Performance: South Lyon's Josh Mason
September 27, 2019
Josh Mason
South Lyon sophomore – Soccer
Mason scored his first and second goals of the season to help South Lyon to a 2-2 draw with Walled Lake Western on Sept. 19 that clinched the Lakes Valley Conference regular-season title for the Lions – their first league championship since 2007 – and earned Mason the MHSAA “Performance of the Week.”
South Lyon graduated a number of contributors from the team that finished 9-7-3 and fifth in the league last season, but Mason – a rare sophomore team captain – has been a major part of the rebound and continued ascension. The Lions are 9-1-5, their only loss to Birmingham Seaholm when Mason wasn’t able to play. South Lyon gave up four goals that game; otherwise they’ve allowed just eight over 14 games with Mason manning the center back position.
Mason also is a standout swimmer; he was part of league champions in the 200-yard medley and 400 freestyle relays last season. He also carries a 3.97 grade-point average and has interests in math and science, although obviously he has a lot of time to consider what he might study after high school – and a lot to still accomplish for the Lions over the next three years.
Coach Brian Elliott said: “His two goals came at the most perfect time when we were playing Walled Lake Western for the conference championship. He's a great soccer player, but obviously a great leader as well. In 14 years of coaching boys and girls soccer teams, I've only selected sophomores as captains twice. … Josh is the perfect blend of composure and aggression. He's tenacious when defending, but extremely composed when on the ball offensively. The only game we've lost was the one Josh wasn't present for. I'm very excited for what the rest of high school holds for Josh and can't wait to see where he plays after high school as well.”
Performance Point: “After the second goal, being able to celebrate with all of my teammates, it was super cool to experience it,” Mason said. “I was feeling really good before the game, I wasn’t going to lose, so (my scoring surge) just kinda happened. The one (goal) was a chain and the other was a corner – I just went up for it, I saw it coming, and I wasn’t going to miss this one. I felt like I hadn’t been doing my job on the corners all year. I felt like I needed to score this one. … We have a bunch of really good seniors – they’re super good guys – and it’s cool to win the league for them their senior year.”
Captain’s log: “You see all the JV kids and all the freshman kids looking up to you. That’s a really cool spot to be in. I have really cool senior captains to learn from who I want to model my next two years of being a captain after because it’s really going to help the team to be able to do that three years in a row. … Our team has jelled pretty good, and everyone listens to everyone. Everyone gets to speak, and everyone’s ideas matter."
D-E-F-E-N-S-E: “Communication – I step to the line and do a lot of work back there, but I think the other guys really respond when we talk to them and they step up. That game (I missed), we were just missing the communication piece and they couldn’t work together on the back line. I felt really bad missing that game.”
Pool pays off: “I overextended my knee my seventh grade season. I needed to stay in shape, but I couldn’t do running or anything (similar) because of the pounding, so I tried swimming. I kinda went out there and just tried it and ended up really good at it. I just kept going and ended up on the high school team. I don’t really love it during the season, but at the end of the season getting back on the soccer field, I’m in crazy good shape. I feel so good and I never get tired, so I love it then. But at 4 in the morning, I’m like, ‘Why am I putting myself through this?’”
Underdogs rising: “I like Man U. I like Everton too. I kinda like an underdog team. I feel like they are normally underdogs. They try to compete with the big teams every year. I respect them for that. … I think that is us. This is the third year in a row that we’ve drawn Brighton and (Detroit) CC in our District, and we are that little team trying to compete with the big teams that are consistently good. I think we are getting close to that. I think we’re getting a lot better – just from last year, I see a lot of improvement on the team.”
– Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Past honorees
Sept. 19: Ariel Chang, Utica Eisenhower golf - Report
Sept. 12: Jordyn Shipps, DeWitt swimming - Report
PHOTOS: (Top) South Lyon's Josh Mason moves the ball upfield during his team's win this week over White Lake Lakeland. (Middle) Mason (26) and his teammates wall off the goal. (Photos courtesy of the South Lyon Herald.)
Preview: Stories of Glory Soon to be Told
November 2, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Tying together all four MHSAA Boys Soccer Finals to a common theme is impossible this season. But all four games have stories to tell.
In Division 1, Ann Arbor Skyline is ranked and facing an unranked opponent – but that unranked opponent is the most frequent champ of this decade, East Kentwood. In Division 2, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern is top-ranked and expected to win its first boys soccer championship – but takes on another of the most successful programs in state history in Detroit Country Day.
Division 3 pits the top two-ranked teams at the end of the regular season – Grosse Ile and Hudsonville Unity Christian. Division 4 offers Leland a chance to also win its first MHSAA title in boys soccer – but the Comets must face Ann Arbor Greenhills, coming off its first title won just a year ago.
Saturday's Finals kick off at noon and 3 p.m., with Division 3 followed by Division 1 at Novi and Division 4 followed by Division 2 at Comstock Park. All will be broadcast live and viewable with subscription on MHSAA.tv, with audio available on MHSAANetwork.com. See below for glances at all eight finalists, and come back to Second Half later Saturday for coverage of all four championship games.
Division 1
ANN ARBOR SKYLINE
Record/rank: 16-4-2, No. 10
Coach: Chris Morgan, eighth season (119-31-37)
League finish: Second in Southeastern Conference Red.
Championship history: Division 1 champion 2013.
Players to watch: Gabe Kellman, soph. M (8 goals, 5 assists); Bryce Schaner, jr. F (7 goals, 1 assist); Oskar Shiomi-Jensen, jr. F (6 goals, 2 assists); Kyri Wixom, sr. GK (0.54 goals-against average).
Outlook: Skyline quickly found itself as one of the few ranked teams left in the Division 1 tournament, helping that effort by knocking out No. 3 Saline in the District Final – which also avenged two of Skyline’s losses. The Eagles have given up only one goal during the postseason – to Warren DeLaSalle in the Semifinal – and allowed 11 goals total this fall. Wixom is a rock in goal behind a defense of seniors Tobin Brenner, Marco Althoen, Omar Hassan and junior Jamie Palms.
EAST KENTWOOD
Record/rank: 17-3-4, unranked
Coach: John Conlon, 19th season (351-58-45)
League finish: Fourth in Ottawa-Kent Conference Red
Championship history: Five Division 1 titles (most recent 2016).
Players to watch: Giuseppe Calabrese, sr. M (14 goals, 14 assists); Damir Sabanovic, sr. M (7 assists); Uriel Garcia, sr. M (13 goals, 4 assists); Louis Schultz, jr. GK (0.52 goals-against average, 12 shutouts).
Outlook: The Falcons are playing for their sixth championship in 12 seasons and peaking at the best time with five straight shutouts – including one that eliminated No. 7 Midland Dow in a Regional Semifinal. Schultz has saved 91 percent of shots he’s faced, and East Kentwood hasn’t given up more than two goals in a game – and has given up more than one only three times.
Division 2
DETROIT COUNTRY DAY
Record/rank: 19-5-2, unranked
Coach: Steve Bossert, fourth season (58-28-10)
League finish: Does not play in a league.
Championship history: 14 MHSAA titles (most recent 2011), one runner-up finish.
Players to watch: Kevin Tang, sr. M (15 goals, 9 assists); Gabe Akeel, sr. M (15 goals, 10 assists); Elbert Yi, sr. M (5 goals, 8 assists); Jon Dougherty, sr. GK (11 shutouts).
Outlook: After previously playing in Division 3, Country Day is seeking its first Division 2 championship with an experienced group coming off its second straight Regional title. Additionally, Bossert was an assistant for six of the past Finals championships. Dougherty made the Division 3 all-state second team last season, and Yi and sophomore forward Justin Harris (6 goals, 6 assists this fall) earned honorable mentions.
GRAND RAPIDS FOREST HILLS NORTHERN
Record/rank: 23-0-1, No. 1
Coach: Daniel Siminski, fifth season (94-10-12)
League finish: First in O-K White.
Championship history: Division 2 runner-up 2015.
Players to watch: Nate Texer, sr. F (25 goals, 6 assists); Jordan Okito, sr. F (17 goals, 13 assists); Jonathan Kliewer, jr. GK (0.43 goals-against average, 14 shutouts); Aiden O’Connor, jr. D.
Outlook: Forest Hills Northern’s seniors were freshmen when the team fell in a shootout in their first championship match appearance in 2015, and they’ve been aiming for this opportunity. The Huskies have outscored their five postseason opponents by a combined 26-3, avenging their lone non-win this fall (a draw against Grand Rapids Northview) with a 3-1 District Semifinal victory. Okito made the all-state second team and O’Connor the third last season.
Division 3
GROSSE ILE
Record/rank: 27-1, No. 1
Coach: Jon Evans, third season (74-5-2)
League finish: First in Huron League.
Championship history: Division 3 champion 2002.
Players to watch: Brendan Eblin, sr. GK (0.36 goals-against average, 22 shutouts); Christian Drzyzga, sr. M (9 goals, 11 assists); Jacob Sawicki, sr. M (52 goals, 21 assists); Benedek Tanyi, jr M (30 goals, 15 assists).
Outlook: After suffering its lone loss last season to Country Day in a Regional Final, Grosse Ile is playing in its first Final since 2002 and with just an early defeat to Detroit U-D Jesuit. After that loss, the Red Devils went on a run of 21 straight shutouts (including the last over No. 3 Lansing Catholic) before giving up a goal in their Regional Final win – and they came back with another shutout in the Semifinal. Sawicki made the all-state second team last season, and Eblin, Drzyzga and Tanyi all earned honorable mentions. Junior midfielder Max Aston added 13 goals entering the week.
HUDSONVILLE UNITY CHRISTIAN
Record/rank: 22-2-1, No. 2
Coach: Randy Heethuis, 25th season (465-79-42)
League finish: First in O-K Green.
Championship history: Four MHSAA titles (most recent 2014), four runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Kadin Shaban, jr. F (29 goals, 20 assists); Evan Nieuwenhuis, jr. D (12 goals, 3 assists); Chase Rozeveld, sr. F (13 goals, 4 assists); Grant Balcer, jr. GK (0.27 goals-against average, 17 shutouts).
Outlook: Unity Christian won its first Regional title since 2014 and after suffering its lone defeat a year ago in a Regional Semifinal to Grand Rapids South Christian – which Unity beat in the District this year. The Crusaders eliminated the No. 5 Sailors, No. 7 Paw Paw and No. 9 Ludington during this run. Shaban made the all-state first team as a sophomore, and senior midfielder Dan Hoeksema is another key cog offensively with eight goals and 10 assists entering the week.
Division 4
ANN ARBOR GREENHILLS
Record/rank: 11-8-3, unranked
Coach: Lucian Popescu, ninth season (149-68-17)
League finish: Third in Detroit Catholic League AA
Championship history: Division 4 champion in 2017, three runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Zachary Zimmerman, sr. M (31 goals, 9 assists); Leo Fried, sr. GK (1.35 goals-against average, 6 shutouts); Robert Keller, sr. M (1 goal, 6 assists); Neil Bazaj, sr. M (2 goals, 10 assists).
Outlook: Greenhills entered the postseason unranked and with a sub-.500 record, but has outscored six playoff opponents by a combined 22-2 and eliminated No. 6 Adrian Lenawee Christian and No. 4 Burton Genesee Christian. Zimmerman made the all-state first team last season, and Fried and Bazaj also were among standouts on the championship team.
LELAND
Record/rank: 23-1-3, No. 2
Coach: Joe Burda, ninth season (177-38-10)
League finish: First in Northwest Conference.
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Players to watch: Cobe Lund, sr. F (41 goals, 18 assists); Owen Kareck, jr. D (5 goals, 3 assists); Nick Saffell, sr. F (16 goals, 11 assists); Michael Roberts, jr. M (24 goals, 6 assists).
Outlook: After seven straight league, six District and two Regional titles over the last seven seasons, Leland will play for an MHSAA championship for the first time. The Comets’ only loss came in the second game of the season, against Cadillac, and the only goals they’ve given up in six postseason games were two to No. 3 Kalamazoo Hackett in the Semifinal (not counting two penalty kicks in the shootout portion of a 1-0 win over top-ranked Muskegon Western Michigan Christian in the Regional Final). Lund made the all-state first team last season, and Kareck and Saffell earned honorable mentions.
PHOTO: Ann Arbor Greenhills' Neil Bazaj passes upfield to a teammate during last season's Division 4 championship win.