Gull Lake Makes 1st-Minute Goal Stand in Claiming 4th Finals Title
By
Perry A. Farrell
Special for MHSAA.com
November 5, 2022
NOVI – Thirty seconds changed the Division 2 boys soccer championship match between Richland Gull Lake and Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood on Saturday at Novi High School.
It took Gull Lake 30 seconds to score, as junior Ryker Corstange took a slick pass from senior Jasek Zielaskowski and blasted a shot from the left side to give the Blue Devils a 1-0 lead.
That ended up the only goal of the game, as Gull Lake (22-3) claimed its fourth MHSAA Finals title in a defensive struggle.
“Did I think that would stand up? With our defense, I would say yes,’’ said Blue Devils goalkeeper Evan Kaiser, who was brilliant in the victory. “We have a great defense. Everyone does their job. Everyone works hard, and we come together as one big family. Getting a goal early doesn’t take the pressure off, but it definitely helps our defense knowing we are up a goal.”
Gull Lake didn’t allow a goal during its six-game MHSAA Tournament run.
“We got a wake-up call when we lost to Mattawan 4-3 during the regular season,’’ said Ryker Corstange, the nephew of head coach Jeff Corstange. “That sparked us. We were insanely mad. We wanted to go out and show people what Gull Lake was about. We’ve been known to score pretty fast. Jasek just worked his tail off, got to the corner, crossed it and I was just there to shoot it in.’’
It was Jeff’s fourth Finals title, as he previously won three with the girls soccer team at Gull Lake.
“This one meant the most,’’ said Ryker.
Jeff was noncommittal.
“We got healthy and got back to what we were supposed to be,’’ said Jeff Corstange. “We got Tre (Reiner) back there. He was out for six weeks, and he’s one of our best defenders. Getting him back in the postseason was huge for us. I didn’t think that goal would hold up, especially with the wind the way it was. The way they pressed and the way they shoot, with No. 2 (Nathan Hooker). We thought he might be able to take advantage of the wind. With that wind, you have to hit it a little softer. We’re not used to that.
“It was a beautiful pass from Jasek, sliding the ball over. We’ve been doing that all postseason. We practice it all the time, and they made the play. It was a beautiful goal.’’
Gull Lake entered the postseason as the top-ranked squad in Division 2, with its last title in 2020. The Blue Devils claimed victories over No. 2 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern, No. 8 Parma Western and No. 9 DeWitt during their march to the championship game.
Cranbrook (15-2-3) won the Detroit Catholic League AA title and was ranked No. 3 at the end of the regular season. The Cranes pitched four shutouts on their run to the championship under veteran coach Chad O’Kulich.
Playing with the lead, Gull Lake kept the pressure on the Cranes, keeping play in Cranbrook’s end. Gull Lake’s Zavier Thomas was a constant threat.
Cranbrook found itself a goal down with no offense and no shots on goal in the first half.
“Kaiser is an incredible athlete. He’s a great keeper and one of the best I’ve coached,’’ said Jeff Corstange.
Desperate for a second goal, Adam Boyle hit the crossbar for Gull Lake 11 minutes into the second half.
Cranbrook finally got a shot on goal with 20:58 to play, but the attempt went wide.
The Cranes’ best chance to score came from Evan Evans, a senior midfielder. But his shot also hit the crossbar.
“They played hard, and they played aggressive, but they are classy,’’ said O’Kulich. “There was great sportsmanship out there. I think that starts at the high school level.’’
PHOTOS (Top) Zavier Thomas (7) leads a run toward the goal for Gull Lake on Saturday. (Middle) Nathan Hooker (2) advances the ball for Cranbrook Kingswood.
De La Salle Continues Reign, Delivering Previously-Unbeaten Unity's Lone Defeat
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
November 1, 2025
GRAND LEDGE — Call this the continued resurgence of a program that’s long been a state boys soccer power.
Before last season, tradition-rich Warren De La Salle Collegiate hadn’t won a Finals championship in nearly two decades after claiming five from 1990-2005.
De La Salle seems to have returned to its glory days again, capping back-to-back championships Saturday for the first time since 1992 and 1993 with a 2-0 triumph over Hudsonville Unity Christian in the Division 2 Final.
It was the seventh state title in school history, all under legendary head coach Thaier Mukhtar.
“Credit goes to the boys,” Mukhtar said. “It goes to them for just listening to what they were supposed to do, and they got it done.”
In winning title No. 7, De La Salle (21-4-2) did something no other team was able to do before the championship game – defeat a Unity Christian contender also looking for its seventh Finals title.
De La Salle scored first with 29:03 remaining in the first half on a goal by senior James Spicuzzi.
Following a throw-in into the box by senior Max Wyszczelski, the ball deflected off the head of a Unity Christian defender to the foot of Spicuzzi, who buried the chance to make it 1-0 De La Salle.
“I was kind of anticipating it coming to me,” Spicuzzi said. “It definitely was just composure. That was really it.”
De La Salle then took a 2-0 lead with 3:41 to go in the first half when senior Nikolai Zacharko converted a penalty kick after Wyszczelski was fouled in the box.
Unity Christian had a golden chance to get back in the game with 21:36 remaining in regulation as De La Salle was called for a foul in its box, giving Unity Christian a penalty kick.
But Pilots junior goalie Dominic Baldarotta saved the kick and the ensuing rebound to keep the score 2-0.
“I knew right when he placed the ball down where he was going,” Baldarotta said. “He placed on the other side so I just went the other way. It was a lot of momentum. It really changed the entire course of that second half.”
From there, De La Salle held firm defensively, preventing Unity Christian from getting quality scoring chances as the clock ticked down.
“Once a team gets a lead, the other team knows they have to get it done and they throw everything at you,” Mukhtar said. “We weathered the storm and settled the ship down a little bit. The game worked out the way we wanted it to work out.”
Unity Christian, which won the Division 3 title two years ago, finished its season at 19-1-4.
“We knew it was going to be a dogfight,” Unity Christian head coach Ian Billin said. “They play very similar to us. Just a lot of high pressure and try to make things chaotic. Kudos to them. They get one early, and that changes the dynamic of the game.
“For us, I was really proud of our guys in the second half. To go down 2-0, we really settled in and we created in the second half quality corner kicks, free kicks and we got the PK as well. We just couldn’t get the back of the net today. But I’m really proud of this group and what they’ve done all season.”
PHOTOS (Top) De La Salle’s James Spicuzzi (5) and his teammates celebrate during Saturday’s Division 2 Final. (Middle) The Pilots’ Andrew Corder (14) controls the ball with Unity Christian’s Landon Crump (19) and Kyler Berghuis (3) working to gain possession. (Below) Berghuis gets up high to stop a shot headed toward his team’s goal. (Photos by Adam Sheehan/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)