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.
Notre Dame Prep Sets Pace Early, Holds On Late to Finish 1st Title Run
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
November 2, 2024
GRAND LEDGE – For 10 years, Rob Suffredini has been chasing the ultimate goal of a boys soccer Finals title with Pontiac Notre Dame Prep.
After the Fighting Irish achieved that Saturday with a wild 3-2 victory against Elk Rapids in the Division 3 championship match, he was thrilled, but also left wondering what to do next.
“I’m still kind of trying to process all this,” Suffredini said. “We chased it, we caught it, now what? There’s no practice tomorrow, there’s no team to get ready for. It’s a sense of relief, especially how this game ended.”
The Irish jumped out to a 3-0 halftime lead and held on down the stretch to claim the first title in program history. They had made one trip to the Finals previously, finishing as Division 3 runners-up in 2000.
“It’s awesome to make history for my school,” said NDP senior forward Will Lanham, who had one goal and one assist. “It just means a lot, especially with all of my peers, the whole school, the athletic director and everybody (here). It’s great to finally win it for the school.”
Notre Dame Prep finished the season 23-2 despite playing one of the toughest schedules in the state. It’s a final record that even surprised Suffredini, but the competitive slate achieved exactly what he’d hoped.
“I really think that schedule, those level opponents and the pace of play that we played, (the Elks) weren’t really ready for it until they got acclimated,” Suffredini said. “Then they started getting into the game, but at that point we were up by three goals, thankfully.”
NDP made its presence felt early in the game, testing Elk Rapids keeper Jacob McManus from distance on a pair of shots during the opening 10 minutes.
The second shot, a rocket from junior midfielder Jack Kilpatrick, was brushed well wide by McManus, but Daniel Lebanion was able to get it under control on the left wing and send a cross toward the front of the goal where Ben Liparoto was able to deflect it into the goal and give his team a 1-0 lead with 31:33 to play in the first half.
Lanham doubled the lead 10 minutes later, taking a pass from Lebanion, splitting a pair of defenders outside the box before finding his footing and going to the far post for his 29th goal of the season.
Late in the first half, Lanham would get his 15th assist of the year, sending a cross into the box that Liparoto rose to meet with a well-placed header with 5:52 remaining
“We went out there, we gave everything we had,” Lanham said. “We have a rule: First 10 minutes, give it everything you’ve got in the game – intensity high – and we got three goals in the first half. We just came out flying.”
The gap in level of play early was also evident to Elk Rapids coach Nate Plum.
“We got to see for the first time the true talent on that other team,” Plum said. “It’s one thing to see it on video, it’s another thing to see – they don’t click off, so you have to give it to the other team.”
The Elks did find their footing late, though, and managed to make the Irish sweat over the final 10 minutes.
“We talked a lot about heart and grit in the locker room, that’s kind of what’s gotten us to this point,” Plum said. “I think you saw the heart come through, at the end. I wish we could take back a couple of those things, and I think our boys would say the same. A lot of emotion goes into this game. I’m proud of the way we finished; we never gave up.”
Elk Rapids got on the board with 10:06 to play, as Tyler Standfest scored on a flick header over Tomassino Offer who had come off his line to handle the free kick. The service came from Noah Bogard, who lofted his kick toward the penalty spot from about 45 yards out.
That was followed by steady Elk Rapids pressure, as it looked to draw level. The Elks nearly pulled to within a goal with six minutes remaining, when a header from Carter Denoyer went just wide.
Tempers flared not long after, with an Elk Rapids player shown a red card for a post-whistle foul on an NDP player who had just received a yellow. A second Elks player then was shown a second yellow, ending the match for him with 4:47 to play.
Even with nine players, the Elks were able to pull within one score with 32 seconds remaining on a goal from Jayden Hresko, which was assisted by Standfest.
“High school sports, man, and sports in general,” Suffredini said. “I give them a lot of credit. It just took a spark. It was unnerving. Those four minutes couldn’t go any slower, in my opinion.”
PHOTOS (Top) Notre Dame Prep’s Benjamin Liparoto (2) heads a shot past the last lines of Elk Rapids’ defense for the first goal of the Division 3 Final on Saturday. (Middle) NDP’s Will Lanham (10) works to gain possession against Elk Rapids’ Jonah DenHerder and Jake Garrow (14). (Below) The Elks’ Tyler Standfest heads a shot that gets past Fighting Irish keeper Tomassino Offer. (Photos by Adam Sheehan/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)