Holland Christian Lands Title Trophy with Corner Connections, Shutout Defense
By
Tim Robinson
Special for MHSAA.com
November 5, 2022
COMSTOCK PARK — It came down to corner kicks in the Division 3 boys soccer championship game on Saturday.
Holland Christian converted twice, both during the second half, and took home its first Finals title since 2003 by defeating Grosse Ile 2-0 at Comstock Park High School.
Derek Huisman scored near the halfway point of the second half after a scoreless first, and Michael Pierce put the game effectively out of reach on a header with just under 11 minutes to go.
Making it that much sweeter for Huisman, a senior defender, was that the score was his first high school goal.
“It doesn’t get any better than that in high school sports,” said Maroons coach Dave DeBoer, freshly drenched in ice water after the game.
The Maroons (20-1-3) allowed only two goals over their final 13 games, with 10 shutouts in a row.
But Holland Christian made sure not to overlook Grosse Ile, which was playing in its fifth-consecutive Final.
“We came in knowing they were solid,” Huisman said. "Any team that makes it to the Final is a great team. Our coach prepared us well. We knew we could win, but we never underestimated them.”
After a first half played with howling winds and at times heavy rain, conditions eased up at halftime, while the Maroons made some adjustments.
"I felt we had a few opportunities in the first half, but we were hoping for better execution in the second half,” DeBoer said. "A corner kick is always dangerous for us, and we put one away. The second one, we felt really good then.”
At the 24-minute mark of the second half, Holland Christian took what turned out to be a decisive corner kick.
"I was trying to contest the ball,” Huisman said. "You always think about putting it away, but you never know what’s going to happen on corners, because it’s always a little bit wild in there. When the ball hit the ground, I knew I had to put it away, so off the foot and right in the back of the net.”
Pierce put the game out of reach with his ninth goal of the season 14 minutes later.
"I saw the ball coming, and I knew the kid covering me was smaller than me,” he said. “So I jumped, got my head on it, and put it exactly where I needed to.”
The stifling Maroons defense, which allowed only seven goals all season while recording 18 shutouts, did the rest.
Grosse Ile, meanwhile, came into the match with an eight-game winning streak that started in the second-to-last game of the regular season.
“I thought we put out a really great effort,” said Grosse Ile coach Jon Evans, who led the Red Devils (14-8) to all of those five-straight Division 3 Finals. “The senior class won two titles and lost two. There’s nothing to keep our heads down about. We started the season 1-3, and we’ve overcome a lot to get here. Today, the result is disappointing, but overall it was a successful season to get here and get back to the Final.”
PHOTOS (Top) Holland Christian celebrates its first MHSAA Finals championship Saturday since 2003. (Middle) The Maroons’ Jon Hogsten (4) and Grosse Ile’s Sam Vesperman battle for possession.
Turning Point Leads to Defining Moment as Cedar Springs Makes 1st Regional Final
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
October 23, 2025
CEDAR SPRINGS – The Cedar Springs boys soccer team was aiming to accomplish a program first Tuesday night.
The Red Hawks drew inspiration from an early-season setback to make school history.
Cedar Springs upset Fruitport 2-1 in a shootout to become the first boys soccer team to advance past the Regional Semifinals, and will face Traverse City St. Francis tonight for a Division 2 Regional title.
“Heart in my throat,” Red Hawks coach Chris Frilen said when talking about the emotions from Tuesday’s win. “We had played Fruitport earlier in the year and lost there, and it was a turning point for us because it was our first loss and it gave us a reality check.
“After the offseason, we thought we were great, and we are not losing, and then you get your butt kicked. So getting a chance to play them again on our field with high stakes ... that was a big win for sure.”
Cedar Springs (16-4-3) also reached the Regional Semifinals in 2023, but lost to eventual Division 2 champion Grand Rapids Christian.
After starting this fall with three wins, the Red Hawks were shut out by Fruitport 2-0 on Aug. 21.
“We lost earlier in the season to them. So we really wanted to beat them because it was a tough loss,” said senior striker Ian Steans, who tied the rematch five minutes into the second half with his 33rd goal of the season.
“That was a game we really wanted to win because no team had made it past the Regional Semifinals.”
In the shootout, athletic junior keeper Brody Klenk stopped two of Fruitport’s first three penalty kicks in dramatic fashion.
“We thought if we could get level with them then we can make this a real fight, and hats off to Fruitport,” Frilen said. “They just kept taking it to us, and we had to respond defensively. It was back and forth, but the guys were confident in the huddle going into the shootout.
“It was just really satisfying because one of our assistant coaches is an alum, and he was on a team that never made it past the Regional Semifinals and he almost broke down. I was right there with him. It was very emotional.”
The expectations for a successful season began during the summer after the team competed at the Western Michigan University team camp.
Cedar Springs finished unbeaten and showed signs of growth.
“The potential was there because we had a good group of guys, and I thought after that team camp that we could have something special,” Frilen said. “We did some goal-setting during the week, and they set their sights on Regionals as an achievable goal. And so for us, we thought we could do this, but it was one game at a time.”
Stearns is one of 10 seniors Frilen described as “the core of the team.” They also include captains Jacob Smith and Avery Umphrey, both solid defenders on the back line, and midfielder Austin Grice.
“We have a lot of confidence, and we can win in multiple ways,” Stearns said. “It isn't one person, it's the whole team working together and communicating. Going into the season, we expected to make it far. We wanted to win the conference and Districts and we didn't know if we would be here, but we are.”
Cedar Springs went through a short lull midway through the season when it lost three straight games.
The Red Hawks haven’t lost since.
“It was a rollercoaster for a while, but that was the moment we got quiet and talked it out,” Frilen said. “For us to go forward we said that we are much stronger when we are all together, and we all have to pull in the same direction.”
The Red Hawks will host against Traverse City St. Francis, which defeated East Grand Rapids 2-1 in the other Regional Semifinal.
The two teams squared off previously last month.
“It was a Saturday morning and they came down here and we won 1-0, but it wasn’t easy,” Frilen said. “You have to think they will have that on their minds, so we have to be watchful of that. Every game is different, and we know with the stakes as high as they are we are going to get their best. We have to be ready.”
Dean Holzwarth has covered primarily high school sports for Grand Rapids-based WOOD-TV for five years after serving at the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years along with shorter stints at the Ionia Sentinel and WZZM. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Cedar Springs’ Marcus McCarthy (20) considers his options offensively during a regular-season game against Traverse City St. Francis. (Middle) Ian Stearns pursues the ball. (Below) The Red Hawks take a team photo after securing the District title last week. (Photos courtesy of the Cedar Springs boys soccer program.)