Jet's Pizza Team of the Month: Lansing Eastern Boys Soccer
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
October 23, 2026
The Lansing Eastern boys soccer team made program history this season, earning its first league championship on the pitch.
The Quakers went on to finish the regular season ranked No. 3 in the Division 2 state coaches poll, and they advanced to Thursday's Division 2 District Final at DeWitt before seeing their fall come to an end with a 1-0 loss to the host Panthers.
To commemorate its September accomplishment, Eastern was named the inaugural "Team of the Month" sponsored by Jet's Pizza. The Quakers clinched the Capital Area Activities Conference Red title with a Sept. 22 win over St. Johns, and two weeks later went on to win the CAAC Gold Cup with a 2-1 shootout victory over Okemos, which finished the regular season ranked No. 3 in Division 1.
Eastern finished this fall 17-2-3, only two years removed from ending 2024 at 4-12-1.
(Photo courtesy of the Lansing Eastern boys soccer program.)
Be the Referee: Ball Hits Soccer Referee
October 1, 2020
This week, MHSAA Assistant Director Brent Rice explains a a change in soccer rules for when a ball makes contact with an official during game play.
Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.
Below is this week's segment - Ball Hits Soccer Referee - Listen
We’ve all seen it before in a soccer game. A ball is kicked up the field, but ricochets off an official and leads to a goal scoring opportunity.
In the past, an official would swing his arms to indicate “play on.” A new rule, though, would stop play immediately and restart with a Drop Ball.
New in high school soccer for the 2020-21 school year, when a ball touches the referee which leads to a promising attack, the referee must blow his whistle to stop play and start with a Drop Ball. He should ALSO give a Drop Ball in two other instances: when the ball hits the official and possession changes or when a ball hits the official and goes into the goal.
Past editions
9/24: Clocking the Ball from the Shotgun - Listen