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Courtesy Photo | Williamston Soccer
Led by senior goalkeeper Garrett Stenzel (middle) and 11 total seniors, 13th-ranked Williamston captured its fifth regional championship last week and will face top-ranked Pontiac Notre Dame Prep in the Division 3 state semifinals Wednesday.
BY DAN STICKRADT
WEB AND CONTENT EDITOR | DIRECTOR OF NEWS
Michigan Soccer Network | Premier Media Group and affiliates
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WILLIAMSTON, Mich. – Williamston has a proud history of quality boys soccer teams over the years.
The Hornets are making their fifth all-time appearance in the state semifinals this week, as Williamston will battle with top-ranked Pontiac Notre Dame Prep Wednesday at 6 p.m. at North Farmington for the right to perhaps reach the final day of the season for the fourth time in program history.
Williamston, which is 12-7-2 on the year and is ranked 13th in Division 3, has never claimed a state title. Neither has its opponent, Notre Dame Prep (21-2-0), which has been ranked either first or second in the state all season with 16 varsity returnees.
Williamston has lost in the Division 3 state finals three times – 2012, 2014, 2015 – and is making its fifth appearance in the Final Four. The Hornets have been to the regional title game eight times in its history.
“Sure, we would love to get to the finals, but we have to get by Notre Dame Prep and they’re very talented,” admitted Williamston coach Ian Kurth. “We know we’ll have to play a great game to beat them. But we’ll be ready.”
Williamston finished third in the Capital Area Athletic Conference-Red Division at 3-1-1, and that league is mostly Division 1 and Division 2 schools. A lot of the three-division CAAC is made up of larger schools, although there are some D-3 schools in the mega conference, mainly down in the CAAC-White Division.
“I do think playing some bigger schools, some D-1 and D-2 schools has helped,” noted Kurth. “We’ve also gone out and scheduled some tough non-league teams this year.”
Williamston has outscored the opposition 48-25 this season, averaging 2.29 goals a game as a team, while defensively the Hornets have collected eight shutouts and posted a 1.20 goals-against-average.
In the state tournament against schools more its size, Williamston is 4-0 and outscored the opposition 16-3 with two clean sheets. The Hornets also won one game via a shootout, and that came courtesy of a 2-1 victory over Ann Arbor Greenhills Friday in the Division 3 regional finals with the Hornets registering a 4-3 edge on penalties to advance to their first Final Four since 2020.
Williamston opened the tourney with 5-0 wins over Lansing Catholic and Cascades Conference champion Brooklyn Columbia Central and a 4-2 win over powerhouse Grosse Ile in the regional semifinals before slipping past fellow power Greenhills in that regional finals marathon.
There’s nothing new that the Hornets have seen in the tournament, again one of the benefits Williamston enjoys every year with the tough league and non-league schedule. Williamston usually hosts the Williamston Showcase every year and the current and former coaches have not been bashful of playing top-tier teams in each of the state’s four divisions to go along with the tough CAAC-Red schedule.
This season the Hornets lost to Division 1 schools Grand Ledge (1-0), Holt (2-1) and East Lansing (3-1), while also dropping decisions to Division 2 schools Mason (6-0), Haslett (3-1), DeWitt (1-0) and Middleville Thornapple-Kellogg (1-0). Williamston also counted victories over fellow Final Four team Elk Rapids (2-1) at the Williamston Showcase and the Hornets have also defeated several D-I, D-II and D-III schools this season.
Mason is also in the Division 2 Final Four this season for the 11th time, while the Bulldogs finished as the D-2 state runner-up last season. Mason won the CAAC-Red Division this season ahead of Haslett, Williamston and three other schools.
“That loss (to Mason) hurt us a little bit because it was by six goals, but other than that we have been very competitive all season and Mason is a really good team that is good enough to win it all in Division 2,” said Kurth. “We beat Grosse Ile in our regional and beat Elk Rapids earlier in the season. We can match up well with Division 3 schools and I think our schedule has helped us out a lot.”
Williamston has 11 seniors on this experienced roster, and nine of those seniors have started some games this season. There are 25 players on the postseason roster.
Senior goalkeeper Garrett Stenzel is a fourth-year varsity veteran and a third-year starter. He earned All-State accolades last season and even though he did not make All-CAAC Red Division this year, he did end up high on the All-District and All-Region teams recently and should be high on the Division 3 All-State lists that will be released at the tail end of next week.
“Because of the one game against Mason, he didn’t get All-Conference. But overall, Garrett is one of the better keepers in Division 3,” noted Kurth. “When he came in as a freshman, he was kind of raw but had great athleticism. He’s worked really hard in his career and has really had a great senior season. I expect he’ll be somewhere on one of the three All-State teams (in Division 3).”
Senior forward Ian Conway has 12 goals and an assist this season but has been on fire in the postseason with six goals in four games. Senior midfielder Cale Pederson has been steady this season, but missed a few games with an injury. Senior forward Max Kuehne missed most of last season with a torn ACL but has bounced back to aid the offense this season. He still missed a couple of weeks with a hamstring issue this season but appears to be healthy for the stretch run.
Senior midfielder Shelton Schuesler is a third-year veteran, while senior midfielder Quinn Scott is back after spending a couple of seasons in the Virgin Islands. Senior midfielders Adam Horn and Xander Hughes have also contributed on the attack.
Senior Anthony Berger has been rock solid along the back line this season, and senior back Noah Pfeifle has also stepped up his game on defense this season.
“Anthony has really stepped up this season. Every year you ask the seniors to step up and be leaders and Anthony is one of those players that we have counted on this year,” added Kurth.
The entire seniors group will be asked to band together for one or two more games this week on the big stage. Pontiac Notre Dame Prep stands in the Hornets way of a state finals berth, while Elk Rapids (18-6-1) and first-time state semifinalist Hartford (20-1-1) are on the other half of the bracket.
“It’s always exciting when your team makes a run,” noted Kurth. “We’re going to go out there and do our best and see what happens. Everyone that is left is very good.
Williamston
State Champions – None
State Runner-Up – 2012, 2014, 2015
Final Four Appearances – 2012, 2014, 2015, 2020, 2024
Final Four Losses – 2020
Regional Champions – 2012, 2014, 2015, 2020, 2024
Regional Finals Losses – 2013, 2021, 2023
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