(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.)
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
ROYAL OAK, Mich. – In only its second school year in the Catholic High School League, Toledo St. Franics de Sales now rules the roost. At least in the sport of boys soccer.
Fresh off its first-ever CHSL-Central Division championship at 5-1-0, St. Francis prevailed in its very first CHSL-Bishop Tournament championship appearance on Tuesday night. Thanks to two late first-half goals, the Knights added one more right after halftime and their defense more than stifled Macomb Lutheran North’s high-powered offense in a 3-0 victory at Royal Oak Shrine Catholic High School.
It was the first appearance in the CHSL-Bishop Tournament Championship match for either school, as last year’s winner, Toledo St. John’s Jesuit finished second in the CHSL-Central Division. Toledo St. Francis de Sales finished fourth last season out of seven schools in their first season of CHSL-Central Division play.
St. Francis de Sales joined Toledo St. John’s Jesuit and Toledo Central Catholic in the CHSL last August, as those three schools had a league that disbanded after the 2022-23 school year and accepted an invitation to join the CHSL despite being from northern Ohio.
Now the Knights have made the quantum leap into pole position in the highly-competitive conference which historically produced legions of Final Four teams in boys soccer over the past 40-45 years.
While Lutheran North (13-2-1), the CHSL-AA Division champion after some dozen years in the mega conference, controlled play for much of the first 30 minutes of the match, the Mustangs let their guard down late in the first half. St. Francis de Sales more than made them pay.
Lutheran North, ranked sixth in the state in the MIHSSCA Division 3 polls, came in with seven shutouts and had outscored the opposition 46-12 over 15 games. It marked just the third time all season that they normally stout Mustangs defense conceded more than two goals. In 12 of their previous other matches, Lutheran North surrendered only one or no goals.
Not this time around.
Toledo St. Francis de Sales, which has now outscored its opposition 38-10 and has recorded six clean sheets defensively, scored goals in the 37th and 39th minutes of the first half and tacked on another in the 45th minute to create some distance in the end.
Three different players scored goals for the Knights, led by Gavin Trent, Joshua Brennan and Ryan Brossenbroek. Brennan finished with a goal and an assist and was quite active in the attack all night for St. Francis de Sales.
It was the foot of Trent, a sophomore forward, who netted the eventual game winner late in the first half. Following a long shot with pace by senior midfielder Lucas Mossing, Lutheran North junior goalkeeper William Pruzinsky made the initial stop but Trent followed up for the rebound and pounced on the loose ball on the doorstep with 3:14 to go in the first half.
The Knights (10-1-2) added a second tally with 1:59 to go in the half on their next shot. This time Brennan collected a ball just outside the box, turned and fired a banger that sailed into the upper-90 near the right goal post just before the halftime break. Senior midfielder Jacob Hoffmann assisted on the play with a long serve down the center of the park and over to Brennan, who was able to squeeze off the shot with three defenders closing in on him.
After changing the momentum into their favor by halftime, St. Francis de Sales continued to pour it on offensively at the start of the second half which eventually resulted in an insurance tally. Brossenbroek was left wide open one yard in front of the net and deposited a Brennan cornerkick in the 45th minute to cap the scoring.
St. Francis de Sales continued to flood Lutheran North’s side of the field which resulted in a 10-1 shot advantage in the second half, including 5-0 with shots on frame during the final 40 minutes.
Defensively, the Knights marked Lutheran North sophomore forward Julian Gibbs tight and was quite aware of the 22-goal-scorer’s presence all night. The Mustangs simply could not generate any type of persistent offense in the contest, especially during the final 50 minutes of play. Sophomore Joel Neary registered the shutout, his team’s sixth of the campaign, while the Knights’ backline more than frustrated Lutheran North’s forwards and midfielders all night.
For the game, Toledo St. Francis de Sales outshot Lutheran North 15-5 overall, including 10-2 with shots on goal, and even held a 3-1 advantage off cornerkicks in recording its third straight win and second straight clean sheet. Seniors Owen Little and Jonathan Davis starred in the backfield for the Knights and more than aided the shutout effort.
Toledo St. Francis de Sales is 8-1-1 in its last 10 games, while Lutheran lost for just the second time this season.
— All Rights Reserved, Premier Media Group / Michigan Soccer Network / National Soccer Network
(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