Preview: 4 Titles, Perfection on the Line
November 6, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
At this point in the season, it’s a rarity that any team has not tasted defeat.
But Saturday’s Boys Soccer Finals feature two teams undefeated this fall – including one seeking its first MHSAA championship.
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central and Burton Genesee Christian have not fallen in 2015 – and while Forest Hills Central has three ties, Genesee Christian has won 27 straight since falling in a Regional Semifinal a year ago. Forest Hills Central is seeking its first title in more than a decade; Genesee Christian is seeking its first title … period.
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern also will play in its first Final, and Williamston also is seeking its first championship after finishing runner-up in Division 3 two of the last three seasons. Canton is hoping to repeat in Division 1 after surviving a Semifinal against Rochester Adams, the team it defeated in last year’s Division 1 Final.
Below is Saturday's schedule, followed by a look at each team in the hunt:
Division 1 at Brighton, 3 p.m.
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central (22-0-3) vs. Canton (21-5-3)
Division 2 at Comstock Park, 3 p.m.
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern (22-1-3) vs. Mason (23-3)
Division 3 at Comstock Park, Noon
Grand Rapids South Christian (19-3-3) vs. Williamston (19-5)
Division 4 at Brighton, Noon
Kalamazoo Hackett (20-4-1) vs. Genesee Christian (27-0)
All four Finals will be streamed live on MHSAA.TV and available on a subscription basis. A one-day pass costs $9.95 and allows access to all four games plus the Lower Peninsula Cross Country Finals. A month pass costs $14.95 and allows fans to also watch live the Volleyball Semifinals and Finals and Lower Peninsula Girls Swimming & Diving Finals, plus weekly coverage of the football playoffs. Radio broadcasts of the Soccer Finals will be available on MHSAAnetwork.com.
Click for links to brackets and scores. All statistics below are through Regional Finals.
DIVISION 1
CANTON
Record/rank: 21-5-3, No. 9
Coach: Mark Zemanski, third season (62-7-9)
League finish: First in Kensington Lakes Activities Association South
Championship history: Three MHSAA titles (most recent 2014).
Players to watch: Hunter Olson, sr. F (25 goals, 12 assists); Jimmy Walkinshaw, sr. M (five goals, 10 assists); Josh Posuniak, sr. M (six goals, 10 assists).
Outlook: The reigning champion lost two of its first four games and two of its final five of the regular season; hence the lower-than-expected ranking. But the Chiefs defeated No. 8 Salem in the District Final and No. 3 Rochester Adams in the Semifinal, and enter Saturday with six senior starters try to finish with a win. Olsen was an all-state honorable mention as a junior, and senior midfielder Jason Ren scored the lone goal of the 2014 Final.
GRAND RAPIDS FOREST HILLS CENTRAL
Record/rank: 22-0-3, No. 2
Coach: Blair Lincoln, fourth season (53-21-11)
League finish: First in Ottawa-Kent Conference White
Championship history: Division 2 champion 2004.
Players to watch: Mohamed Haji, jr. F (17 goals, 17 assists); Anthony Bowie, sr. F (40 goals, 24 assists); Jake Ireland, sr. M (13 goals, 13 assists).
Outlook: The Rangers’ undefeated run has included tournament wins over No. 5 Detroit Catholic Central, No. 10 Portage Northern and No. 12 East Kentwood. They’ve improved substantially and annually under Lincoln, who formerly coached at Caledonia for a decade before taking over in 2012. Forest Hills Central was 5-12-2 that fall, but has improved its win total each year. Bowie’s 40 goals heading into the week are enough to make the MHSAA record book, and Haji earned an all-state honorable mention last season.
DIVISION 2
GRAND RAPIDS FOREST HILLS NORTHERN
Record/rank: 22-1-3, No. 2
Coach: Daniel Siminski, second season (38-3-5)
League finish: First in O-K Bronze
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Players to watch: Brayden Texer, soph. F (38 goals, 15 assists); Dante Compean, sr. GK (.930 save %).
Outlook: Forest Hills Northern’s run to its first MHSAA Final has included wins over No. 5 East Lansing, the reigning champion, plus No. 3 Mattawan, No. 14 Petoskey and No. 17 Grand Rapids Northview. The Huskies have given up one or zero goals in 20 of 27 games and spread the wealth offensively after Texer; no other player has more than nine goals, but five more have at least five apiece.
MASON
Record/rank: 23-3, No. 8
Coach: Nick Binder, ninth season (175-30-12)
League finish: First in Capital Area Activities Conference Red
Championship history: Three MHSAA titles (most recent 1997), one runner-up finish.
Players to watch: Leutrim Shefkiu, sr. M (26 goals, 15 assists); Holden Dippel, sr. D (14 goals, six assists); John Kingman, sr. D (seven goals, 26 assists).
Outlook: Mason occupied the top spot in the first three state coaches polls before a couple of tough losses to good teams. The Bulldogs haven’t given up a goal since their last defeat, a stretch of eight games including all six in the tournament. Shefkiu made the all-state first team as a junior and Dippel and Kingman earned honorable mentions and anchor a back line that has contributed to 18 shutouts total. Senior forward Christian Jordan (11 goals, seven assists) and junior defender Lirim Shefkiu (eight goals, 11 assists) also are key offensive contributors.
DIVISION 3
GRAND RAPIDS SOUTH CHRISTIAN
Record/rank: 19-3-3, No. 2
Coach: Jason Boersma, fifth season (88-20-13)
League finish: First in O-K Gold
Championship history: Two MHSAA titles (most recent 2012), two runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Carter Selvius, sr. GK (0.59 goals-against average, 16 shutouts); Ty Brinks, sr. F (20 goals, eight assists); Austin Clark, sr. D.
Outlook: South Christian will be playing in its fifth Final over the last nine seasons, and also finished Division 3 champion in 2010 and runner-up in 2013 and 2007. Selvius, a third-team all-stater last season, is the final line of one of the state’s top defenses, with Clark – a first-team all-state midfielder a year ago – moving back to defend in front of him. Gladwin on Wednesday was the first tournament opponent to score on the Sailors. Senior Zach DeKock and sophomore Sam DeVries both had 15 goals heading into this week to augment the offense.
WILLIAMSTON
Record/rank: 19-5, No. 3
Coach: Brent Sorg, 11th season (151-89-21)
League finish: First in CAAC White.
Championship history: Division 3 runner-up in 2014 and 2012.
Players to watch: Brian Ganton, sr. F (17 goals, four assists); Josh Ward, sr. M (11 goals, five assists); Eric Oesterle, sr. D (one goal, one assist).
Outlook: The reigning runner-up Hornets will play in their third Final in four seasons and have had great success under Sorg; this season’s win total matches their high during his 11 and they’ve won five straight District titles. Oesterle made the all-state first team last season and Ward made the second, but they are two of a number of contributors who have helped Williamston outscore its opponents by a combined 72-20. Senior Jacob Chisholm added 11 assists from the midfield heading into this week.
DIVISION 4
BURTON GENESEE CHRISTIAN
Record/rank: 27-0, No. 14
Coach: Doug Anderson, seventh season (108-41-10)
League finish: Does not play in a league.
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Players to watch: Cole Russell, jr. M (34 goals, five assists); Riley Buchalski, jr. F (18 goals, 21 assists); Caleb DuPree, jr. F (22 goals, 10 assists).
Outlook: Genesee Christian flew under the radar much of the season despite eliminating then-reigning champion Lansing Christian in a 2014 District Final. Among those to fall early were Division 3 No. 17 Frankenmuth; the Soldiers then cruised through the first four games of the tournament and then eliminated No. 9 Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett and top-ranked Lansing Christian, again, to reach this weekend. Russell made the all-state first team last season and Buchalski made the second, and the team also gets a boost from a defense backed by junior keeper Zach Noecker (0.35 goals-against average, 18 shutouts).
KALAMAZOO HACKETT
Record/rank: 20-4-1, No. 7
Coach: Ian Troutman, first season (20-4-1)
League finish: Second in Southwestern Athletic Conference
Championship history: Four MHSAA titles (most recent 1995).
Players to watch: Will Knoll, sr. F (24 goals, 17 assists); Max Keenan, fr. F (18 goals, seven assists); Kieran O’Brien, sr. M (10 goals, 14 assists).
Outlook: First-year coach Troutman, who formerly coached the junior varsity at Haslett and played at Byron Center, has Hackett in its first Final in more than a decade after the Irish fell in the Regional Final a year ago. Six seniors start, including the entire back line in front of junior keeper Matthew Carpenter. They have traveled a tough road over the last two weeks, beating No. 8 Grandville Calvin Christian and No. 10 Hartford to win the Regional and then downing No. 3 Muskegon Western Michigan Christian in the Quarterfinal.
PHOTO: Grand Rapids South Christian sophomore Matthew Hubbard (13) works to gain control of the ball during a game against Lake Odessa Lakewood. (Photo courtesy of Grand Rapids South Christian.)
Defense Key to Sailors' Title Defense
September 21, 2016
By Dean Holzwarth
Special for Second Half
GRAND RAPIDS – Goalkeeping and defense were catalysts in last year’s MHSAA Division 3 championship run for the Grand Rapids South Christian boys soccer team.
As the Sailors attempt to replicate last year’s success, those two elements remain vital in their quest for back-to-back titles.
South Christian, top-ranked in Division 3 this week, has had to fill huge holes after the departures of all-state goalie Carter Selvius and all-state Dream Team defender Austin Clark.
“Our defense is really what we’re working on right now, knowing the guys I lost,” Sailors coach Jason Boersma said. “We lost our goalie and two real keys to our defense. It doesn’t automatically get replaced overnight having new players coming in.
“We’re working hard at figuring out what the best line-up is. We’re doing well, and we haven’t had a lot of goals scored on us, so that’s a positive.”
The Sailors surrendered only 13 goals last season, including only a single goal over seven MHSAA tournament victories.
They defeated Williamston 1-0 in a shootout to capture their third MHSAA Final in the last six years.
Selvius was one of the heroes in that game with 14 saves, and Boersma knew his absence in the net would be felt entering this season.
There was no clear-cut favorite to take over in net at the beginning. That allowed Boersma to look at a group of potential replacements.
“That’s why I kept four of them on my team,” Boersma said. “We knew what we were losing, and we had four guys who were somewhat equal. They all had different strengths and weaknesses, and we were going to let them battle it out.”
Junior Jake Tanis earned the job, and has spent a majority of time in the net.
“I’m going to give him as much experience as I can right now with him playing every single game just for more knowledge back there,” Boersma said. “He was more of a field guy, but his best chance to get time on this team was as a goalie. He has a big frame. He’s 6-2, 230 pounds, and so he has good size and is very athletic. He’s really learning right now.”
Senior midfielder Ryan Doornbos is one of eight starters back. He has faith in the players who have filled in at important positions.
“I trust them,” he said. “They’ve done a good job so far in replacing those roles, and I hope they continue to do that the rest of the year.”
Thirteen in all have returned from last season, including standouts Zack DeKock, Emmett DeJong, Sam DeVries and Daniel Sculley.
The Sailors opened the season with nine straight wins, but suffered consecutive losses to East Grand Rapids (2-0) and Caledonia (1-0) during the past week.
Doornbos missed both games with a concussion, while DeKock also is nursing an injury and didn’t play against Caledonia.
“It’s a huge difference with having him on the field for the team chemistry and moving the ball around,” Boersma said. “The effort he brings is phenomenal, and that’s a huge loss without him. He should be back within a week.”
The recent setbacks and injuries haven’t spoiled the Sailors’ outlook. Boersma would rather have them occur now than in late October and November.
“The guys are OK with losses because they learn from them,” he said. “Obviously no player likes to lose and they are competitive, but they are real good at sitting back after a game and knowing that they have to work on this and this.
“They are a very hard-working crew, and that’s one of my favorite things about them. They leave it all on the field each and every day. They know in games they lost that we made small mistakes. We make sure they don’t happen again.”
Boersma believes this team has the talent to make another deep run, but understands it will revolve around defensive adjustments.
“Knowing all the offense we had back, I was incredibly optimistic that we were going to have an opportunity, if we play the game we’re capable of playing, that on paper (we) could be one of the best teams in Division 3 in my mind,” Boersma said. “We also know soccer, and all the years I’ve watched my teams do well it has typically been my defense. You get great teams towards the end, and in the playoffs and there are numerous games you have to win in a shootout. That’s the way it goes in soccer.”
Doornbos hopes this year’s team can follow in the footsteps of last year’s in terms of staying together and creating a positive atmosphere.
“I think we need to keep each other hyped up and really be tight as a family,” he said. “I think that’s what helped us last year; our whole team was a family. We also enjoyed it last year, and that’s how we kept winning because we were having fun. We need to do those things and keep working hard.”
Dean Holzwarth covered primarily high school sports for the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years and more recently served as sports editor of the Ionia Sentinel and as a sports photojournalist for WZZM. Contact him at[email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) South Christian players, in white jerseys, defend their goal against Middleville Thornapple Kellogg last week. (Middle) Key returnee Zack DeKock moves the ball upfield. (Photosby Craig Pollatz.)