Edwardsburg 'Family' Dreaming Big Again Building On History-Making Run
By
Scott Hassinger
Special for MHSAA.com
September 9, 2026
EDWARDSBURG – “Family” was Edwardsburg boys soccer's mantra last fall as the Eddies enjoyed a historic season.
Sean Jesse's team compiled the best record in school history at 17-2-1, while claiming an outright Wolverine Conference championship and raising a Division 2 District trophy before losing 4-1 in a Regional championship match to Hudsonville Unity Christian, the eventual Finals runner-up.
Even though a few key pieces are now gone who made last year's success possible, the bar still remains high at Edwardsburg.
Jesse's involvement with school’s soccer program goes back a long time. This autumn he’s begun his 15th year leading the boys and will serve his 16th campaign next spring as varsity girls coach.
The boys team has picked right back up where it left off last season with a 5-1-0 record so far this fall. Senior Brayden Fischer returns as the top scorer after totaling 22 goals and four assists last season.
"We lost some great players from last season, but we have lots of returners who can step up and fill those vacant positions and really help the team out," said Fischer, who has played soccer for 14 years and hopes to play baseball and study engineering at the college level. "Our goals this season are to become even closer as a team and to play better than we did the day before. Of course, we'd like to make it further than last year. Right now, we're just focused on growing as a group. I feel like my vision and physicality make me strong at the striker position. You have to be strong and be able to hold the team up. Last year's experience brought more of a family culture in soccer here."
Building a strong soccer culture hasn't happened overnight at Edwardsburg. It's been many years in the process.
"We've been kind of building towards this kind of family culture and atmosphere here at Edwardsburg for a while now. It's the result of having guys who are willing to put in a great deal of time outside of the regular season to become better players," Jesse said.
When he arrived at Edwardsburg, the program had at most five players who played club soccer during the offseason. Now he has 15 who are involved in the sport year-round.
"That makes a huge difference. When you have the fundamentals down, we can work more on the strategy of the game during the high school season," Jesse said.
Edwardsburg graduated a few key seniors in the spring, including star center back Austin Leak, but a majority of the roster a year ago was comprised of younger talent. Eight of the Eddies' 11 starters are back this fall.
"If we can replace Austin, we feel we could be every bit as dangerous as we were last year or even better," Jesse said.
Sophomore Conner Fischer, Brayden's younger brother, has stepped up big so far to fill that spot. The Eddies also lost standout wings from last year in Maverick Gates (10 goals) and Logan Stubblefield, but Jesse has found capable replacements.
"Maverick and Logan were our captains and great leaders for us. They were kids who could just go continually," Jesse said.
Staying humble will be a key ingredient this season.
"This group knows they are a good team. Right now, we are trying to find that balance between confidence and arrogance. I don't like to lose, but the early loss to St. Joseph might've been a good thing to happen to us this early," Jesse said. "It gives us motivation to keep working hard and get better."
With another year of experience under his players' belts, Jesse expects the Eddies to have a much stronger attack on the offensive end of the field. "We actually struggled to score at times last year. Brayden was our only player who was able to finish consistently," Jesse said.
Junior wing/forward Collin Tefft returns to the Eddies' 30-man roster after playing club soccer last fall.
"Collin is that dynamic and dangerous that every team we face is going to be afraid of him. Finding his way in our system is going to take a few games, but he'll get there," Jesse said.
Tefft has played soccer for 13 years, starting at age 3.
"Our guys want to pick up the intensity and work on getting better and not look back on any losses and learn from them. Our goal is to push forward and be better soccer players every day," said Tefft. "We have good chemistry and are always picking one another up. Those are big positives."
Senior Landon Goetz returns at holding midfielder and likes being able to control the tempo of the game and getting the ball to the playmakers up top. "Landon is our vocal leader. When he's on the pitch, we are a very stable group," Jesse said.
"I was an outside back for quite a few years. Once I got to high school, Coach Jesse converted me to my current position,” said Goetz, who plans to attend Michigan State University next year and study finance or marketing. “Two years ago as a freshman, I feel our team was a bit cocky. I think last year's success brought more of a humble atmosphere. That really helped push us to that District championship and to the Regional Finals.
"We're trying to remain close like a family again this season, but I think we're also more of a technical team ability-wise this time. That could help us go even further in this year's tournament. It's so early in the season. We have to just push one another each day in practice and build that connection. We're still trying to find that rhythm."
Returning for his third season as Edwardsburg's starting goalkeeper is junior Law Gates. He finished his sophomore season in goal with a 0.65 goals-against average and has made several saves already this fall, Jesse said.
Junior Aleck Rodriguez is a standout attacking midfielder and had four goals and 12 assists for the Eddies as a sophomore. "When Aleck is playing well, our whole team is doing well. A great deal of our attack goes through him," Jesse said.
Big contributions are also expected from senior outside back Chance Jacobs and junior Riley Szalai, who contributed six assists as a sophomore. "Chance is probably the most reliable player I've ever had here. He can play anywhere on the field and just doesn't make mistakes," Jesse said.
Jesse – previously a prep standout at Buchanan and a math instructor at Edwardsburg – understands how difficult it will be to duplicate the accomplishments of last year's squad. His team is the favorite on paper to win the Wolverine Conference, and Jesse expects the Eddies to battle St. Joseph for a District crown as well.
"It's always so tough because soccer is about different matchups. You might honestly be the better team in the state, and you come up against someone else who just matches up better against you,” he said. “Our goal is to win a state title, and I think we're good enough to do that. Obviously, things are going to have to fall into the right pattern for that to happen."
"Our Regional is a bit more manageable this year with some of the powers on the other side of the bracket. This is our year to attain some of these goals, but we will need a lot to fall in our favor too.”
Scott Hassinger is a contributing sportswriter for Leader Publications and previously served as the sports editor for the Three Rivers Commercial-News from 1994-2022. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph and Branch counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Edwardsburg soccer players warm up during a yoga and calisthenics session. (Middle) Senior Law Gates works on his ball control during a recent practice. (Below) Eddies boys soccer coach Sean Jesse, far right, poses for a photo with key returnees, from far left, Brayden Fischer, Landon Goetz and Collin Tefft. (Photos by Scott Hassinger.)
Nichols Lends Winning Past to West's Present
July 28, 2020
By Tom Spencer
Special for Second Half
Thirteen Novembers ago, Drew Nichols, then a senior captain, took a bus ride home from Troy High School with the Traverse City West boys soccer team. The Division 1 boys soccer championship trophy was happily along for the ride as the Titans had just beaten Livonia Stevenson 1-0 in the Final.
Last November only an overtime loss prevented the now-West assistant varsity coach from taking a very enjoyable similar bus ride. The loss was at the hands of Troy Athens, and the ride home departed this time from Comstock Park.
Perhaps this November he’ll get another shot from Comstock Park, one of two sites to be used for the coming season’s championship tilts. He plans to be on the sidelines again with head coach Matt Griesinger as the Titans dream of yet another long postseason run (COVID-19 permitting, of course).
While many would think there would be a world of difference in the two long November bus rides after a Division 1 Final with differing results, Nichols believes there really wasn’t.
“The way I saw it, both 2006 and 2019 bus rides had a bunch of exhausted players that fought hard in the pinnacle game of the year,” Nichols pointed out. “I'm not saying there wasn't some pain for the boys to be on the losing side, but in the end I think they still recognized the amazing achievement it was.
“I think everyone that played or watched that 2019 game recognized that it was a moment away from ending in a win,” he continued. “They held their heads high and should command the respect of the program for being only the second team in its history to reach that game.”
Nichols became the varsity assistant coach at West in 2015 after coaching the Titans’ JV two seasons. Griesinger took over the head coaching position at the same time from the Titans’ first coach – and now athletic director – Jason Carmien.
Nichols and Griesinger guided the Titans to Regional appearances in 2015, 2016 and 2019. Nichols said he doesn’t know what to expect in 2020 with all the uncertainties the nation and world are facing.
“The COVID interference has been disastrous on so many levels, and it will certainly disrupt the quality of play for the 2020 fall season,” Nichols said. “We had a strong result last year and have a lot of returning players, so on paper we have the potential for another great season.
“However, the landscape of fall sports and soccer in particular will be so different this year that it's impossible to know how everything plays out,” he continued. “There was a huge loss of development without club soccer or college camps over the spring and summer. From my perspective, the best way to help is to make sure players come into the season fit and focused.”
Nichols, whose wife Andrea gave birth to their daughter Quinn after last season, expects to have an impact on future generations regardless of how sports weather the impact of COVID-19.
“The game finds its way into the hearts of kids much earlier than they meet me, but I really enjoy being a positive influence on their growth and appreciation for what the game can offer,” he said. “I don't pretend to be the absolute authority on anything, but I have perspective to share and hopefully the time spent in our program will foster their appreciation of the game itself and the skills (and) values it can teach you.”
The West program has produced two Michigan Mr. Soccer Award winners during the school’s 20-year history in the sport, Dalton Michael (2016) and Casey Townsend (2006 and 2007). Nichols has ties to both.
Michael and his twin brother Donovan are now playing at Western Michigan University, and both played under Nichols. Townsend went on to a stellar career at University of Maryland and played in Major League Soccer. He was the No. 5 overall pick in the 2012 MLS draft and played for Chivas USA and DC United. All of that came after he scored the only goal in that 2006 Division 1 Final, with Nichols a teammate.
Nichols, a midfielder who went on to play at Hope College, made the all-state third team with nine goals and five assists as a senior that fall at West. He and Townsend had played side by side since their beginning soccer days at Traverse Bay Area Youth Soccer and with its premier club, NorthStorm.
“I sometimes forget just how much Casey has accomplished because first and foremost he is just a goofball friend of mine,” Nichols said. “We played together in our formative years, so even though he was the difference-maker in a lot of games, it was hard for us to recognize just how high his ceiling was at the time. Clearly we found out when he progressed into college and the professional leagues, and it was a blast to watch.”
Carmien, the coach of the 2006 championship team, recalls the connection Nichols and Townsend had.
“Drew scored some big goals and really was an anchor to our team,” Carmien said. “Drew caused a lot of turnovers and created transition scoring opportunities by combining with Casey or playing balls in behind defenses.”
Carmien anticipates Nichols will continue with Griesinger to foster the Titans’ success.
“Drew was a great player, he was a key piece in some very good Titan teams,” Carmien said. “I am proud to see him on the sidelines, working with our kids at practice and still involved in the program. We have alumni that still follow us each fall, and last year was a lot of fun; (I’m) glad Drew was a part of it, and hopefully we can have continued success.”
Carmien and Griesinger have impacted Nichols’ coaching style, which is also linked to his studies abroad as a student at Hope. He played some soccer in the Spanish cities of Murcia and Pontevedra as he earned academic honor roll recognition all four years at Hope.
“My expertise comes from my development as a player through high school, college, and afterwards playing and engaging the soccer community in a variety of countries,” Nichols said. “My coaching style comes heavily influenced by Jason Carmien, the founding father of the West soccer program.
“He trained me as a high school player and then again as a coach when I joined the staff around 2013,” Nichols elaborated. “Of course, more recently, head men's coach Matt Griesinger has challenged our staff and the program to exceed the high standards set by Jason.”
Nichols is not a school teacher. He manages payrolls for several companies as the director of operations for Integrative Payroll Services in Traverse City. Still, he intends to stay with coaching for the foreseeable future.
“My ‘career’ goal is to merely engage the soccer community where I live and stick around as long as I can offer value,” he said. “Obviously I was drawn to give back to the program I participated in as a player, and that's as far as it will likely go. With my daughter's birth this year, odds are good that you'll see me in the girls coaching pool in a few years.”
Rest assured, no matter where he is, Nichols will always remember the feeling of winning a state championship.
“It was amazing,” he said. We had a chip on our shoulder the whole playoff run since we were the nobodies from up north, so to win brought a mixed bag of feelings – excitement, accomplishment, relief, vindication,” he said.
“We didn't play particularly well, but most teams don't once they make it to that game. Nerves take their toll, just like with a big rivalry game, so anything can happen. That has become even clearer now that I have coached both rivalry games and a state Final. That day we were fortunate to have a future All-American to clinch it for us.”
But, as a coach, Nichols said he is “hoping to leave it one of many in the West program trophy case.”
Made in Michigan 2020
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Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Drew Nichols was a standout midfielder for Traverse City West during the mid-2000s, and led from the sideline as the Titans’ assistant varsity coach during last season's Division 1 Final. (Middle) Nichols, left, enjoys a celebratory photo in 2006 with then-West coach Jason Carmien and teammate Dan Kellogg. (Below) Nichols and his wife welcomed a daughter after last season. (Photos courtesy of Drew Nichols.)