Performance: Mattawan's Casey Kirkbride
November 4, 2016
Casey Kirkbride
Mattawan senior – Soccer
Kirkbride watched Mattawan’s run to the Division 2 Semifinals last season from the sideline – as a junior on the junior varsity, and one of two goalkeepers on that team at that. But the 6-foot-1 senior has made himself into a player capable of helping the Wildcats take another step this fall, and his four MHSAA tournament shutouts including last week’s over No. 8 Holland earned Kirkbride the Michigan National Guard “Performance of the Week.” Mattawan entered the postseason ranked No. 11 in Division 2, and this week also shut out top-ranked East Lansing 2-0 to reach an MHSAA championship game for the first time in this sport.
After he and his team surrendered own goals three times during the first four games this fall, Kirkbride has gone on to notch 13 shutouts over the team’s last 22 games with a season goals-against average of 0.68 and 0.88 save percentage. He made nine saves Wednesday against the Trojans and has the Wildcats at 21-4-2 after they graduated 11 players including six all-staters off the team that finished 23-3-1 a year ago.
Kirkbride also played subvarsity basketball during his first two years of high school and should be in the running for academic all-state in soccer with a 3.73 grade-point average. He’s strongest in math and the sciences and is considering studying engineering in college, perhaps at Western Michigan University. But first, his team plays Dearborn Divine Child at 3 p.m. Saturday at Rochester Hills Stoney Creek for the Division 2 title.
Coach Kirt Brown said: “He played JV for me last year and showed determination. He’s just got a great attitude. I talked to him (Wednesday) night; he was the first kid I went after when they were all hugging each other, and (I asked) if he would have thought at the beginning of the year he would shut out the number one team in the state semifinals. He’s been dynamite; he’s got a good defense in front of him, but he’s made some great saves as well. He’s long and rangy, and he’s got that never quit attitude. He’s kinda measured, and he’s learned and he’s grown as the year has gone on. He knows how important he is to our team, but he’d be the first to say ‘I have a really good defense in front of me.’”
Performance Point: “I’m just really thankful to have a good defensive line that limits the chances opponents have,” Kirkbride said. “They haven’t had too many clear opportunities where I’ve had to come up with saves, and I’m thankful for that. I try to keep (my defenders) organized, but they did a good job of being focused and really just staying strong on their marks; I try to help on that too. The one (save) that sticks out (from last week) is when the ball hit the post … I was in mid dive and it just went past my fingers and came back and hit off my face, and then it goes off for a corner. I was just thankful it didn’t bounce off my nose or a different part (and into the net).”
New team, all team: “I think (our success) comes down to being more of a team on the field because when we have chances to go forward we make the most out of them and we don’t give the ball up as much. We’re just on the same page more defensively and offensively. Having that sense of knowing teammates know what you want, because when you have the ball, they know how you want them to play. And we don’t have selfish players; for the most part, all of us are selfless and the goal is for the team.”
On the move after Marshall: “Beating Marshall in the Regional Semis, it’s pretty close to greatness. We were outsized – they had some really big kids, and we never really had to face too much of that before. Seeing how we could handle it, we just played through it. We ended up conceding a goal right after halftime, but we didn’t drop our heads at all. Determination is really what that is. Our personnel, I’ve seen a lot of great things from these players, so I know we’re capable of it.”
JV as a junior: “It was tough last year because I was goalie part of the time, and another guy was goalie part of the time, and sometimes we didn’t know until the day of the game who would play, or that one would play one half and one would play the other. I kinda didn’t want to play goalie, but I definitely would not question if Coach wanted me. … I wasn’t so confident in myself (this season), but seeing (my teammates) were, that meant something to me. That’s how (important) being on a team of friends is. (I learned on JV) how important it is to make connections with your teammates. At the beginning of (last) season I didn’t have too much connection to my other teammates, but as the season progressed it got better.”
Quick thinking: “Playing goalie, you need to know decision making. Know the pros and cons without even thinking, that definitely comes into effect. If I have a decision in my mind, I’ll do it.”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2016-17 school year, Second Half and the Michigan National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom or protect lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2016-17 honorees:
Oct. 27: Colton Yesney, Negaunee cross country – Read
Oct. 20: Varun Shanker, Midland Dow tennis – Read
Oct. 13: Anne Forsyth, Ann Arbor Pioneer cross country – Read
Oct. 6: Shuaib Aljabaly, Coldwater cross country – Read
Sept. 29: Taylor Seaman, Brighton swimming & diving – Read
Sept. 22: Maggie Farrell, Battle Creek Lakeview cross country – Read
Sept. 15: Franki Strefling, Buchanan volleyball – Read
Sept. 8: Noah Jacobs, Corunna cross country – Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Mattawan keeper Casey Kirkbride (middle) gathers a loose ball against Stevensville Lakeshore earlier this season. (Middle) Kirkbride snags a shot against Lakeshore, which was ranked No. 16 in Division 2 at the time. (Photos by Steve Taylor@TSS Photography)
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.