Mattawan Takes Final History-Making Step

November 5, 2016

By Dan Stickradt
Special for Second Half

ROCHESTER HILLS — Although Halloween was five days ago, Jarrett Hageman openly admits that he was never so scared in his life than he was late Saturday afternoon.

Even in the broad daylight with no ghosts or ghouls around to spook him.

Walking gingerly up to the penalty spot with the game on the line, the Mattawan senior laced a shot off the left goal post and into the goal in what proved to be the biggest and most memorable score in Wildcats lore.

Hageman’s penalty kick came as his team’s fifth shooter in a shootout and was enough to propel 11th-ranked Mattawan to a 1-0 victory over unranked Dearborn Divine Child in the MHSAA Division 2 Final at Rochester Hills Stoney Creek High School.

Mattawan won the shootout 4-3, making its first, third, fourth and fifth shots to prevail. Nick Hare, Dylan Burkett, Tate Rosenhagen and Hageman tallied in the tie-breaking shootout for the Wildcats. 

Divine Child converted its first three kicks only to see its final two attempts sail over the crossbar. Alex Higgins, Shane Ciucci and Justin Stack finished their PKs for the Falcons.

“I was never so scared as I was walking up there to take the shot,” admitted Hageman. “I mean, I was so nervous. You dream about being (in this position), taking a shot in a shootout. I knew in my heart that I could make it, but I thought I’d missed because it hit the goal post. Thankfully, it went in and we finally won a state championship.”

Mattawan’s journey is somewhat unlike most state powers’ programs. Fielding legions of state-ranked teams dating back to the 1980s, including three previous Final Four squads over its storied history, the Wildcats had never reached the MHSAA Finals until this weekend.

The 1990 squad entered the postseason ranked No. 2 in Class B only to fall short in Regional play. Mattawan also lost in the Semifinals in 1989, 2011 and 2015 — the latter two in Division 2.

This end result leaves veteran coach Kirt Brown, in his 11th season at the helm of the Mattawan program, breathing a sigh of relief.

“We came close in (2015 and 2011), and although I was at a different school (Parchment) way back when, the school got to the semis before I got here,” noted Brown. “We finally got it done this time. I couldn’t be more proud of these guys. This was somewhat of an ugly game. We scrapped and fought. You could see that both teams were tired in the second overtime. It’s wasn’t pretty. But I’ll take an ugly win over a pretty loss any day.”

A year ago, Mattawan made a run to the Semifinals before running out of gas and dropping a 4-2 decision to Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern. That was with all-state Dream Team midfielder Nick King directing the show for a team that scored 102 goals. King graduated  last summer along with a talented class.

This season, Mattawan outscored the opposition 55-19 over 28 total games, pulled of a stunner with a 2-0 upset of No. 1-ranked East Lansing in the Semifinal on Wednesday, and outscored its seven postseason opponents by a combined 14-2.

“We knew we had a good team, but I think when we defeated East Lansing, that’s when we believed it,” offered Brown. “We didn’t have an easy road, either. We beat (Stevensville) Lakeshore in the opening round and they were ranked. We beat Marshall and Holland in the Regionals and they were ranked. Divine Child might as well been ranked. They made a great run to get here, too.”  

Holdover scoring threats Hageman (28 goals, five assists) and junior midfielder Evan Marquess (five goals, 11 assists) carried the Wildcats in their long run this season.

“Last year we were even better, more skilled,” said Hageman. “But the seniors this year have something that no other (senior class) has, and that’s a state championship.

Senior Casey Kirkbride notched his team’s 14th shutout of the campaign. He made eight saves throughout 80 minutes of regulation and two 10-minute overtime periods.

Divine Child held a narrow 13-10 shots edge, including 8-5 with shots directly on frame. Mattawan held an 11-5 edge with corner kicks but could not beat Divine Child’s Evan Mazurek, one of the state’s top junior goalkeepers, until the shootout.

“The defenses both played great; both goalkeeper played really well,” said Brown. “When you get to a shootout, anything can happen.”

It was the end of unranked Divine Child’s Cinderella ride. With several state-ranked teams going out early, the Falcons snuck up and made the deepest run in school history. They knocked off No. 13 Dexter in the Regional Semifinals and also blanked Fenton in the Semifinal on Wednesday; Fenton had spent time in the top 20 before dropping out just before the start of the postseason.

“It was an amazing run by our guys,” said Divine Child coach Dean Kowalski. “I think we were just on the cusp of being a great team. We finally put things together and made a run.

“I didn’t mind being under the radar a little bit,” added Kowalski. “When we saw a lot of very good teams go down, we thought we might have a chance. We knew the talent was there. Defensively, we were very solid. We only gave up one goal in the tournament until the shootout. If we came back on Sunday and played again in another shootout, maybe it would end differently.”

Both goalies made several key plays to keep the game scoreless. 

Kirkbride dove to his left in the second half to stop Ciucci’s blast to the near post. 

Mazurek was quite active clearing the 11 corner kicks and made perhaps the biggest save of regulation, leaping to his left to punch away a 22-yard strike from Marquess that was destined for the far corner with 4:18 to play in the second half. 

Click for the full box score.

PHOTOS: (Top) Mattawan’s Evan Marquess (9) works to get around Divine Child’s Jake Pappas. (Middle) Divine Child’s Justin Stack tries to gain possession against a Mattawan field player.

Athens' Success Fueled by Players' Drive to be Part of School's Soccer Tradition

By Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com

November 9, 2023

GRAND LEDGE — Troy Athens boys soccer coach Todd Heugh stood on the field Saturday at Grand Ledge High School and reflected while his team was celebrating with fans on the other side of the stadium.

Greater DetroitAthens had just won its sixth state championship in school history with a 2-1 overtime triumph over Brighton in the Division 1 Final, and while talking about how his team won this particular title game, he also put a historical perspective on the key to the program’s success. 

Heugh – also the school’s first-year athletic director – said that while any player who comes through the program obviously has ambitions to one day play college or professional soccer, there is something else that drives them more than anything.

“An advantage I think we have at Athens is that a lot of times, a lot of our kids, their goal in our city is to make the varsity soccer team at Athens,” Heugh said. “When they make it, they give it everything they have.”

This has pretty much been the pattern since legendary head coach Tim Storch built the program into one of the state’s gold standards during the 1980s and ’90s.

Heugh saw it firsthand growing up in the community and as a member of Storch’s squad that won the 1989 Class A title. 

That motivation to be part of the fabled varsity has filtered all the way down to current players, who echo Heugh’s sentiments that desire No. 1 is to put on the Athens uniform once they get to high school.

“I went to Troy vs. Troy Athens games since I was in sixth grade,” said Athens senior Adriano Shauya, the team’s leading goal-scorer this season. “We used to sit together, I looked at those players and I was like, ‘One day, I want to be on that field as a Troy Athens player.’”

Shauya said he had roster spots available to him on academy teams over the last two years and he could’ve skipped high school soccer, but he wanted to fulfill his dream of playing for Athens.

Troy Athens JD Hupman (16) and Brighton’s Devlin McGinnis work to gain possession during Saturday’s Final.“I just took a look and said, ‘I love every single one of my teammates, and I love my city,’” Shauya said. “I grew up in the city.”

Because of the ambition of so many players in Troy to play high school soccer, it not only creates unmatched drive and determination for Athens, but also provides unmatched depth each season.

Heugh said his team was able to go 17 or 18 deep during games this season, which allowed the Red Hawks to be the fresher team throughout three overtime victories during the MHSAA Tournament. 

Athens was clearly the better team in overtime against Brighton, building a 10-1 advantage in shots, eight of which were on goal.

“When we are able to throw waves of players like that at people, it’s been nice,” Heugh said. “We took a large roster at the beginning of the year, and it was tricky. There were some unhappy kids. Kids that don’t get the minutes that they want to get, and they are pretty good players who probably could get those minutes. But they are willing to do what’s best for the team, and they’re willing to take their minutes when they get them.” 

Athens will have the unenviable task of replacing 16 seniors from this year’s squad. But if there’s a high school program that never has issues reloading instead of rebuilding, it’s Athens soccer. 

As the team was celebrating with fellow students, parents and fans after the game, it’s a good assumption there were youth players in the community sitting in the stands who are now dreaming of one day being on the same field wearing an Athens jersey. 

“I was in eighth grade, and I saw those guys win the championship (in 2019),” said senior Manny Aigbedo, who scored the winning goal in overtime. “I’m like, ‘Man, I want to do something like that one day. I want to be on the field and step up and score for the team and celebrate, and win a championship.’ I was inspired by the guys before me, and I hope that this win today will inspire players to come next through Troy Athens soccer.”

Keith DunlapKeith Dunlap has served in Detroit-area sports media for more than two decades, including as a sportswriter at the Oakland Press from 2001-16 primarily covering high school sports but also college and professional teams. His bylines also have appeared in USA Today, the Washington Post, the Detroit Free Press, the Houston Chronicle and the Boston Globe. He served as the administrator for the Oakland Activities Association’s website from 2017-2020. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties

PHOTOS (Top) Troy Athens players celebrate their overtime victory Saturday night at Grand Ledge. (Middle) Troy Athens JD Hupman (16) and Brighton’s Devlin McGinnis work to gain possession during Saturday’s Final.