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 33^rd 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.)