(Have photos to go with this story? Email pics to Web and Content Editor / Director of News Dan Stickradt at stickradt@michigansoccernetwork.com and dstickradt@thepremiermediagrp.com and also list the photo credit as well.)
MICHIGAN SOCCER NETWORK: MSN NEWS: www.michigansoccernetwork.com/msnnews
BY DAN STICKRADT
WEB AND CONTENT EDITOR | DIRECTOR OF NEWS
Michigan Soccer Network | Premier Media Group and affiliates
BUSINESS LINE: (248) 525-2349
CELL PHONE: (248) 884-1051
TW/X: @msn_stickradt @LocalSportsFans @MiSoccerNetwork
BERKLEY, Mich. – Good teams are always competitive. Elite teams find ways to win.
Rochester Adams is looking more and more like one of those elite teams.
The Division 1 fifth-ranked Highlanders took another step towards greatness Thursday night at Berkley’s Hurley Stadium, edging Romeo 1-0 for a Division 1 regional title. This came just five days after winning the school’s 13th district title in a 25-year span.
Adams won state titles in 1999 and 2022, while the Highlanders were state runner-up in 2001 and 2014. Adams also captured regional titles and advanced to the Final Four in 1999, 2001, 2004, 2009, 2014, 2015, 2022 and 2024, while the program was also knocked out in the regional finals in 2006 and 2013 – all since 1999.
This team set goals of playing for and winning a state title this season back in the summer months and are now in the Division 1 Final Four for the second time in three seasons and for the eighth time since 1999, albeit with mostly a newer roster than two years ago.
Josh Hickey, who took over the head coaching job at Rochester Adams before the fall 2009 season, has been to this stage before. But only three current varsity players were on the 2022 state championship team and for some of them playing in the regional finals and being part of the Division 1 Elite Eight was an entirely new experience.
“Being a coach, and for the 16 years I’ve been here, we’ve made runs in the past. I have experience here, but a lot of these guys don’t,” admitted Hickey, a former standout at nearby Troy Athens in the early 2000s who now has coached five regional championship teams at Adams since 2009. “There’s only three guys on this squad that have. We have the (five MLS Next) Academy guys that came back but they’ve never experienced this either. It’s actually a group that doesn’t have that experience. They see it in my classroom and around the school. They see the banners and everything. There is some mystique to it. But for them to be handling it the way they are, honestly, I’m pretty impressed.”
The Highlanders did not squander the opportunity playing against a team that was making its first-ever regional finals appearance and a team that had not won a district trophy since 1987.
Adams, which is 11-1-2 in its last 13 games, returned eight players that started some games last season and welcomed in five former MLS Next Academy players to the roster this season. It took some time for the Highlanders (16-2-4) to gel, but now opposing teams are starting to see and go up against a well-oiled machine and uber-talented side.
Adams senior Alex Rosin provided the game’s lone tally with 15:07 remaining in the first half. Scooping up a loose ball just inside midfield along the left side, Rosin beat a pair of defenders before slipping inside and uncorking a left-footed banger that sailed near the uppoer-90 on the right side of the goal.
“I remember looking up and trying to play someone through (traffic)and it got blocked, so I picked it up and my natural instincts kind of came through and I just took it (forward). I beat the one (defender) who slid at me and then I remembered I had a chance and I just hit it,” explained Rosin of the game-winning goal.
An outside back by nature, Rosin has also played plenty of attacking midfielder and forward this season and played all three positions in the two games this week at Berkley, including Tuesday’s 2-1 double-overtime regional semifinals win over Troy. A University of Notre Dame commit, Rosin now had 15 goals and 17 assists for Rochester Adams this year and is an All-State Dream Team candidate.
The Highlanders posted a 21-8 overall shots edge in the game, including 10-4 with shots on frame. But Romeo held a 7-5 edge on cornerkicks and were quite dangerous on counter attacks and set pieces.
Still, Adams 6-foot-4 senior goalkeeper Reid Dennis was up to the task and senior center back Anthony Piacentini, a Western Michigan University-commit, again anchored a stout back line that was able to withstand some pressure at times throughout the contest. Dennis notched four saves, including reaching back to snare a header off the line in the final minute of the first half, and also punched away several cornerkicks and restarts sent into the box for the Highlanders’ 12th clean sheet of the season.
Romeo was methodical in defeating St. Clair Shores Lakeview 2-0 Tuesday night for their first-ever win in the regional tournament and were much more inspired playing it its first regional finals. The Bulldogs just came up short against one of the state’s preseason top five teams and a team that features seven NCAA Division I recruits and a host of others that could play at smaller colleges.
Romeo finished with a 15-5-2 overall record and captured 43 wins over the past three seasons – the best three-season stretch in program history. The Bulldogs finished with a 60-26 scoring edge, placed second in the Macomb Area Conference-Red Division, recorded nine shutouts and were only shut out twice all season – once to Utica Eisenhower (3-0) on Oct. 2 and again to Rochester Adams in the regional finals.
Senior Ethan Huffman finished with nine saves in 10 chances for Romeo, and also dodged a bullet midway through the second half when Adams had a goal called back off a rebound as the player was just a step offsides. The Bulldogs’ defense al frustrated Adams at times throughout the season.
The two teams tied a non-conference game 1-1 back on Aug. 24, but the temperatures were up in themed-80s and both teams went deep into their respective benches in that contest to give most of their respective rosters playing time.
Romeo’s journey came to an end, but it was a magical ride nevertheless.
“I think it was a great season. I think for the future, you saw a lot of JV players on the bench that rode the bus. We had 12 kids just ride the bus to be part of it. (we had) 12 alumni here today to watch,” noted Romeo coach Vinnie Vasilevski. “We had a lot of people that wanted to be a part of this game. When you play a game like this, it’s exciting.
I started her eight years ago and in our first season we were 6-12-2,” reminded Vasilevski. “Even the last three years, I think it was a 13w-in (2022), a 15-win and a 15-win. The last three years, this group of seniors should be really proud of that. I think we do a lot of off-season stuff. We lift, we run, that’s what if takes to compete with teams like this and I’m really proud of the boys.”
Adams now has a 58-13 scoring advantage this season, posted 12 shutouts and were blanked three times earlier in the season, as they were attempting to mesh in a multitude of new players. The Highlanders will play in the state semifinals for the eighth time and fifth time under Hickey next Wednesday at Troy Athens at 6 p.m. The winner of Friday’s regional final between Saline and Monroe will face the Highlanders.
Vasilevski conceded that his team lost to one of the state’s premier programs.
“First of all, Josh Hickey is a great coach. We get along really well. They are well-coached and on top of that they have all that talent on top of that well-coached team,” said Vasilevski. “They’ve been here before and they’ve got a ton of D-I talent on that team. It was a great game, a clean game, well-coached. I think they are the best team all year.”
ROCHESTER ADAMS IN THE POSTSEASON
State Championships – 1999, 2022
State Runner-Up – 2001, 2014
Final Four – 1999, 2001, 2004, 2009, 2014, 2015, 2022, 2024
Regional Championships – 1999, 2001, 2004, 2009, 2014, 2015, 2022, 2024
Regional Runner-Up – 2006, 2013
Lost In Regional Semifinals – 2000, 2010, 2019
District Champions – 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2019, 2022, 2024
NOTE – Despite having a multitude of quality teams and state-ranked squads, Rochester Adams did not win a district championship from the inaugural 1981 season through the 1998 season.
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(Have a story suggestion for the Premier Media Group and the Michigan Soccer Network regarding club soccer, high school varsity, amateur soccer, collegiate soccer or professional soccer involving teams, players or coaches with Michigan ties, contact Communications Specialist/Web and Content Editor/Director of News Dan Stickradt via email at stickradt@michigansoccernetwork.com or dstickradt@thepremiermediagrp.com, or call 248-884-1051 or 248-525-2349. Dan Stickradt is a 31-year veteran of the Michigan Media circles and recently joined the staff full time in March of 2024. Want to schedule a broadcast game or live show, contact PMG/MSN Director of Broadcasting Jonathan Turner for availability and pricing at jonathan@michigansoccernetwork.com and jonathan@thepremiermediagrp.com.)
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