Grosse Ile Finishes Finals Return on Top
November 2, 2019
By Jeffrey Norris
Special for Second Half
COMSTOCK PARK – By his own words, Adam Skehan is a pretty emotional person.
But when he gets on the soccer field – and more importantly, inside the goal box – Skehan has nerves of steel.
The Grosse Ile senior goalkeeper showed them Saturday at the MHSAA Division 3 Final at Comstock Park High School, coming up with several big saves including a huge point-blank stop late in regulation against Grand Rapids South Christian.
That save allowed Skehan's Red Devils to extend the game into overtime, and ultimately win it in a shootout, where once again Skehan came up big with two saves to propel Grosse Ile to a 2-1 win over the Sailors.
"When I was going into the shootout, I was so scared," Skehan said. "But I put all the emotions behind me, and came out and played for my team. And now I am so happy. After that last save, I don't even know, I just started crying."
Skehan stopped two shootout attempts by South Christian players, including the last of the game by senior Rylee Visser.
The Sailors also had one of their shots hit the sidebar of the goal in a game that was measured by inches throughout.
The win Saturday came a year after an overtime Division 3 Final loss to Hudsonville Unity Christian, and gave the Red Devils their second title in program history to go with the first earned in 2002.
"This is something we have been after for four years," said Grosse Ile coach Jon Evans, whose team has advanced to the Semifinals four of the past six seasons. "We always felt like we could get here, but it was always just getting over the hump. This year we were fortunate to win in a shootout."
And Evans is fortunate to have a keeper like Skehan leading the way.
Skehan finished with seven saves, and came up big especially during the second half and overtime when South Christian was pushing the tempo.
"I would say they definitely had more chances than we did, especially going into the second half when we had the lead," said Evans, whose team ended with a 24-2-1 record. "They really applied the pressure, but Adam came up big a couple of times and made some big saves for us to even get us to overtime. "
The Red Devils got on the scoreboard first when junior midfielder Bosh Tanyi scored on a hustle play at the 26:34 mark of the first half.
Tanyi got loose on a through ball and beat South Christian keeper Nik Schepers when Schepers attempted to play the ball and Tanyi got by him.
That score held up after 40 minutes of play, but that didn't bother South Christian coach Jason Boersma.
"We had seven games this year where we were down one and came back and won,” said Boersma, whose team ended with a 21-5-2 mark. "That shows a ton about the determination that these guys have. I told the guys before the game that I don't know what is going to happen, but I said it is going to be a great game. And I said if we get down one, I need someone to grab that ball out of the back of the net and run it back and play tough."
That player was senior midfielder Reese Bos, who played inspired soccer during the second half and overtime.
He tied the game at the 20:59 mark of the second half when he beat Skehan to the ball and headed it into the back of the net.
The Bos goal was the first given up by Skehan and the Grosse Ile defense all tournament. Bos had a couple of other chances, but Skehan stopped them.
"Everything was happening very fast. We just let off for the worst seconds that we could have," Skehan said of Bos' goal. "We gave up a goal, and that happens, but we came back and finished strong."
Click for the full scoring summary.
PHOTOS: (Top) Grosse Ile celebrates its Division 3 Final shootout win over the Sailors. (Middle) South Christian’s Thom DeVries (8) and Grosse Ile’s Max Aston work to gain possession.
Unranked Knights Finish No. 1 in D4
November 3, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
TROY – It’s fair to say Hamtramck Frontier International was underestimated entering this fall’s MHSAA boys soccer tournament.
But Division 4 opponents will be wise to pay attention to the third-year program from this point forward.
The Knights entered the District tournament three weeks ago unranked, but beat five top-10 opponents and finished their first MHSAA title run by beating No. 8 Grand Rapids Covenant Christian 3-2 on Saturday at Troy Athens.
Frontier (18-2) also eliminated No. 1 Lansing Christian, No. 4 Birmingham Roeper, No. 5 Genesee Christian and No. 9 Ann Arbor Greenhills along the way.
“Some teams underestimated us, but we came through hard. We knew we could’ve (won) it, and we got this,” Frontier junior midfielder Mujeeb Nahshal said. “The first three years, we came (a long way). We don’t have much support, but thanks to our principals and thanks to our coaches.”
The Knights had advanced to the Division 4 Semifinals in 2010 and made it back to the Regional last fall. Their regular season schedule was loaded with larger schools, and they entered the tournament after losing two of their final three games.
But Frontier outscored its seven postseason opponents by a combined 22-5 and got on the board quickly Saturday when Nahshal scored from about 20 yards out just 1 minute, 54 seconds in off a pass from senior forward Baleegh Algahim.
Although Covenant Christian did well to control the ball, the scoring opportunities during the rest of the first half belonged to Frontier. And midway through the second half, Algahim scored twice within two minutes to put the Knights up 3-0 with 20:25 to play.
“We used to practice day and night,” Algahim said. “We worked hard, so that's what we get.”
The Chargers, also playing in their first MHSAA Final, didn’t give up. Frontier loaded the box and turned away most of Covenant Christian’s increased attack. But Chargers senior Jordan Van Oostenbrugge finally broke through with 4:59 to play.
Van Oostenbrugge scored again with 55 seconds left, before Frontier held tight until the buzzer.
“I wanted to make the game interesting, I guess. Just put the ball in the back of the net, and I got it,” Van Oostenbrugge said. “It’s always difficult to come back from 3-nothing, but I think we got a couple goals there at the end and had a chance. The first half we played a little timid, but we came back in second half and took it to them.”
Nahsal also had an assist on Algahim’s first goal, and sophomore midfielder Habeb Ghaleb had the assist on Algahim’s second. Sophomore Ammar Abdullah had 12 saves. Covenant Christian junior Austin Brower had 10 saves.
The Chargers finished 19-5-1.
“We showed we could play with them. … we just ran out of time,” Covenant Christian coach Mike Noorman said. “I’m very proud of how hard they worked. We had great opportunities. But they finished.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Sophomore Ammar Abdullah makes one of his 12 saves during the Division 4 Final. (Middle) Mujeeb Nahshal (10) and his teammates celebrate after Nahshal scored the game's first goal.