Pilgrims Convert, Claim Elusive Soccer Prize
June 17, 2017
By Keith Dunlap
Special for Second Half
WILLIAMSTON – About three weeks ago, Lansing Christian girls soccer coach Joel Vande Kopple said junior goalkeeper Lynn Cullens came to him at practice with what couldn’t have been classified as uplifting words.
“She says, ‘Coach, we are not going to win a state championship with me in goal on penalty kicks,’” Vande Kopple said. “We just kept working with her.”
Fast forward to Saturday’s Division 4 championship game against Kalamazoo Christian, and guess what situation Lansing Christian found itself in?
You guessed it, penalty kicks.
After giving up the tying goal with 3:03 left in overtime, a dejected Lansing Christian team had to regroup and see its goalie face her worst fears in pursuit of an elusive first MHSAA girls soccer title in school history.
But Cullens rose above her shootout fears, making a save and seeing another shot go off of the crossbar.
Thanks to those two failed conversions and four successful ones by Lansing Christian, the Pilgrims finally delivered a long-awaited title with a 2-1 shootout victory.
“It was very nerve-wracking,” Cullens said. “That was the worst spot I could’ve thought of being in, but I just had to trust in God all the way and I did. It ended up pretty well. I had to stop doubting myself.”
After dominating the play during regulation but failing to produce a goal, it looked like Lansing Christian wasn’t going to need a shootout.
With 7:22 left in the first overtime period, sophomore Rilyn Ross beautifully headed home a service into the box by sophomore Jackie Moore to make it 1-0 Lansing Christian.
With Pilgrims fans counting down the minutes in anticipation of the first MHSAA title in program history, Kalamazoo Christian had an answer.
With 3:03 remaining in the second period of overtime, the Comets got an opportunity with a corner kick and sent all 11 players into the box, including senior keeper Allyson Kranstz.
All the commotion in the box paid off, as freshman Lauryn Mohney headed in a perfect service by senior Meagan Laaksonen to tie the game 1-1.
“We had to do something,” Kalamazoo Christian coach Jay Allen said. “My goalie in practice has always wanted to be a forward, so this was her chance.”
Kalamazoo Christian was obviously the much more upbeat team going into the shootout, prompting Vande Kopple to turn into a motivational speaker.
“We wanted to make sure that we were very positive,” Vande Kopple said. “We have been in this position before. We have given up late goals before, and we have always found a way to win.”
Both Lansing Christian sophomore Kealeigh Usiak and Kalamazoo Christian’s Laaksonen scored in the first round of the shootout, and then Lansing Christian sophomore Abby Lyon scored to start the second.
Cullens then dove to her left to stop Kalamazoo Christian leading scorer Kayla Beebe to give the Pilgrims an early edge.
Kranstz answered by stopping Lansing Christian leading scorer Kasey Jamieson to start the third round, but the Pilgrims maintained a lead after Kalamazoo Christian hit the crossbar.
After goals by Lansing Christian junior Jessie Kruger and Kalamazoo Christian senior Annika VanZytveld in the fourth round, Pilgrims sophomore Eliza Lewis scored to clinch the title.
The Pilgrims (23-2-2) previously had lost in the 2015 and 2011 championship games. Making its first Finals appearance since 2008, Kalamazoo Christian finished 20-3-3.
Kranstz made 13 saves in goal for the Comets.
PHOTOS: (Top) Lansing Christian celebrates during its first Division 4 championship win. (Middle) Abigail Dykema helps clear the goal for Kalamazoo Christian.
East Kentwood Hopes Fast Start Just Beginning of Success This Spring
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
April 21, 2023
KENTWOOD – The East Kentwood girls soccer team managed to win only four games a year ago.
In a remarkable turnaround, the Falcons have already surpassed that win total less than a month into this season.
“Going into the season I felt strongly that we had a really good group of girls,” fifth-year East Kentwood coach Mark Bea said. “You never know quite how it is going to come together, but I’m pleased with where we are at.
“We’ve done enough to find ways to win even when we haven't been at our best. A lot of girls have made that happen. We’ve done some good things, but still have a long way to go.”
The Falcons entered the week with a 5-1 record, their best start since 2015. East Kentwood’s only loss had occurred against Division 3 No. 6 Grand Rapids West Catholic, although the Falcons are now 5-3 after defeats over the last three days to Division 1 No. 6 Rockford and Caledonia.
“I’m really proud of all the girls,” Bea said. “They work hard to improve every day, and we’ve played some very good teams that are extremely well coached. This team has been able to prevail in most of them, and it's been really helpful for us to pick up some more nonconference games due to our conference tournament.
“We’ve also had the benefit of just being able to get some momentum by playing teams outside of our conference.”
East Kentwood received a huge confidence boost last week with a 2-1 win over Plainwell, which won 12 games a year ago and has a solid program. The Falcons followed that with victories over the weekend against Grand Ledge and Gaylord.
“We have a really great group of girls who play extremely hard and are learning to play even harder,” East Kentwood senior Rebecca Moore said. “We have a lot of trust in each other and love representing our school through the soccer field.
“Our defense has been solid so far, and we look to continue to get better. All of us understand that we win and lose as a team and we use our losses as learning experiences in order to better ourselves and the team as a whole.”
Moore, along with Ana Guillory and McKenna Van Overen, have been senior leaders, while an impressive core of sophomore standouts has been vital to the team’s early success.
The Falcons rostered several freshmen last season, and that year of experience has proved to be beneficial.
The sophomore contingent has been led by another in Ella Zoerhoff, who is playing in high school for the first time after competing at the club level as a freshman.
“I always wanted to play for East Kentwood, but didn’t know which year would be right,” Zoerhoff said. “I thought this year I should try out and obviously I think it’s going pretty well so far. I was really excited to play this year, and I’m excited that we are winning games.
“I feel like it's been a team effort, and everyone has been doing their job correctly.”
Zoerhoff has provided a scoring punch with a team-high eight goals, while Guillory and sophomore Breyona Ikwueme also have been offensive catalysts.
“Ella is a game changer and we have a couple of other forwards, so having three up there makes everyone better,” Bea said. “You can't mark just one of them because the other ones are going to get you, so that’s helpful.”
The Falcons also have been stingy on defense, keyed by Moore and sophomore Sofia Daniel.
Other contributors include sophomores Liliana Bea, Camryn Kolzow and Cassie Block, and junior Emersyn Port.
“Having a team where you have some threats to score is a big piece, but it’s also about having a central defense and they have just done a tremendous job,” Bea said. “We would not be able to do what we’re doing on offense if our central defenders weren’t doing what they've done.”
The Rockford and Caledonia games marked the start of Ottawa-Kent Conference Red play, with Grand Haven and Grandville up next week. May 9 opponent Hudsonville is ranked No. 5 in Division 1 this week.
“Arguably, we have one of the toughest conferences in the state, and the Red is just brutal,” Bea said.
“We are a work in progress and have some huge matches against phenomenal opponents in our conference coming up. Our objective is to take it one game at a time and continue to improve game by game.”
Zoerhoff also is eager to see how this team can compete.
“I'm looking forward to the O-K Red, and I’m looking forward to good competition and to start conference play this week,” she said. “We have some good momentum right now.”
Dean Holzwarth has covered primarily high school sports for Grand Rapids-based WOOD-TV for five years after serving at the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years along with shorter stints at the Ionia Sentinel and WZZM. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTOS (Top) The East Kentwood girls soccer team celebrates a win this spring. (Middle) Sophomore Ella Zoerhoff (8) sends a header against Plainwell. (Photos courtesy of the East Kentwood girls soccer program.)