Courtesy Photo | Byron Center Athletics
(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
Bulldogs play 75 minutes down a man but win title; Grand Haven waiting in the wings after ousting Jenison
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
BYRON CENTER, Mich. – Brayden Legge took the right time to score perhaps the biggest goal of his young soccer career.
The freshman forward from Byron Center headed home a Brendan Walker free kick with 24 seconds remaining in the second half in liftin the host Bulldogs to a thrilling 3-2 victory over upset-minded Grand Rapids Northview in a Division 1 district finals match Thursday night.
Bryon Center, fresh off an Ottawa Kent Conference-Green Division championship and two other district wins, actually played a man down for 75 minutes after a player was sent home with a red card just five minutes into the match.
Still, the talented Bulldogs (16-4-1) found a way to outlast Northview over 80 minutes and seal the deal before overtime. The win gave the program its first district title since 2019.
Byron Center had to claw back after being down 2-1 in the second half.
After Northview senior forward Jack Rittner scored his second goal of the game in the 50th minute, Byron Center had to dig deep to net an equalizer.
Senior Kaleb Smith got on a long serve from Walker and volleyed it home in the 70th minute to tie the game at 2-2.
Sophomore midfielder Allistar Allen set up the first Byron Center goal about 10 minutes into the contest, crossing the ball into the box where Smith was able to cash in on a close-range shot near the left post for a 1-0 advantage.
The lead was short-lived, as Northview knotted the game at 1-1 a couple of minutes later when he corralled a long pass down the right side and blasted home a breakaway shot.
After a 1-1 halftime stalemate, Northview scored again on Rittner’s second tally of the game. This time Rittner collected a long pass from senior Alex Owens before netting the brace. The Wildcats could not keep the Bulldogs at bay despite playing up a man at 11-v-10.
Northview, which moved up from Division 2 to Division 1 this season, finished the year with a 12-7-2 record.
Byron Center will face OKC-Red Division fourth-place finisher Grand Haven at 5 p.m. Oct. 22 in a regional semifinals clash at Grandville High School.
The Bulldogs have captured both a league and district title for the first time in all of their years as a Division 1 school. Bryon Center is 16-4-1 overall (.762 win percentage) heading into the regional semifinals with a 59-14 scoring edge, nine shutouts and four shutouts against the Bulldogs.
Byron Center has posted a 0.81 team goals-against-average, has averaged 2.81 goals a game and finished 8-1-1 in the OKC-Green Division to finish with 25 points and just ahead of Caledonia’s 24 points in the six-school standings.
The Bulldogs are 7-2-1 down the stretch after losing two straight games in mid-September to state-ranked Grand Rapids South Christian and Hudsonville. Bryon Center owns a 25-9 scoring edge in that 10-game stretch.
The Bulldogs opened the 2024 campaign with a 3-2 victory over Grand Haven, their opponent in the round of 16 of the state tournament. That was part of a school all-time best 9-0-0 start where Byron Center outscored the opposition 34-5 with five clean sheets.
Al of the team’s four losses came between Sept. 12 and Oct. 7, including defeats to South Christian (1-0, No. 3 Division 2), Hudsonville (2-0, No. 13 Division 1), Caledonia (3-0, only league loss of the season) and East Grand Rapids (1-0).
Byron Center defeated Wyoming (3-1), East Kentwood (1-0) and Northview (3-2) to earn the regionals date with Grand Haven (12-8-2).
GRAND HAVEN 1, JENISON 0: Talk about peaking at the right time. That is Grand Haven’s way.
The Buccaneers are 6-1-0 in their last seven games, including 3-0 in the Division 1 state tournament. The latest win came Thursday in the Division 1 district finals at Hudsonville High School, where Grand Haven staved off Jenison 1-0 to win its fourth straight district title.
Junior forward Will Plummer scored the game’s only goal in the 43rd minute, scoring from 15-yards out after collecting a pass from senior midfielder Owen Haveman.
Senior goalkeeper Logan Shenfield recorded the shutout in goal, his seventh clean sheet of the campaign.
Grand Haven ousted Grand Rapids Union (2-1) and Holland West Ottawa (1-0) before knocking out Jenison (1-0) in the district finals. The Buccaneers (12-8-2) have three shutouts in their last six games and seven clean sheets overall in 22 games, lowering their team goals-against-average down to 1.41 for the season.
Besides the 14-5 scoring edge over the last seven games down the stretch, Grand Haven has outscored its opposition 39-31 this season. The Buccaneers have turned a 6-7-2 record following a 4-0 loss to state-ranked Hudsonville back on Sept. 24 and have played more like a state-ranked team in recent weeks to move to 12-8-1 (.546 win percentage)
— All Rights Reserved, Premier Media Group / Michigan Soccer Network / National Soccer Network
(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.)
(MSN will compile a random sampling of game results from around the state each day. To send in results from high school varsity, club, amateur, pre-pro, semi-pro or professional soccer, email all pertinent details to Communications Specialist / Web and Content Editor / Director of News Dan Stickradt at stickradt@michigansoccernetwork.com and dstickradt@thepremiermediagrp.com or submit information right on the correct link on the MSN website at https://www.michigansoccernetwork.com/reportascore. Please submit the competing teams, location and date of game, final score, overall and league records, goals, assists, goalkeepers and saves, standout defenders, players of the match, and any other pertinent details of the game. If there are courtesy action photos available, feel free to submit them at the above-listed emails.)
MICHIGAN SOCCER NETWORK ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/misoccernetwork
Twitter/X: @MiSoccerNetwork, @msn_stickradt
Instagram: www.instagram.com/misoccernetwork/
(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 photo credit as well.)
BOYS SOCCER: MSN SUPER 50 TEAMS POSITIONS 41-50: www.michigansoccernetwork.com/post/boys-soccer-super-50-teams-positions-41-50
BOYS SOCCER: MSN SUPER 50 TEAMS POSITIONS 31-40: https://www.michigansoccernetwork.com/post/boys-soccer-msn-super-50-teams-positions-31-40
BOYS SOCCER: MSN SUPER 50 TEAMS POSITIONS 21-30: BOYS SOCCER: MSN Super 50 Teams Positions 21-30:
BOYS SOCCER: MSN SUPER 50 TEAMS POSITIONS 11-20:
BOYS SOCCER: MSN SUPER 50 TEAMS POSITIONS 1-10:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INTERNSHIPS AVAILABLE
Interested in internships in broadcasting, communications, journalism, public relations or sales and marketing in the sports world? The Premier Media Group is seeking applications for current college students or students entering their senior or junior years of high school that have a career interest in working in different capacity of a constantly-evolving media world.
Contact both Broadcast Director Jonathan Turner at 248-525-2083 or jonathan@thepremeiermediagrp.com and Web and Content Editor / Director of News Dan Stickradt at (248) 525-2349 and dstickradt@thepremeiermediagrp.com.
Comments