(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
GRANDVILLE, Mich. – Portage Central did something against Traverse City West Tuesday that no other team could do this season.
That is keep the talented Titans off the scoreboard.
The top-ranked and undefeated Mustangs also became the first school to defeat Traverse City West in its last 17 games, as Portage Central kept its dream season very much alive with a 3-0 shutout of the seventh-ranked Titans in a Division 1 regional semifinals match at Grandville High School.
Portage Central, now 19-0-3 on the season, advances to the regional finals for the third straight season and 13th time in program history. The Mustangs will face honorable mention Byron Center (17-4-1) in the regional finals Thursday at 6 p.m., also at Grandville.
Byron Center edged Grand Haven 2-1 in a game that reached a shootout (3-1 edge on penalties).
Portage Central lost last year’s leading goal scorer Gavan Sherman to a season-ending injury in mid-September and the talented junior forward was an All-State Third Team selection last season and the highest ranked sophomore in Division 1 last season. Senior center back Will Tarpley also came down with an illness over the summer and has not played this season. The duo sit on the bench in every game.
Even with those losses of key players, the Mustangs have ventured on a 22-game unbeaten streak this season and have not lost since last year’s Division 1 regional finals to Rockford (3-1).
Portage Central captured regional titles in 1983, 1990, 1991 and 1996, the latter being the only year in the Class A state tournament that there was a state quarterfinals round contested after the regional finals. All of those regional titles came in Class A, as the MHSAA didn’t shift into divisions until 1997.
Could this year bring tradition-rich Portage Central program gets back to the state semifinals for the first time since 1991?
Junior Max Bailey netted the game-winning goal in the first half, banging home a rebound following a shot from junior Bryant Winstanley in only the second minute of the contest.
Bailey scored another first-half goal for the Mustangs, while Michael Kacmarski scored the third goal in the second half and added an assist on the second goal for Portage Central.
Traverse City West (17-2-2) saw its incredible 16-game win streak come to an end, and with that a stellar senior class that won four Big North Conference and Division 1 district titles during their tenure. The Titans held an 87-8 scoring edge this season and pitched 13 shutouts.
Traverse City West captured its 15th straight Big North Conference title and 23rd overall this season, while the Titans also won its sixth straight district championship and 17th overall since the school opened its doors back in 1997.
Portage Central’s stifling defense picked up its 15th shutout of the campaign and has outscored its opposition 85-7 this season. The Mustangs lowered their stellar team goals-against-average down to 0.32, the best in all of Division 1.
Portage Central’s defense, anchored by Kyle Mills, also bottled up Traverse City West’s Mr. Soccer candidate Aidan Orth, who is being recruited by numerous NCAA Division I, Division II and Division III schools from around the Midwest.
During its 16-game streak, Traverse City West outscored its foes 82-4. The Titans could not solve the state’s best defense in the regional semifinals.
Portage Central is 8-0-2 in its last 10 games, but the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference regular season, conference tournament and overall SMAC champion has not conceded more than one goal in a game all season. The Mustangs have outscored the opposition 33-3 in its last 10 games and have won seven straight games by a combined 28-1.
BYRON CENTER 2, GRAND HAVEN 1 (2OT, SO): For the first time, Byron Center is moving on to the Division 1 regional finals.
The Bulldogs, the Ottawa Kent Conference-Green Division champions who also captured their first district trophy last week since 2019, tripped up Grand Haven in this Division 1 regional semifinals thriller Tuesday night at Grandville High School.
Byron Center, which actually fell out of the state rankings in early October and into the honorable mention lists, edged Grand Haven 3-1 in the shootout to advance to the regional finals.
The Bulldogs (17-4-1) will face unbeaten and top-ranked Portage Central, which blanked seventh-ranked Traverse City West (3-0) in the other regional semifinals match Tuesday.
After Grand Haven’s Asa Dean staked the Buccaneers to a 1-0 advantage in the first half, Byron Center’s Nicholas Blok leveled the game at 1-1 with a volley just inside the box on the left side.
The two teams played to a stalemate through regulation and two full 10-minute overtime sessions, setting the stage for the shootout to decide the winner.
Junior Andrew Sinquefield netted the game-deciding penalty while Grand Haven’s final shooter clanked one off the crossbar and out of harm’s way to end the marathon match.
Byron Center senior goalkeeper Luke Philo recorded six saves in the match and also scooped up a key stop in the shootout for the Bulldogs.
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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.)
(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.)
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