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.)
Ludwig's Dedication to High School Pitch Energizes Clarkston's Title Pursuit
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
September 15, 2022
CLARKSTON – It would be a bit much to say they have been full-scale recruiting pitches for Clarkston senior Richie Ludwig, but let’s just say there have been strong nudges each time the high school soccer season has rolled around.
Before each season, Ludwig has gotten some minor overtures from coaches at various academies trying to lure him to their organizations and away from high school soccer.
And these aren’t some low-key academies, as several are affiliated with Major League Soccer organizations.
“I usually get a text or two and calls from a couple of different coaches,” he said.
The coaches essentially are saying, “Hey, if you happen to change your mind about that high school thing, you know where to reach us.”
Each time, Ludwig has essentially responded saying, “Thanks, but no thanks.”
You certainly can’t blame the academies for trying.
A wondrously skilled and fast player, Ludwig should be on the short list of Mr. Soccer Award candidates this year, if not the favorite.
Entering Tuesday he had 13 goals and nine assists already this season, and he’ll play next for Michigan State.
But the fact he’s in the midst of his fourth year of high school soccer is news in itself, given his talents.
Besides just loving high school soccer and playing with his friends, there are two other reasons why Ludwig has shunned prominent academies.
One, he plays on a club team, Nationals Soccer Union based out of Shelby Township — where one of the coaches is his dad, Rich — that has traveled the country to tournaments and events.
“Really, I’ve gotten all the scouting and recruitment needed at my club nationals,” Ludwig said.
Second, Clarkston plays in what annually is one of the state’s best leagues, the Oakland Activities Association Red, where nightly there are games against other prominent club standouts, future college players and state-ranked teams.
It’s not like he’s missing out on developmental opportunities in high school.
“What I get out of high school is a good social environment while also getting to compete with a couple of my buddies,” Ludwig said. “Even though it may not be at a level as high as a club team is playing at, I can still push myself to be able to play at the standards I want to play at the next level.”
Ludwig primarily plays as an attacking midfielder or a center forward, and while he is a natural goal scorer, Clarkston head coach Ian Jones said he’s a creator wherever he is on the field.
Even if he is assigned to be in the middle of the field, Ludwig will go wide to create numerous scoring opportunities.
“He almost creates more opportunities by not being involved,” Jones said. “He finds spaces. He creates space for other people, so his understanding of how to create space not just for himself, but other people, is the biggest improvement I’ve seen. He just has a knack of seeing things before they evolve.”
Ludwig said he has worn a Spartans jersey “ever since I came out of the womb.”
“I’ve always wanted to go there,” he added.
Before that though, he hopes to leave high school by making history for Clarkston.
This year marks 15 years since the best team in Clarkston history made a run to its only MHSAA Finals in 2007, where the Wolves lost in the Division 1 championship match to East Kentwood.
Ludwig said he and other players have turned into historians a bit this year, studying up on that team and hoping to go one step farther so they can lay claim to being the best in school history.
“Our coaches have talked to us about some of those things they did,” Ludwig said. “The little things off of the field even. They have just told us the little things we need to pick up on to make that run.”
If a run at a Finals title doesn’t happen, Ludwig won’t have any regrets about sticking with high school for all four years given the memories he’s made and what he’s accomplished.
But if the Wolves do contend, it’ll make turning down those small overtures from academies worth celebrating more than all the goals he has scored combined.
“He’s a pretty loyal boy,” Jones said. "I think he has the ambition to do something in high school that hasn’t been done before.”
Keith 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 Clarkston’s Richie Ludwig (10), an all-state Dream Team selection last season, is a likely contender for the Mr. Soccer Award this fall. (Photos courtesy of Richie Ludwig.)