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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
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TW/X: @msn_stickradt @LocalSportsFans @MiSoccerNetwork
PORTAGE, Mich. – The dream season for Portage Central continues.
The Mustangs, the No. 1-ranked school in the MIHSSCA Division 1 state rankings, expanded their unbeaten streak to 17 games with a 2-0 shutout over Kalamazoo Central Tuesday night in the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals.
Top-seeded Portage Central (14-0-3) will host second-seeded Kalamazoo Loy-Norrix on Thursday night in the SMAC Tournament finals. The Mustangs, who captured both the regular season and tournament championships last season, finished 8-0-1 during the SMAC regular season to repeat as champions and gain the No. 1 seed.
Portage Central and Kalamazoo Loy-Norrix tied 1-1 last week in the league finale in a game played in the pouring rain.
Loy-Norrix (12-1-3) is enjoying its best season in decades and finished second in the regular season SMAC standings at 7-1-2.
Portage Central recorded its 11 shutout of the season and second consecutive clean sheet. Junior Gunnar Thorhallson recorded the clean sheet in net for the winners.
Max Bailey and Michael Kaczmarski scored goals for the Mustangs, who are averaging nearly 4.1 goals a game while surrendering only 0.36 goals against over 17 games.
The Mustangs have now outscored their opposition 69-6 this season and have not tasted defeat since a 3-1 loss to Rockford in last year’s Division 1 regional finals.
Fourth-seeded Kalamazoo Central (11-5-1) finished with a 6-3-0 league record and will visit Mattawan Thursday in the SMAC third-place matchup. The Maroons, despite being outscored 25-24 this season, have enjoyed a little bit of a renaissance this season with 11 wins and seven shutouts. Eight of the 25 goals allowed came in an 8-0 setback to Mattawan back on Sept. 17 but KC has enjoyed five one-goal wins this season.
KALAMAZOO LOY-NORRIX 3, MATTAWAN 1: Loy-Norrix has gained a rematch with Division 1 top-ranked Portage Central.
The Knights, honorable mention in the polls the past two weeks, tripped up Mattawan 3-1 in the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals Tuesday to advance to the conference tournament finals.
Loy-Norrix, which has outscored the opposition 65-9 this season with nine shutouts, lost to the third-seeded Wildcats 2-1 back on August 28 in conference play. That was the Knights’ sole league loss this season, as Loy-Norrix finished as the No. 2 seed following a 7-1-2 SMAC record.
The Knights tied Portage Central 1-1 back on Sept. 24 and will face the unbeaten Mustangs for the second time in nine days in the SMAC Tournament finals.
Seniors Anelka Faria and Sam Schnell stepped up on the offensive end, as Faria scored twice and Schnell added a goal and an assist in the win.
Kalamazoo Loy-Norrix is unbeaten in its last 10 games, going 7-0-3 in that stretch. The Knights own a 39-4 scoring edge and six clean sheets during that 10-game stretch after losing to Mattawan in late August.
ROCHESTER ADAMS 2, BERKLEY 1: Adams rallied back from an early 1-0 deficit to conclude the Oakland Activities Association-Red Division schedule with 16 points. Anthony Page LaFata scored the game-tying goal in the first half and Logan Lilla netted the game-winner in the second half for the Division 1 third-ranked Highlanders. Alex Rosin drew two assists in the win for state-ranked Adams (11-1-3, 5-1-1), which can finish no lower than second place in the eight-school OAA-Red Division. If defending champ and unbeaten Oxford (12-0-4, 3-0-3, 12 points) can beat Troy (9-2-0, 5-1-0, 15 points) in its final league game, then Adams will be the outright champ with 16 points. If Oxford and Troy tie, then both the Highlanders and Troy will finish with 16 points and as co-champions. If Troy defeats Oxford in the last league game, then the Colts will finish with 18 points and be the outright champ. Adams, Troy and Oxford have all clinched top-three finishes in the league. Tenth-ranked Berkley still has one league game to go and currently resides in sixth place with seven points but can climb into a fourth-place tie with a win over fifth-place Birmingham Seaholm (eight points).
OXFORD 2, TROY ATHENS 0: After dropping a 4-0 decision to Troy Athens during the last week of the regular season a year ago, Oxford exacted some revenge Tuesday in Oxford in a battle of Division 1 state-ranked teams in Oxford. Ryan Clark and Coltrane Hudson scored the goals and Nolan Mauser notched the shutout for the Wildcats (12-0-5, 3-0-3, 12 points), which still has one more league game to go but clinched a top-three finish in the league. If defending OAA-Red champ Oxford can beat Troy (9-2-0, 5-1-0, 15 points) in its final league game, then Rochester Adams will be the outright champ with 16 points. If Oxford and Troy tie, then both the Adams and Troy will finish with 16 points and as co-champions. If Troy defeats Oxford in the last league game, then the Colts will finish with 18 points and be the outright champ. Adams, Troy and Oxford have all clinched top-three finishes in the league, while the fourth through sixth spots can still see movement based on the final league contests this week.
TROY 1, CLARKSTON 0: Troy maintained its league title hopes with this narrow OAA-Red Division league win Tuesday night. Clay Cusmano scored for the Colts (9-2-0, 5-1-1), which needs one more win to earn the league title outright or a tie with Oxford to gain a title share in the OAA-Red.
STEVENSVILLE-LAKESHORE 1, PORTAGE NORTHERN 0: The Lancers edged out the Huskies in this SMAC Tournament consolation bracket. Hayden Lawrence scored in the first half off a pass from Tristan Buckumyer and Talan Yager notched the shutout for Lakeshore, which is 4-1-3 in its last eight games. It marked the Lancers’ fifth clean sheet of the season.
KINGSFORD 4, LAKELAND (WISC.) 1: Jaxon Buckley notched the hattrick, giving him 38 goals on the season, and Kingsford moved to 14-1-1 on the campaign. Jett Buckley also scored and added two assists, while Gavin Moore and Gavin Kinsella contributed helpers in the non-conference match.
CLINTON 5, MONROE ST. MARY CATHOLIC CENTRAL 1: Ian Bacha notched the hattrick and Clinton cruised to the non-conference win Tuesday over the Falcons. Mattis Riddle added two goals and an assist, Samson Schaffner had a goal and two assists, Jimmy Schaffner provided a goal and an assist, and both Cole Hilleconas and Brodie Stipe also scored for the Redwolves (10-7-1) Clinton now owns a 57-42 scoring edge this season.
TEMPERANCE STATE LINE CHRISTIAN 5, FREMONT (OHIO) TEMPLE CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 2: Cooper Worley recorded his fourth hattrick of the 2024 campaign and the Patriots cruised to the non-conference win. Worley now has 23 goals on the campaign for State Line (10-5-2).
DEWITT 4, OKEMOS 3 (SO): Ranked third in the state in Division 2, DeWitt had to mount a tremendous late-game comeback to advance to the Capital Area Athletic Conference-Gold Tournament finals with this dramatic victory Tuesday over the visiting Chieftains. DeWitt (15-1-2) picked up goals in the 78th and 79th minutes to force a tie, the second late goal coming with 1:55 remaining, while the Panthers finished 5-for-5 in the shootout to break the stalemate with a 5-4 edge on penalties. Lucas Martinson gave DeWitt, the defending CAAC-Gold Tournament winners and the CAAC-Blue Division champions this year, a 1-0 halftime lead. Abraham Fisher, Nico Rey and Jackson Farnum scored for third-seeded Okemos (4-8-4), as the Chieftains erased the 1-0 halftime deficit to build a 3-1 lead in the second half with 10 minutes to go. High-powered DeWitt, which has outscored the opposition 60-14 this season with nine shutouts, fought back with the two late goals to force the shootout. Jackson Janderwski made one all-important save in the shootout and finished with seven saves in regulation for the Panthers, who will face top-seed and host Mason at 7 p.m. Thursday in the CAAC-Gold Tournament finals. Griffin White made 10 saves in regulation for Okemos, which also lost to DeWitt (2-0) back on Sept. 10 in CAAC-Blue Division play.
HOLT 2, WILLIAMSTON 1: The Rams pulled out the narrow victory over the Hornets Tuesday in the CAAC-Silver Division Tournament semifinals and advance to face Grand Ledge on Thursday in the Silver Tournament finals. Carrick Christiansen netted the game-winner in the 51st minute for the Rams (8-5-3). The CAAC-Silver finals will be played at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Holt.
GRAND LEDGE 1, HASLETT 0: Jason Rivera scored the goal of a pass from Drew Buckland and the Comets advance to Wednesday’s CAAC-Silver Tournament finals with this shutout win Tuesday night. Max Berry made six saves for the clean sheet, Grand Ledge’s eighth shutout of the campaign and the Comets’ fifth in their last six games. Grand Ledge improves to 8-4-3 overall, while Haslett, the CAAC-Red Division runner-up, falls to 7-4-6 overall. Haslett was 5-0-3 in its last eight games but couldn’t find the firepower to reach the CAAC-Silver finals.
EATON RAPIDS 2, ST. JOHNS 1: Eaton Rapids, the Capital Area Athletic Conference-White Division champions at 6-1-0, advanced to the CAAC-Bronze Cup finals with this narrow win over St. Johns Tuesday. The Greyhounds (8-6-1) have now outscored their opposition 41-31 this season and will host Lansing Sexton in the finals.
LANSING SEXTON 3, LAKE ODESSA LAKEWOOD 1: Sexton, the third-place finisher in the CAAC-White Division, upended CAAC-White runner-up Lakewood to advance to the CAAC-Bronze Tournament finals. Sexton, which is off to one of its best starts in decades at 9-2-1 overall, have outscored the opposition 55-13 this season which is one of the program’s better totals. The J-Dubbs advance to face top-seeded Eaton Rapids in the finals at p.m. Thursday on the road in Eaton Rapids.
FOWLERVILLE 2, LANSING CATHOLIC 1: The Gladiators, who finished fifth in the CAAC-Red Division final standings, advanced to the CAAC-Copper Cup Tournament finals with this one-goal win over Lansing Catholic. Fowlerville improves to 9-10-0 overall, while slips to 5-8-0 overall on the season.
LANSING EVERETT 6, PORTLAND 1: Everett, the sixth-place finisher in a loaded CAAC-Blue Division this season, advanced to the finals of the CAAC-Copper Cup Tournament finals by cruising past Portland Tuesday night. Everest will host Fowlerville on Wednesday night in the Copper Cup finals.
CHARLOTTE 2, IONIA 1: Charlotte advances to the second round of the CAAC-Consolation Cup with this win Tuesday over Ionia. Charlotte will face the winner of Wednesday’s match between Olivet and Lansing Waverly. Charlotte improves to 8-7-0 overall with the win, while Ionia falls to 2-12-1.
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(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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