Performance: South Lyon's Josh Mason
September 27, 2019
Josh Mason
South Lyon sophomore – Soccer
Mason scored his first and second goals of the season to help South Lyon to a 2-2 draw with Walled Lake Western on Sept. 19 that clinched the Lakes Valley Conference regular-season title for the Lions – their first league championship since 2007 – and earned Mason the MHSAA “Performance of the Week.”
South Lyon graduated a number of contributors from the team that finished 9-7-3 and fifth in the league last season, but Mason – a rare sophomore team captain – has been a major part of the rebound and continued ascension. The Lions are 9-1-5, their only loss to Birmingham Seaholm when Mason wasn’t able to play. South Lyon gave up four goals that game; otherwise they’ve allowed just eight over 14 games with Mason manning the center back position.
Mason also is a standout swimmer; he was part of league champions in the 200-yard medley and 400 freestyle relays last season. He also carries a 3.97 grade-point average and has interests in math and science, although obviously he has a lot of time to consider what he might study after high school – and a lot to still accomplish for the Lions over the next three years.
Coach Brian Elliott said: “His two goals came at the most perfect time when we were playing Walled Lake Western for the conference championship. He's a great soccer player, but obviously a great leader as well. In 14 years of coaching boys and girls soccer teams, I've only selected sophomores as captains twice. … Josh is the perfect blend of composure and aggression. He's tenacious when defending, but extremely composed when on the ball offensively. The only game we've lost was the one Josh wasn't present for. I'm very excited for what the rest of high school holds for Josh and can't wait to see where he plays after high school as well.”
Performance Point: “After the second goal, being able to celebrate with all of my teammates, it was super cool to experience it,” Mason said. “I was feeling really good before the game, I wasn’t going to lose, so (my scoring surge) just kinda happened. The one (goal) was a chain and the other was a corner – I just went up for it, I saw it coming, and I wasn’t going to miss this one. I felt like I hadn’t been doing my job on the corners all year. I felt like I needed to score this one. … We have a bunch of really good seniors – they’re super good guys – and it’s cool to win the league for them their senior year.”
Captain’s log: “You see all the JV kids and all the freshman kids looking up to you. That’s a really cool spot to be in. I have really cool senior captains to learn from who I want to model my next two years of being a captain after because it’s really going to help the team to be able to do that three years in a row. … Our team has jelled pretty good, and everyone listens to everyone. Everyone gets to speak, and everyone’s ideas matter."
D-E-F-E-N-S-E: “Communication – I step to the line and do a lot of work back there, but I think the other guys really respond when we talk to them and they step up. That game (I missed), we were just missing the communication piece and they couldn’t work together on the back line. I felt really bad missing that game.”
Pool pays off: “I overextended my knee my seventh grade season. I needed to stay in shape, but I couldn’t do running or anything (similar) because of the pounding, so I tried swimming. I kinda went out there and just tried it and ended up really good at it. I just kept going and ended up on the high school team. I don’t really love it during the season, but at the end of the season getting back on the soccer field, I’m in crazy good shape. I feel so good and I never get tired, so I love it then. But at 4 in the morning, I’m like, ‘Why am I putting myself through this?’”
Underdogs rising: “I like Man U. I like Everton too. I kinda like an underdog team. I feel like they are normally underdogs. They try to compete with the big teams every year. I respect them for that. … I think that is us. This is the third year in a row that we’ve drawn Brighton and (Detroit) CC in our District, and we are that little team trying to compete with the big teams that are consistently good. I think we are getting close to that. I think we’re getting a lot better – just from last year, I see a lot of improvement on the team.”
– Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Past honorees
Sept. 19: Ariel Chang, Utica Eisenhower golf - Report
Sept. 12: Jordyn Shipps, DeWitt swimming - Report
PHOTOS: (Top) South Lyon's Josh Mason moves the ball upfield during his team's win this week over White Lake Lakeland. (Middle) Mason (26) and his teammates wall off the goal. (Photos courtesy of the South Lyon Herald.)
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.)