Repeat Champ Soldiers Finish D4 Shutout
November 5, 2016
By Jeff Chaney
Special for Second Half
COMSTOCK PARK – There is always a question posed to a team that has just won consecutive championships – a question that is sometimes not that easy to answer.
Is it harder to win that first title, or harder to defend?
The boys soccer team from Burton Genesee Christian let its results do the answering, as it made a historic run through this year's MHSAA Division 4 Tournament.
The Soldiers capped off their second straight championship run with a 3-0 win over Muskegon Catholic Central on Saturday at Comstock Park High School.
It was the Genesee Christian’s 16th shutout of the season, and incredible seventh shutout in seven games during the tournament.
With Saturday's goal total, the Soldiers outscored their opponents 27-0 during the great run.
And leading the defensive way for Genesee Christian was senior goalie Zach Noecker, who did nothing to hurt his 0.63 goals-against average heading into Saturday's title game. He had seven saves against the Crusaders.
"This is amazing," Noecker said. "I have a great defense ahead of me, starting with (senior defender Tyler Rose). They are all phenomenal, and we are all best friends. Our goal for this postseason was to go for the shutout, because you can't lose if you don't get scored on."
A confident keeper and defense like that has made the Soldiers offense able to gamble and push a little harder, and they did just that Saturday, especially early.
In the game's first 16 minutes, Genesee Christian put two goals on the board.
The first, at the 31:58 mark, came on a beautiful corner kick by senior midfielder Cole Russell – a corner kick that found the back of the net.
The second, at 24:14, also came on a corner kick, but this one was fielded by Rose, then passed to senior forward Caleb DuPree, who headed the ball past Crusaders goalie Connor O'Neill.
DuPree scored again with just over three minutes to play in the first half on a spectacular unassisted goal.
"My coach always makes fun of me for not playing defense," DuPree said. "For the past two seasons our defense has been remarkable. They make it easy for us forwards, knowing we just have to be at the right place and time our moments. They do all the dirty work."
Great problems to have, a stingy defense and goalie, and a dynamic offense. And all this coming from a school with 114 total enrollment and 23 on the soccer team.
"This is a testament to these guys' work ethic," Genesee Christian coach Doug Anderson said. "(Assistant coach Chris Rainear) and I have a system we are trying to run, and these guys buy into it. And I'm telling you, it really works. When you get a group of guys, 23 of them, that sell out and say they will do anything to win a state championship, then you have a good chance to win."
Anderson said one of things he worried about early in the year was complacency after winning the program, and school's, first MHSAA championship in 2015.
"This was a tough one," Anderson said. "You want to get the guys motivated at the beginning of the year, and at the start of the year we had a philosophy of 'Win from Within.' And I told the guys if you want to win again, it will have to come from within yourself. And luckily I have a senior class that didn't need to be prodded too much."
Muskegon Catholic Central coach Bill Moulatsiotis said his team's lack of experience in a game of this magnitude finally caught up with the Crusaders.
"I think our inexperience showed today," Moulatsiotis said. "The gravity of the game, and the implications of what this might mean for the boys, was a lot. We tried to keep it as normal as possible, but obviously Genesee has been here before, and they knew what to do."
PHOTOS: (Top) Burton Genesee Christian players rush to get a hand on the Division 4 championship trophy. (Middle) Soldiers forward Caleb DuPree gets a foot on the ball with MCC’s Robert Ahern defending.
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.