Holland Christian Lands Title Trophy with Corner Connections, Shutout Defense
By
Tim Robinson
Special for MHSAA.com
November 5, 2022
COMSTOCK PARK — It came down to corner kicks in the Division 3 boys soccer championship game on Saturday.
Holland Christian converted twice, both during the second half, and took home its first Finals title since 2003 by defeating Grosse Ile 2-0 at Comstock Park High School.
Derek Huisman scored near the halfway point of the second half after a scoreless first, and Michael Pierce put the game effectively out of reach on a header with just under 11 minutes to go.
Making it that much sweeter for Huisman, a senior defender, was that the score was his first high school goal.
“It doesn’t get any better than that in high school sports,” said Maroons coach Dave DeBoer, freshly drenched in ice water after the game.
The Maroons (20-1-3) allowed only two goals over their final 13 games, with 10 shutouts in a row.
But Holland Christian made sure not to overlook Grosse Ile, which was playing in its fifth-consecutive Final.
“We came in knowing they were solid,” Huisman said. "Any team that makes it to the Final is a great team. Our coach prepared us well. We knew we could win, but we never underestimated them.”
After a first half played with howling winds and at times heavy rain, conditions eased up at halftime, while the Maroons made some adjustments.
"I felt we had a few opportunities in the first half, but we were hoping for better execution in the second half,” DeBoer said. "A corner kick is always dangerous for us, and we put one away. The second one, we felt really good then.”
At the 24-minute mark of the second half, Holland Christian took what turned out to be a decisive corner kick.
"I was trying to contest the ball,” Huisman said. "You always think about putting it away, but you never know what’s going to happen on corners, because it’s always a little bit wild in there. When the ball hit the ground, I knew I had to put it away, so off the foot and right in the back of the net.”
Pierce put the game out of reach with his ninth goal of the season 14 minutes later.
"I saw the ball coming, and I knew the kid covering me was smaller than me,” he said. “So I jumped, got my head on it, and put it exactly where I needed to.”
The stifling Maroons defense, which allowed only seven goals all season while recording 18 shutouts, did the rest.
Grosse Ile, meanwhile, came into the match with an eight-game winning streak that started in the second-to-last game of the regular season.
“I thought we put out a really great effort,” said Grosse Ile coach Jon Evans, who led the Red Devils (14-8) to all of those five-straight Division 3 Finals. “The senior class won two titles and lost two. There’s nothing to keep our heads down about. We started the season 1-3, and we’ve overcome a lot to get here. Today, the result is disappointing, but overall it was a successful season to get here and get back to the Final.”
PHOTOS (Top) Holland Christian celebrates its first MHSAA Finals championship Saturday since 2003. (Middle) The Maroons’ Jon Hogsten (4) and Grosse Ile’s Sam Vesperman battle for possession.
Western Michigan Christian Completes 3-Peat on Freshman's Final-Minute Score
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
November 2, 2024
GRAND LEDGE – Cole DeJonge knew it would happen eventually – he and his Muskegon Western Michigan Christian teammates had created too many chances Saturday against Plymouth Christian Academy in the Division 4 Final for it not to happen.
But the senior midfielder couldn’t have predicted just how he’d feel when it did.
Freshman Mason Bonnema scored the game-winning goal with 1 minute, 4 seconds to play, finishing off a beautiful through ball from DeJonge and giving WMC a 1-0 victory and its third-straight Finals title.
“It was pure relief,” DeJonge said. “I’ve never felt so much joy in my life for a goal to go in than that one. We’ve already won two state championships, but nothing was like this one.”
The Warriors have now won 10 Finals titles after reaching their record-tying 17th title game. They are just the third boys soccer program to win three straight Finals titles, and first since Detroit Country Day won eight in a row from 1987-94.
“There is a lot of history, and it’s fantastic history – it’s a school with a legacy of winning state championships,” WMC coach Ben Buursma said. “Our focus every year is to get back to the title game, and we believe we can do it every year. We play a tough schedule, and that helps prepare us. These kids, the growth they showed this year, it was pretty incredible.”
WMC (15-7-3) controlled much of the game, finishing with a 19-7 shot edge (10-3 on frame). But Plymouth Christian’s defense stayed strong under pressure, and when it did leak, senior keeper Jonah Noel came up big.
But that one final chance was too much, as DeJonge played a ball forward to Bonnema who broke free on the right side of the goal and slotted one beyond Noel.
“The game was crazy; it was kind of just back and forth with us possessing and them kicking it out from the back,” Bonnema said. “We just found a breakthrough in the last two minutes. It’s crazy. It’s a great feeling.”
Noel was called into action right before kickoff, as regular starter Nik Vergel suffered an injury during pregame warmups.
He made nine saves, including stifling multiple breakaways to keep his team in the game.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Plymouth Christian coach Ryan Thomason said. “He literally found out in the tunnel that he was starting before we walked onto the field. He hasn’t played goalie in a month and a half. To play the way he did – no nerves, he was out there dribbling the ball like it was basketball season. Couldn’t be prouder of Jonah, ice in his veins. But that’s how all the seniors were on this team. They built a legacy for this program – two Final Fours in four years. I just couldn’t be prouder of them.”
After giving up the go-ahead score, Thomason’s team nearly tied the game on a free kick from senior midfielder Caedmon Whipple.
The captain had a free kick from just outside the left corner of the 18-yard box, and his attempt cleared the wall and started dipping. But WMC keeper Dan Minasian punched it over the bar. The resulting corner didn’t create another chance, and the clock ran out on the Eagles (15-6-3).
Minasian’s save not only preserved a clean sheet and a Finals title, but a perfect postseason, as he and the Warriors did not allow a goal through six playoff games. A year ago, he allowed just one on the way to their title.
“Dan’s been as solid a backstop as you can have in high school soccer,” Buursma said. “He’s been phenomenal over the course of two-plus years, and the defense was incredibly strong in front of him. It’s nice when you have a defense that doesn’t give up many shots, but to have a keeper like Dan back there, we have no worries.”
While there were certainly nerves, that did help calm them as WMC chances went begging on the other end.
Plymouth Christian’s defense did all it could to not give WMC star striker Tekalegn Vlasma any space, but his off-ball movement and DeJonge’s passing created a handful of chances anyway. Noel was able to keep Vlasma off the scoresheet, however, despite his four shots on goal.
“We instituted a system, and the guys worked it to exhaustion,” Thomason said. “We fought really, really hard and they got us in the 79th minute. They’re a great team, and we battled them. We thought if we could get them to overtime, that was kind of the goal. They were just a heck of a team. All credit to them. But we battled, and I’m so proud of us.”
PHOTOS (Top) Mason Bonnema (22) puts a foot into the winning shot for Western Michigan Christian on Saturday at Grand Ledge. (Middle) PCA’s Juan Chacon-Beltran steps into a kick. (Below) Plymouth Christian’s Grant Ramseyer (23) and WMC’s Juan DeJonge battle for possession. (Photos by Adam Sheehan/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)