'Underdog' Western Building on 2017 Run
By
Tom Markowski
Special for Second Half
September 27, 2018
DETROIT – Few equate competitive soccer with teams from Detroit, especially those in the Detroit Public School League. And that’s just fine with Detroit Western coach Forest Farmer and his players.
Being an underdog can work to one’s advantage.
Western is one of two schools in the PSL (Detroit Cass Tech is the other) that sponsors a boys soccer team that competes in the MHSAA Playoffs. Western’s program had its beginnings during the 2002-03 school year, and last season the Cowboys came of age.
Western won the school’s first District title in the sport by defeating Dearborn Fordson, 7-1, in the final. The Cowboys had opened tournament play by downing Wyandotte Roosevelt, 6-1, and then defeating, U-D Jesuit, 2-1 in a shootout, in the District Semifinal.
Western lost to Detroit Catholic Central, 3-0, in a Regional Semifinal, and the Shamrocks went on to win the Division 1 championship.
That was Western’s only loss, as the Cowboys finished 18-1-2. This season they are 4-2.
Since the MHSAA began sponsoring the boys soccer tournament in 1982, all but three Class A/Division 1 championships have been won by public schools in suburban Detroit or more recently Grand Rapids, or by members of the Detroit Catholic League.
It’s a struggle for programs like Western and Cass Tech to be successful. Coaches from established programs often don’t look to schedule teams like Western and Cass Tech because there’s at least the perception that teams from the city won’t be competitive and the games will be lopsided.
“We basically play whoever we can,” said the 50-year-old Farmer, who’s now in his sixth season as Western’s head coach. “We’re able to schedule 13 to 14 games while others play 18 or so. We’re not in a league. We’d like to get into a league.”
Farmer said he’s grateful for programs like those from Birmingham Seaholm and Birmingham Brother Rice that annually schedule Western. By playing these established programs, the Cowboys are able to gauge where they are as a team and better prepare for the MHSAA tournament.
Farmer jumped at the opportunity to coach at Western. He played soccer at Rochester Adams and dabbled in coaching other sports, like baseball and football, before he returned to soccer. He said initially he had difficulty convincing students to participate. But once they bought into what he was trying to teach, the numbers started to increase.
Western doesn’t have a freshman or a junior varsity team, but there are 22 athletes in the program. Sure, Farmer would love to have a sub-varsity team help feed the varsity. But the silver lining is he is able to coach his players all four years of their high school careers.
“I’m tough on them. All of the kids want to learn, and they know what to expect,” he said. “And the parents love it. I get tremendous support. Here, I get to run the team like I want to. It’s old school.”
A handful of Farmer’s players have gone on to play in college, including Dylan Borzcak, a sophomore midfielder at Oakland University. Generally, Farmer will encourage his players to go to college, first and foremost. Then, if they do plan on playing soccer, he often suggests somewhere like nearby Schoolcraft College to get their feet wet – as Borzcak did before transferring to Oakland.
Steve Sanchez, 17, is one of four seniors on Western’s team. Not only has soccer been his main sport throughout his life, but he’s never played anything else. Even so, Sanchez, a defender, does not plan on playing soccer in college. He has a 3.5 grade-point average and is planning on majoring in engineering.
“My family has always been a soccer family,” he said. “My dad (Paramon Sanchez) played soccer when he was younger, and I grew up watching my brother, Paramount, play (at Western).
“This year our team is a work in progress. We lost eight seniors off of last year’s team but, yeah, we’re getting better. There’s no one individual who can outperform anyone else, so we’re all competing.”
Angel Magana is a junior striker and, like Sanchez, is a team captain. Magana, 16, started playing soccer at age 7 but, unlike Sanchez, plans on playing soccer in college. Magana’s brother, Brayan, is a freshman on the Western team.
“I pretty much like everything about the sport,” Angel Magana said. “I like scoring. This is the first year I’m playing striker, and I try to make the effort to score. I was a center mid last year and scored two goals. This year I’ve got 10.
“Winning the District was a great feeling. Underdogs? For sure. All of the Catholic schools and the others see us that way. I definitely consider ourselves as the underdogs. I like to have others feel that way. It’s great to show that we can play with them.”
Tom Markowski is a contributing writer for the State Champs! Sports Network. He previously covered primarily high school sports for the The Detroit News from 1984-2014, focusing on the Detroit area and contributing to statewide coverage of football and basketball. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Detroit Western's Angel Magana, left, defends against Fordson during last season's District Final. (Middle) Western coach Forest Farmer. (Below) The Cowboys are off to a 4-2 start this fall. (Top photo courtesy of Southgate Press & Guide; middle photos courtesy of Detroit Western’s soccer program.)
Season Split Elevates Spring Lake, Fruitport, with Possible Rematch Ahead
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
October 8, 2021
The phrase “good loss” is both an oxymoron and a way for coaches to spin a bad outcome into something positive.
It’s also a comment which both coaches referenced after visiting Spring Lake’s 3-1 boys soccer victory Wednesday over neighboring rival Fruitport, which came into the game undefeated and sporting a lofty No. 3 state ranking in Division 3.
Spring Lake coach Jeremy Thelen said a 4-2 loss to Fruitport earlier this season provided the fuel his team needed to turn its season around.
“It’s more effort and more focus,” said Thelen, explaining how his team, which started this season with just two wins in its first six games, has put together a 10-game unbeaten streak.
“We have the mentality that it is going to be complete work from start to finish. I’m really proud of the guys for bouncing back.”
In that first meeting on Sept. 1, Fruitport came out more aggressive and motivated, tallying two goals in the first five minutes to stun the Lakers, who never recovered as their season record dipped to 2-2-2. Thelen went back to the drawing board and made some tactical changes, but he believes more important than that, his team was humbled by the loss to its rival and determined to not let it happen again.
Spring Lake has been a different team since, winning its next four games by a whopping 15-1 combined margin, including a 3-0 shutout of powerhouse Hudsonville Unity Christian.
Then came a “good tie” against conference foe Grand Rapids West Catholic, in a game where the Lakers allowed the game-tying goal in the final 30 seconds.
That lone blemish over the past five weeks led to a players only meeting and another reset. While the Fruitport loss taught the team the value of a fast start, the West Catholic tie emphasized the importance of finishing.
“It was basically us senior guys that got everyone together and talked about the tradition here at Spring Lake and how we have to work to keep it going,” senior forward Keegan Fritsche explained. “Since then, everything has changed.”
Fritsche led the new-look Lakers attack in Wednesday’s Ottawa-Kent Conference Blue Tournament semifinal game, scoring the first two goals after a scoreless first half. Senior midfielder Kole Pattyn moved up and tallied another goal to make the score 3-0, before Sean Gieske got Fruitport on the board with a breakaway goal with less than five minutes remaining.
The Lakers were the more aggressive team from the start, which showed in the final stats as they held a 10-3 edge in shots and 7-2 edge in corner kicks.
Most of the play occurred in Fruitport’s end, as a great effort by Trojans junior keeper Justin Laus kept the game scoreless for the first 53 minutes. The Lakers’ relentless pressure finally broke through as Fritsche scored twice in a three-minute span, assisted by Conrad Bush and Jack Mulder.
“It felt good to get some revenge on them, since they beat us in the regular season,” said Pattyn, one of the team’s emotional leaders. “I really think the biggest change in our team is just attitude and heart. It’s crazy how much of a difference that makes.”
Spring Lake was able to turn the tables despite being without two of its best players for the conference semifinal game – seniors Porter Saunders and Link Dephouse. The rest of the team rose up in their absence, starting with the leaders on the back end, senior keeper Aidan Parker and junior mid-back Jaxson Tober.
Thelen is not sure whether those two injured seniors will be back for Monday’s conference championship game against visiting Unity Christian. His primary goal is to have his team at full strength starting with the District Semifinal on Oct. 19 and going forward from there.
Spring Lake, which made it all the way to the Division 2 championship games in 2011 and 2013, improved to 11-2-3 with the victory. The Lakers entered the week ranked No. 11 in the Michigan High School Soccer Coaches Association Division 3 rankings.
Fruitport (12-1-3), which was ranked No. 3 in that same poll, experienced defeat for the first time this season, which is something coach Dan Hazekamp has been hoping for – he just wishes it could have been at the hands of someone other than the Trojans’ archrival.
“I’ve been saying for a month now that we need to lose a game,” said Hazekamp, who is in his fourth year as the Trojans’ coach. “We needed to get that monkey off our back and then learn from it.”
Whether or not the setback turns into a “good loss” remains to be seen. Hazekamp hopes to see a more aggressive and focused team Monday when Fruitport travels to Holland Christian for the battle for third place in the conference tournament.
No matter what happens, it has been a breakthrough season to remember at Fruitport.
In addition to the win over Spring Lake, the Trojans also notched a huge 1-0 conference win over Unity Christian on Sept. 22. Fruitport also picked up satisfying nonconference wins over local rivals Mona Shores, Whitehall, North Muskegon and Oakridge.
The future looks even brighter as the Trojans are led by an outstanding junior class, notably Laus in goal, defender Noah Fehler, midfielder Bode Anspach and forwards Jackson Rebone and Gieske. Sophomores Eli Aldridge and Brady Brown also have played key roles all season.
Fruitport has a bye in the opening round of Districts, giving it eight days after Monday’s conference consolation game to prepare for the postseason – which could feature a third and final matchup, a rubber game if you will, against Spring Lake.
"We’re young, but we’re never going to use that as an excuse for losing a game,” said Hazekamp, who is assisted by Steve Hazekamp and Drew Maus. “We need to get back to work. If we handle ourselves the right way after this loss, there’s a good chance we might see Spring Lake one more time.”
Tom Kendra worked 23 years at The Muskegon Chronicle, including five as assistant sports editor and the final six as sports editor through 2011. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Muskegon, Oceana, Mason, Lake, Oceola, Mecosta and Newaygo counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Spring Lake’s Kole Pattyn (right) and Fruitport’s Bode Anspach break on the ball during Wednesday’s league tournament matchup. (Middle). Spring Lake’s Keegan Fritsche (16) works to keep the ball from Fruitport’s Noah Fehler. (Photos by Kyle Turk/Grand Haven Tribune.)