Gull Lake Makes 1st-Minute Goal Stand in Claiming 4th Finals Title
By
Perry A. Farrell
Special for MHSAA.com
November 5, 2022
NOVI – Thirty seconds changed the Division 2 boys soccer championship match between Richland Gull Lake and Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood on Saturday at Novi High School.
It took Gull Lake 30 seconds to score, as junior Ryker Corstange took a slick pass from senior Jasek Zielaskowski and blasted a shot from the left side to give the Blue Devils a 1-0 lead.
That ended up the only goal of the game, as Gull Lake (22-3) claimed its fourth MHSAA Finals title in a defensive struggle.
“Did I think that would stand up? With our defense, I would say yes,’’ said Blue Devils goalkeeper Evan Kaiser, who was brilliant in the victory. “We have a great defense. Everyone does their job. Everyone works hard, and we come together as one big family. Getting a goal early doesn’t take the pressure off, but it definitely helps our defense knowing we are up a goal.”
Gull Lake didn’t allow a goal during its six-game MHSAA Tournament run.
“We got a wake-up call when we lost to Mattawan 4-3 during the regular season,’’ said Ryker Corstange, the nephew of head coach Jeff Corstange. “That sparked us. We were insanely mad. We wanted to go out and show people what Gull Lake was about. We’ve been known to score pretty fast. Jasek just worked his tail off, got to the corner, crossed it and I was just there to shoot it in.’’
It was Jeff’s fourth Finals title, as he previously won three with the girls soccer team at Gull Lake.
“This one meant the most,’’ said Ryker.
Jeff was noncommittal.
“We got healthy and got back to what we were supposed to be,’’ said Jeff Corstange. “We got Tre (Reiner) back there. He was out for six weeks, and he’s one of our best defenders. Getting him back in the postseason was huge for us. I didn’t think that goal would hold up, especially with the wind the way it was. The way they pressed and the way they shoot, with No. 2 (Nathan Hooker). We thought he might be able to take advantage of the wind. With that wind, you have to hit it a little softer. We’re not used to that.
“It was a beautiful pass from Jasek, sliding the ball over. We’ve been doing that all postseason. We practice it all the time, and they made the play. It was a beautiful goal.’’
Gull Lake entered the postseason as the top-ranked squad in Division 2, with its last title in 2020. The Blue Devils claimed victories over No. 2 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern, No. 8 Parma Western and No. 9 DeWitt during their march to the championship game.
Cranbrook (15-2-3) won the Detroit Catholic League AA title and was ranked No. 3 at the end of the regular season. The Cranes pitched four shutouts on their run to the championship under veteran coach Chad O’Kulich.
Playing with the lead, Gull Lake kept the pressure on the Cranes, keeping play in Cranbrook’s end. Gull Lake’s Zavier Thomas was a constant threat.
Cranbrook found itself a goal down with no offense and no shots on goal in the first half.
“Kaiser is an incredible athlete. He’s a great keeper and one of the best I’ve coached,’’ said Jeff Corstange.
Desperate for a second goal, Adam Boyle hit the crossbar for Gull Lake 11 minutes into the second half.
Cranbrook finally got a shot on goal with 20:58 to play, but the attempt went wide.
The Cranes’ best chance to score came from Evan Evans, a senior midfielder. But his shot also hit the crossbar.
“They played hard, and they played aggressive, but they are classy,’’ said O’Kulich. “There was great sportsmanship out there. I think that starts at the high school level.’’
PHOTOS (Top) Zavier Thomas (7) leads a run toward the goal for Gull Lake on Saturday. (Middle) Nathan Hooker (2) advances the ball for Cranbrook Kingswood.
Long-Pursued Goals Becoming Expectations for Much-Improved Kearsley
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
August 30, 2023
Lucas Groulx could see this coming.
During his freshman year, when the goal some nights for Flint Kearsley boys soccer was “don’t get mercied,” Groulx knew there were better times ahead.
Much better.
With a 4-1 start to this season, those wins already eclipsing the total from the entire fall of 2021, it looks like he’s being proved correct.
“It doesn’t really surprise me at all,” the junior center back said. “I knew from the get-go that the guys I was playing with are really good. I could definitely see that (success coming) later on down the road.”
It’s still very early, and nobody at Kearsley is hanging a banner. The goals of winning a District championship and finishing among the top three in the Flint Metro League still require plenty of work.
But the feeling is different now. There’s no longer just hope that all of that is possible. It’s becoming an expectation.
“We don’t want to just be in games; we need to win those games,” Kearsley coach Art Moody said. “All those next steps that we talked about, we set those goals and we set them up three years ago. Midway through last season, that’s when the corner was turned. That’s when it was like, ‘OK, we can compete.’ Getting double-digit wins, that was a big deal for the program. Now, it’s like, that’s not even a question anymore. We’re doing way better than that now.”
Moody, who has won three MHSAA Finals championships coaching the Flint Powers Catholic girls program, is entering his third season at Kearsley.
In his first year, the team won just one regular-season game, but made a run to the District Final.
Year 2 saw the Hornets go 10-11, another major step forward.
The majority of that team was coming back this fall, including top scorers Caden Saxton and Tony Romero. Saxton, a senior, holds the school record for goals in a season (24) and career (52).
The back four, led by Groulx and classmate Saul Granados, returned intact, along with holding midfielder Danny Sanson and goalkeeper Aiden Tipton. All six received some form of all-league honors in the Metro.
And for many of the returning players, their experience playing together goes well beyond high school. Saxton’s father Keith, who is the school’s athletic director and Moody’s assistant, coached many of the current Hornets as kids on the MESA Sharks, a local travel team.
“We were all bonded,” Sanson, a senior, said. “We were pretty much family to each other since we were growing up playing with one another.”
That’s all led to the thought within the program that this is the year to truly make a mark and put Kearsley boys soccer on the map.
This season opened with four lopsided victories, and then a surprise from the Michigan High School Soccer Coaches Association: The Hornets were listed in the Division 2 rankings, coming in at No. 12.
“It felt incredible,” Sanson said. “I didn’t even expect that, to be honest. It was an incredible feeling for all of us. We were all so proud.”
Even Groulx, who had faith all along, had to get some extra confirmation on this development.
“When I first saw it, I honestly didn’t know if it was true or not,” he said. “Then it really kind of dawned on us that we need to set a new standard here at Kearsley. It’s definitely going to push us to try and excel and just play better overall.”
Rankings are often downplayed by coaches and players, even if they’re typically well aware of them.
But Moody, who consistently sees his Powers girls near the top of the list in their division, was OK with letting his players soak this one in a bit.
“I made that comment that we got recognized at the state level, and that’s something that’s never happened to Kearsley,” he said. “I told them it’s not because of your record. You get recognized if coaches say your name. You get recognized if coaches are saying, ‘That’s someone to watch out for.’”
Of course, celebrating the ranking has a limit, and while the Hornets dropped their first match after its release – a 3-2 loss against Lake Fenton – they’ve decided to use that recognition to further fuel them to achieve their true goals.
“I feel like it motivates us to be better, but it also puts a little bit of pressure on us,” Sanson said. “We have to keep our standards high and just be doing the best we can every time we go out on the field. We’ve gotta bring it. Bring it, bring it, bring it.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Kearsley’s Carlos Granados (7) steps into a kick during a game against Durand on Aug 21. (Middle) The team celebrates its Hornet Invitational championship Saturday after defeating Birch Run and Saginaw Nouvel. (Below) Caden Saxton (6) makes his move during last season's game against Armada. (Photos courtesy of the Flint Kearsley athletic department.)