Roennecke Rallies Roeper to D4 Title
November 1, 2014
By Ron Rop
Special for Second Half
KENTWOOD – Simon Roennecke long will be remembered for the individual effort he turned in Saturday in the MHSAA Division 4 boys soccer championship game.
The high-scoring sophomore scored all four goals as he led Birmingham Roeper to a 4-2 victory over Grand Rapids Covenant Christian on a sunny, cool afternoon at Crestwood Middle School.
Roennecke’s four-goal game not only gave Roeper its first-ever MHSAA Finals title in any sport, but sent Covenant Christian home with its third straight runner-up finish in Division 4.
“I never could have dreamt this,” Roennecke said. “My touch was on today, and I felt it throughout the first few minutes of the game. I had one chance in the first half when I took on a few defenders, and after that I felt I could do that the rest of the game.”
“He’s a competitor; he’s a gamer,” Roughriders coach Ed Sack said of Roennecke. “He’s come up all year for us, as a sophomore, it’s incredible, and to score four in the state final … come on, please. He’s just a wonderful human being and soccer player.”
Roennecke got loose from the pressure of three Chargers defenders and fired a low, 20-yard shot that found the net just inside the goalpost.
However, the Chargers came right back and within seven minutes produced the equalizer. Junior Colin Riemersma knocked down a loose ball, was able to elude Roughriders goalkeeper Calvin Lind and tuck a shot into the open net.
Both teams had other scoring chances during a wide-open first half, but neither could break the 1-all deadlock after 40 minutes of play.
Covenant made some noise in the offensive end in the early minutes of the second half, but came away empty-handed.
Then Roennecke struck a second time. Again, he was able to beat a defender, get into range for a shot and fire a well-placed, low shot inside the far post. That gave the Roughriders a 2-1 lead.
“He’s just an opportunist,” Sack said. “He’s got guts and he’s a competitor.
“I think what a lot of people didn’t recognize is that the Oakland County leading goal scorer, Max Whipple, was playing defense the second half.”
Roennecke completed his hat trick with 11:41 left in the second half when he broke in on the left side and fired a shot that, again, snuck just inside the far post.
Minutes later, the score became 4-1 on another low shot from the left side.
“He played a good game today,” Chargers coach Mike Noorman said. “He was a hard guy to cover.”
Covenant Christian was able to cut the deficit to two goals with 5:32 remaining when senior Jared Minderhoud unleashed a hard shot that Lind could not handle cleanly. The rebound ended up on the foot of Riemersma, and he wasted no time hitting the back of the net.
From there, the Roughriders were able to keep the Chargers’ offense at bay and wrap up the title.
“It’s amazing. I mean, this is the first state championship we’ve ever had,” Roennecke said. “To win it takes a lot of hard work.”
While Roennecke was putting on a show up front, it was the stellar play of senior Michael Matthews in the back that kept the Chargers at bay for much of the afternoon.
“He is our third-best attacker, and the only game we lost was 7-6 in double overtime the third game of the season because I was selfish and had him an attacking mid,” Sack said. “I realized if you score six goals you can still lose a game unless you have a strong defense. He’s the anchor … he’s the rock back there.”
For the Chargers, it was a disappointing finish to another strong season.
Covenant Christian finished the season 21-4-2 and was undefeated in the River Valley Conference, which sent a team to the MHSAA Finals for the ninth straight season and 16th time in the last 17 years.
“I wanted so badly for these guys to be the champion of the year, but the goal that we had at the beginning of the year was to win a different crown, to play as hard as we could to represent our school in the name of Christ,” Noorman said.
“They are a great team,” said Sack, whose team finished 23-1. “What a great league they must play in, but our two leagues must be the two best in the state for D4.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Birmingham Roeper's Simon Roennecke works to get past a group of Grand Rapids Covenant Christian defenders Saturday. (Below) Roeper's Max Whipple battles the Chargers' Brock DeBoer for possession. (Click for all team and action photos from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
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.)