to fall practice.
“He loves this program. One of his quotes at the beginning of every soccer season is that this is the best soccer program to play for, I think he says, in the world,” Ward said. “So he loves this place.”
It’s true.
“I’m pretty honored by it. I say that every day,” Sorg said. “I’m in a pretty good position, with an athletic director and staff that does a nice job supporting us and what we do. We’re pretty lucky.
“(And) we’re so lucky to have people who care about their community and schools. I get comments all the time how our practice fields are better than some game fields.”
Sorg was hired in 2005, with just his club experience and that one year of JV coaching to his credit. The Williamston program had been average most seasons, but with potential for more backed also by an excited parent base that has since contributed to the building of a stadium used for multiple MHSAA Finals.
Whatever coaching skills Sorg missed out on by not playing, he’s apparently learned. The Hornets were 18-3-2 and won their first district title his first season, and have finished under .500 only once during his tenure. The 2012 team was 19-8-1 and lost the MHSAA Division 3 Final 1-0 in overtime to Grand Rapids South Christian. Last year’s team finished 13-4-6 and fell 1-0 to Hudsonville Unity Christian in the Final. This fall, Williamston is 12-3 and ranked No. 3 in Division 3, despite a schedule featuring teams currently ranked in all four divisions, including Division 3 No. 1 Flint Powers Catholic, Division 4 No. 1 Lansing Christian and Mason, formerly No. 1 in Division 2.
Sorg has learned much by watching and listening – be it at local, state and national coaching conferences, or when he’s on the sideline as an official waiting for his college games to start. Boersma noted that Sorg is a regular at the National Soccer Coaches Association of America convention, and the Hornets’ pregame warm-up includes a drill Sorg picked up reffing Wake Forest. He's also absorbed what he could mixing with longtime mid-Michigan coaches like Archer, retired Eaton Rapids coach Joe Honsowitz, recently-retired Jamal Mubarakeh of DeWitt and Hornets girls coach Jim Flore.
Sorg also has surrounded himself with experience, including assistant Steve Horn, who transformed Lansing Everett into a Division 1 power from 2005-11. Williamston’s 2012 goalkeeper, Charlie Coon, works with the current goalies, and junior varsity coaches Jason Davis and Bruce Collopy have been involved with the program for years as well.
Discipline is a staple, as one might guess with a police officer as coach – although the drive to do things right and to completion was nurtured by parents Rich and Pat, who moved the family to Michigan from Texas when Brent was 10. “It’s about … how you carry yourself. You have to work for it. That’s such an emphasis for me and the program," Brent said.
Ward said his coach finds a balance between making practices fun and competitive – “which is kinda hard to do,” Ward said.
When a player snuck in a cell phone during the team’s preseason overnight camp, Sorg made him carry each of his teammates the length of the field – something more memorable for the entire team that simply making the rule-breaker run alone.
“And at the end of the day, for me, it’s not always about the soccer component, but developing young men. Making them into good human beings and good citizens,” Sorg said.
Right on time
As Sorg was climbing the officiating ranks, Mason coach Nick Binder was rising as a player, starring first for the Bulldogs before moving on to MSU from 1999-2003. Sorg worked Binder’s youth, high school and college games, and the two now meet as leaders of elite Capital Area Activities Conference programs.
“It’s very cool to see a local guy on TV officiating the highest level of professional soccer in our country,” Binder said. “(And) as a coach, I have the utmost respect for what he’s done at Williamston over the last decade in which we’ve both been coaching. His attention to detail and motivation to elevate Williamston among the area and state’s elite programs is evident, even from the outside. His schedule is always loaded with strong competition with a clear purpose to be battle-tested when the state tournament begins.”
Sorg does indeed load up the schedule to make sure his teams are prepared. The never-stop-learning approach was another trait passed on by his parents, and Sorg practices it in a variety of ways, be it reading up on the psychological component of a game or comparing notes on motivation with peers like Lansing Sexton football coach Dan Boggan, who took the Big Reds to the Division 4 Football Final last fall.
Former Waverly and Haslett soccer coach Jack Vogel told Sorg early on that it would take five years for Sorg to establish his program and 10 to get everything the way he wanted it.
This is season 11 for Sorg's Hornets. There’s no question he’s reached a desired coaching destination in addition to his lofty standing wearing the official’s shirt.
“When I reflect on that, it’s exactly what it is,” said Sorg of Vogel’s advice. “There’s no doubt that it’s happened.
“I think we’ve done a lot of good things here. I’m proud of what we’ve built.”
Geoff Kimmerly joined the MHSAA as its Media & Content Coordinator in Sept. 2011 after 12 years as Prep Sports Editor of the Lansing State Journal. He has served as Editor of Second Half since its creation in Jan. 2012. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for the Barry, Eaton, Ingham, Livingston, Ionia, Clinton, Shiawassee, Gratiot, Isabella, Clare and Montcalm counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Williamston boys soccer coach Brent Sorg, left, shares hands with Hudsonville Unity Christian's Randy Heethuis after last season's Division 3 Final. (Middle) Sorg has been a college official for 15 seasons, including during this ACC championship game. (Below) Sorg comforts one of his players after the Division 3 Final loss.