Forest Hills Northern Caps Title Climb
November 2, 2019
By Perry A. Farrell
Special for Second Half
NOVI – Undefeated Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern ended a brilliant two-year run with an MHSAA Division 2 soccer championship Saturday at Novi High School.
Finally.
A penalty kick by Aidan O’Connor during the first half and a late goal by Ludwig Tilly were enough to secure the Huskies’ first title in soccer with a 2-0 victory over Melvindale.
“This group of seniors really kept an even keel,’’ said FHN coach Daniel Siminski. “That was a tough matchup today. Melvindale played great. They had a great game plan. In the second half, we settled down.’’
Forest Hills Northern came into the championship on a 45-1-2 run over the past two seasons, with the lone defeat coming in last year’s Final in a 1-0 shootout at the hands of Detroit Country Day. This time, the Huskies finished the year with a record of 23-0-1.
“It was tough coming up last year with all these guys and not getting a win,’’ said O’Connor. “We have 14 seniors, and to get the win was great.’’
Many of the holdovers from that team participated in Saturday’s championship with title aspirations on their minds. Northern had finished runner-up last year and 2015.
Melvindale (16-4-2), supported by an excited community, was experiencing its greatest season ever and had outscored its opponents by a combined 21-5 in tournament play.
The Huskies’ smothering defense was all over the Cardinals early as both teams tried to establish a tempo.
The game turned at the 20-minute, 33-second mark when Northern was awarded a penalty kick. O’Connor beat goalie Julian Castillo, who came into this week with 322 saves on the season, on the left side for the game’s first score.
“We’ve been scored on only four times during the playoffs, and all four times was when I wasn’t on the field,’’ said O’Connor. “Once we got that one goal, I felt the game was in the bag. Everybody knows we have a history of losing in the state finals. It’s good to finally break that standard.’’
Melvindale had a chance to tie the game, but Alhusain Yahya‘s would-be goal was nullified by an offsides penalty.
The Cardinals relied on their starting 10 and Castillo in goal, while Northern went with two keepers, Carter Clark in the first half and Jonathan Kliewer in the second.
Castillo, who singlehandedly kept the Cardinals in the game, went down with 18:04 to play in the second half when he collided knees with a Forest Hill Northern player. Castillo was helped off the field and replaced by Abdul Fattah Ahmed.
Castillo returned with 12 minutes to play to the cheers of the Melvindale faithful. Two minutes later Tilly scored the final goal off an assist from Nate Metcalf to make it 2-0. It was Tilly’s 12th goal of the season.
“It made it more comfortable,’’ said Siminski. “I felt like my defense was handling itself fine. That’s what they had done all year. Getting another goal just nailed it. A two-goal lead allowed us to finish strong. We’re talented. We have good players, starting with Aidan O’Connor, who was Gatorade Player of the Year last year. He’s a tremendous talent.
“There’s not weakness across that line. We have height and speed. You have to beat us. We don’t make a lot of mistakes.’’
Melvindale was playing in its first MHSAA Final in this sport, and Cardinals coach Tomas Belba was optimistic about a return trip.
“Good run, but we couldn’t capitalize when we had the chance,’’ he said. “We tried. They’re a great defensive team, and we couldn’t get any chances. They deserve it. All for next year.’’
Click for the full scoring summary.
PHOTOS: (Top) Forest Hills Northern celebrates its first boys soccer Finals championship. (Middle) The Huskies' Ludwig Tilly (5) works to control the ball against Melvindale's defense.
Yearlong Motivation Drives Grand Rapids Christian to Latest Finals Win
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
November 4, 2023
GRAND LEDGE — Grand Rapids Christian’s journey to this season’s Division 2 title may have officially begun in August when practice started. But, in essence, the beginning of the season for the Eagles was October 2022.
That’s when Grand Rapids Christian, which won the Division 2 championship in 2021, lost in a District matchup to eventual state champion Holland Christian – and the fire for 2023 was officially lit.
“It was horrible,” Eagles senior Jackson Mindling said. “It was one of the worst feelings ever. I told myself that I didn’t want to feel that again, and I know everybody who was on the team last year felt the same way. We motivated each other.”
The Eagles completed their run at redemption, scoring three second-half goals to pull away for a 3-0 win over Mason on Saturday at Grand Ledge High School.
Grand Rapids Christian (18-5-2) captured its fourth Finals title in school history, joining the 2021, 1998 and 2001 squads as champions.
“These boys have been so scrappy through our run,” Grand Rapids Christian head coach Aric Dershem said. “This is nine games in a row (won) for us. We had to come back from some earlier losses. But they’ve come together so well. Such great heart and such love for each other.”
After a scoreless first half, Grand Rapids Christian took a 1-0 lead with 38:33 remaining on a goal by junior John Cassiday. Mindling fired a hard shot from the left side of the field that bounced off of the arms of Mason’s keeper in the box to Cassiday, who pounced on the rebound and put home a shot underneath the crossbar.
Just 2:45 later, the combination of Mindling and Cassiday struck again.
Mindling beat a defender to the ball near the sideline, dribbled toward the box and fed a pass right in front to Cassiday, who buried the chance into the wide-open net to give the Eagles a 2-0 lead with 35:48 to go.
Grand Rapids Christian put the game away with 5:59 remaining when freshman Liam Jansen was pulled down in the box and a penalty kick was awarded. Cassiday easily put away the chance for a hat trick and a 3-0 lead for the Eagles.
In its run to the title, Grand Rapids Christian didn’t take the easy route. The Eagles defeated No. 4 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central in a District Final (3-1), No. 3 Fruitport in a Regional Final (1-0) and then top-ranked and 2022 Division 3 champion Holland Christian in a Semifinal (2-1).
“We had to respond in the second half,” Dershem said. “We let them take us out of our game a bit in the second half. We were able to start to control possession. That early goal really shifted momentum for us.”
Mason, which was seeking its fifth Finals title overall and first since 2015, finished 13-3-5.
“Grand Rapids Christian is a phenomenal team,” Mason head coach Jacob Derby said. “At all times they had the ability to strike, and to strike quick. Coming out of the half, I think our guys weren’t back in the rhythm of the game, and they were. They came and put in two real quick. That kind of forced our hand to play a different brand of soccer that maybe we hadn’t all year. Credit to them.”
PHOTOS (Top) Grand Rapids Christian celebrates during Saturday’s Division 2 Final at Grand Ledge. (Middle) The Eagles’ Peter Borst gets some air while moving the ball downfield.