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.)
Holland Rides 2nd-Half Surge to 1st Title
November 4, 2017
By Jeff Chaney
Special for Second Half
COMSTOCK PARK – When describing his senior all-state forward, Holland boys soccer coach Greg Ceithaml says Daniel Arellano is 'electric'.
It took Arellano just over a half to put a charge into his team and lead the Dutch to the school's first MHSAA Finals championship.
Arellano scored on a beautiful goal just more than four minutes into the second half, and later assisted on another in Holland's 3-0 win over East Lansing in the Division 2 Final on Saturday at Comstock Park High School.
"His goal was impressive. I thought his assist was more impressive," Ceithaml said. "The guys have a lot of confidence knowing that when we step on the field with him in front, good things usually happen."
The first good thing happened with 35 minutes, 43 seconds to play in the game when Arellano scored the game's first goal on a hard shot off the right side of the Trojans' goal. It was Arellano's 20th goal of the season.
His assist came later in the half, when he dribbled through the East Lansing defense and made a sharp pass to senior midfielder Sam Accardo, who finished the play with his 16th goal of the season.
In between those two scores, senior forward Jose Penaloza put in his eighth goal of the year at the 32:30 mark of the second half.
"We just needed to get a rhythm going," Arellano said. "We just remained focused, and that was key. While we were in the huddle (at the half), Coach was telling us, ‘You want this more. There is no other team out there that wants this more than we do.’ Now that just proves it, because it is our first ever state championship."
Ceithaml admitted there weren’t many adjustments made after a tough first half that included a steady cold rain. He just tried to will his team to play a little better and pay attention to the little details that got the Dutch to this point.
"I didn't think we possessed the ball very well (in the first half), and I give credit to East Lansing for that," said Ceithaml, whose team finished its historic season with a 19-5-2 record. "And the conditions, I told the team, we need to connect passes batter in the second half, and they did that. They executed."
On the other side of the field, East Lansing coach Nick Archer said his team was just unable to finish.
"It was a game of two different halves," said Archer, whose team ended its season with a 17-10-1 record. "In the second half, when they broke through, they finished on us. They just got through our defense, and we got caught a little flat footed. We had a couple of opportunities; we just didn't put them in.
“They are very explosive, and the few seconds they were able to explode, they got through,” Archer added.
Now Ceithaml must say goodbye to a superb senior class of 14 players who struggled a bit when they were freshmen, but made history on their way out.
"We took our lumps (early), but we were learning," Ceithaml said. "Then last year Regional Finals, and then this year (the championship). I feel we have grown and evolved together, and I couldn't be happier for them.
“Right now I am speechless, I am just happy for the boys. I am glad they created a memory that I hope they carry with them for the rest of their lives."
PHOTOS: (Top) Holland’s players celebrate Saturday by hoisting the program’s first MHSAA championship trophy. (Middle) Daniel Arellano (7) looks for an opening between East Lansing defenders, including Alec Fordell (6).