Preview: Soccer Finals Filled with Past History Makers, Potential Record Setters
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
November 6, 2026
This is nearly guaranteed to end up the most storied MHSAA Boys Soccer Finals since the sport’s inaugural season of tournament play in 1982.
Speaking of, two of the three champions from that first season will play Saturday at Grand Ledge to complete this latest campaign – Livonia Stevenson in Division 1 and Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett in Division 4.
Stevenson is one of the most accomplished programs in MHSAA history, and it will play for the Division 1 title against Troy – which it defeated for its most recent championship in 1996.
Troy, St. Joseph and Liggett, meanwhile, will attempt to join 19 others as undefeated champions. St. Joseph and Liggett, in fact, can become just the third and fourth (and first since 2015) to go an entire season without a loss or tie.
Warren De La Salle Collegiate in Division 2 is playing to become the fourth team to win three Finals in a row, but must take on a Bears team seeking to win its first.
Elk Rapids and Williamston in Division 3 will face off in a rematch after Elk Rapids won their first meeting 2-0 on Aug. 29. Elk Rapids is riding one of the longest shutout streaks in MHSAA history, and Williamston has been the tournament’s most incredible surprise after entering the postseason with a sub-.500 record.
And finally, certainly not to be forgotten, we have Muskegon Western Michigan Christian – Liggett’s opponent in Division 4 – set to tie Detroit Country Day for the MHSAA record with an 18th appearance in an MHSAA Final. The Warriors have won 10, good for second-most all-time.
Saturday’s first Final will be Division 4 at 10 a.m., followed by Division 3 at 12:30 p.m., Division 2 at 3:30 and Division 1 at 6 p.m. Tickets may be purchased online only at GoFan. All four Finals also will be broadcast and available with subscription on the NFHS Network: Division 1 | Division 2 | Division 3 | Division 4
Below is a glance at all eight contenders, with statistics through Regionals:
Division 1
LIVONIA STEVENSON
Record/rank: 16-4-4, unranked
Michigan Power Rating: No. 26
Coach: Louis Sala, first season (16-4-4)
League finish: First in Lakes Valley Conference Lakes and overall
Championship history: Six MHSAA titles (most recent 1996, five runner-up finishes).
Players to watch: Luca Allevato, sr. GK (0.59 goals-against average, 12 shutouts); Dominic Allevato, sr. F (13 goals, 4 assists); Niko Zhuli, sr. M (5 goals, 7 assists); Rocky Everts, jr. F (11 goals, 2 assists).
Outlook: Even with Stevenson headed to its first Final since 2008, the Spartans still rank third all-time in championship match appearances and tied for fifth for number of titles won. They defeated No. 12 Hartland during this tournament run and total have allowed only three goals over six postseason games. Stevenson started the season 2-3-2 but has lost only once since Sept. 10, and the Regional title also was a first since 2008. Sala was an all-stater at Orchard Lake St. Mary’s and then played at Northern Illinois and Michigan State.
TROY
Record/rank: 18-0-2, No. 1
Michigan Power Rating: No. 2
Coach: Adam Spinks, fourth season (55-14-4)
League finish: First in Oakland Activities Association Red
Championship history: Division 1 champion 2003, Class A runner-up 1996.
Players to watch: Kevin Garay, sr. M (11 goals, 6 assists); Connor Hotts, soph. F (19 goals, 14 assists); Ryan Wind, sr. M (4 goals, 12 assists); Mateo Coronado, sr. F (10 goals, 4 assists).
Outlook: Troy has reached this weekend after winning a third-straight District title and then its first Regional championship since 2017. The draws came against rival Troy Athens and No. 8 Birmingham Seaholm, and the Colts went on to defeat Seaholm three weeks later in a District Final. Troy also defeated Utica Eisenhower in a Regional Final and No. 6 Salem in Wednesday’s Semifinal. Senior midfielder Cole Cusmano has been another key contributor with six goals and eight assists heading into Wednesday, and junior keeper Will Horvath has shutouts in 10 of the team’s 20 games.
Division 2
ST. JOSEPH
Record/rank: 23-0, No. 1
Michigan Power Rating: No. 4
Coach: John Brown, 14th season (196-78-26)
League finish: First in Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference
Championship history: Class B runner-up 1992.
Players to watch: Jacob Gonzales, sr. GK (0.14 goals-against average, 19 shutouts); Remy Kelm, sr. M (16 goals, 8 assists); Evan Searles, sr. M (13 goals, 12 assists); Evan Hudak, sr. M (14 goals, 21 assists).
Outlook: St. Joseph is seeking its first championship after winning its first Regional title since 1992, and will go down in history for a few more reasons regardless of Saturday’s result. The Bears have given up four goals this fall, which right now is tied for fewest allowed in one season all-time, and their 20 shutouts are tied for fifth on that list. St. Joseph hasn’t allowed a goal in its last 12 games, a streak that is tied for sixth-longest in MHSAA history. Gonzales ranks similarly on the individual record book lists for keepers. The Bears also reached 100 goals for the season Wednesday in a 6-0 win over No. 5 Holland.
WARREN DE LA SALLE COLLEGIATE
Record/rank: 20-3-4, No. 6
Michigan Power Rating: No. 1
Coach: Thaier Mukhtar, 38th season (636-150-103)
League finish: Second in Catholic High School League Central
Championship history: Seven MHSAA titles (most recent 2025), one runner-up finish.
Players to watch: Andrew Corder, sr. F (28 goals, 10 assists); Antonio Cardella, sr. M (14 goals, 4 assists); Settimo Leone, sr. M (7 goals, 14 assists); Dominic Baldarotta, sr. GK (0.56 goals-against average, 12 shutouts).
Outlook: An eighth championship would send De La Salle into third alone for most titles won in MHSAA history. Corder and Baldarotta have been major contributors during all three recent runs, both making the all-state first team the last two seasons. Corder also has emerged as a favorite for the Mr. Soccer Award this fall, and junior Gavin Baldarotta made the all-state second team in 2025. The Pilots’ only in-state losses were to Marquette and No. 9 Detroit U-D Jesuit, and after also tying the Cubs during the regular season De La Salle defeated them in overtime in a Regional Semifinal. Mukhtar, who also coached six seasons at Fraser, is the state’s winningest in boys soccer with an overall 728-173-129 record.
Division 3
ELK RAPIDS
Record/rank: 23-1-3, No. 1
Michigan Power Rating: No. 1
Coach: Nate Plum, 19th season (315-120-40)
League finish: First in Northern Shores Conference
Championship history: Division 4 champion 1997 and 1998, four runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Jake Garrow, sr. D (3 goals, 4 assists); Mason Hilley, sr. F (19 goals, 15 assists); Drew Plum, sr. M (13 goals, 13 assists); Tyler Standfest, sr. M (28 goals, 14 assists).
Outlook: Nate Plum brought Elk Rapids back to the Finals in 2024 for the first time since 1998, and after falling to Pontiac Notre Dame Prep 3-2 that day the Elks will attempt to finish the season with their first title in nearly three decades. Keyed in part by senior keepers Corbin Bogard and Caden Schlicker, they’ve given up only six goals over 27 games, and their shutout streak of 14 is the third-longest all-time. Standfest made the all-state first team last season, while Garrow and Drew Plum made the second team and Hilley made the third. Juniors Blake Springstead (12) and Noah Liggett (10) also entered the week with double-digit goals.
WILLIAMSTON
Record/rank: 12-8-4, unranked
Michigan Power Rating: No. 25
Coach: Ian Kurth, fifth season (55-43-9)
League finish: Fourth in Capital Area Activities Conference Red
Championship history: Division 3 runner-up 2012, 2014 and 2015.
Players to watch: Noah Bazil, jr. F (8 goals); Yasser Daik, sr. F (7 goals, 8 assists); Lincoln Rockafellow, sr. D (2 goals, 12 assists); Beckam Harbert, sr. K (1.47 goals-against average, 10 shutouts).
Outlook: Williamston has been on a remarkable run. The Hornets went 1-6-3 from the end of August – starting with the loss to Elk Rapids – through the first day of October, but have since won their last eight games with their last four over No. 11 Eaton Rapids, No. 15 Saginaw Swan Valley, No. 3 Flint Powers Catholic and No. 14 Grosse Ile. Williamston has outscored its six postseason opponents by a combined 17-3 margin on the way to a third District title over the last four seasons and second Regional championship over the last three years.
Division 4
GROSSE POINTE WOODS UNIVERSITY LIGGETT
Record/rank: 21-0, No. 1
Michigan Power Rating: No. 1
Coach: David Dwaihy, 12th season (177-38-13)
League finish: First in CHSL Intersectional #1
Championship history: Four MHSAA titles (most recent 1999), five runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Liam Gady, soph. F (15 goals, 11 assists); Brady Ancona, sr. F (19 goals, 12 assists); Oliver Cooley, sr. M (18 goals, 10 assists); Brenden Logan, soph. F (16 goals, 8 assists).
Outlook: Last season’s runner-up is back after falling to Leland in a shootout a year ago, and the Knights earned this opportunity with a shootout win over No. 14 Clarkston Everest Collegiate on Wednesday. Liggett otherwise hasn’t given up a goal in four postseason games and has 11 shutouts total. The Knights defeated No. 9 Allen Park Inter-City Baptist and No. 8 Hillsdale Academy during their Regional run. Cooley made the all-state first team last season, and Ancona made the third. Five more players entered the week with at least 10 points, including senior Landon Wysocki (6 goals/10 assists) and sophomore Will Lynn (4/10).
MUSKEGON WESTERN MICHIGAN CHRISTIAN
Record/rank: 20-1-3, No. 2
Michigan Power Rating: No. 2
Coach: Ben Buursma, seventh season (106-39-17)
League finish: Does not play in a conference.
Championship history: 10 MHSAA titles (most recent 2024), seven runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Braedon Hoffman, sr. F/M (14 goals, 9 assists); Tyson Annema, sr. M (14 goals, 3 assists); Hudson Fair, sr. M/F (9 goals, 19 assists); Carter Heimiller, sr. M (13 goals, 17 assists).
Outlook: Western Michigan Christian has the second-most championships in state history in this sport and will attempt to win its fourth in five seasons after falling in its District Final a year ago. The Warriors avenged that loss in defeating No. 10 North Muskegon in this season’s District Final, and their only defeat this fall came to Division 2 No. 5 Holland. WMC also downed No. 6 Leland and No. 3 Kalamazoo Christian during this playoff run. Heimiller made the all-state first team last season, Hudson and Annema made the second, and Hoffman and senior defender Seth Moorhead (8 goals/3 assists) earned honorable mentions in 2025.
PHOTO Livonia Stevenson's Jack Bowen (10) pushes play upfield during his team's 2-0 Regional Semifinal win over Hartland. (Photo by Adam Sheehan.)
East Lansing Rallies Again to Repeat
November 1, 2014
By Chip Mundy
Special for Second Half
BRIGHTON – It took nearly the entire game for East Lansing boys soccer star DeJuan Jones to find the net in the Division 2 championship game Saturday.
When he did, it not only was worth the wait, but provided the Trojans with the winning margin for their second straight MHSAA championship.
Jones assisted on the game-tying goal late in the second half and scored in overtime to spark East Lansing to a come-from-behind 4-3 victory over Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood in a thrilling, seesaw game at Brighton High School.
It was the fifth MHSAA championship in boys soccer for East Lansing and gave the Trojans back-to-back titles for the first time. Jones scored in East Lansing’s 2-0 victory over Spring Lake in the championship game last year, but this year’s goal was more crucial to the outcome.
“Last year, we were definitely more relaxed through the game, and this year was more of a nail-biter,” said Jones, a senior forward/midfielder who said he will play for Michigan State University next year. “We’ve been determined all year, and we were not going to go out on a loss, especially in the state championship game. We really wanted to make history, and we did it.”
East Lansing, champion of the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue, finished 24-2.
The Trojans held a 2-0 lead late in the first half, but Cranbrook Kingswood made it a one-goal deficit just before halftime. The Cranes added two more goals in the second half and held a 3-2 lead with less than seven minutes to play when Jones set up Elmedin Celovic, who scored the tying goal on a header in the 34th minute of the second half.
“That’s the type of player that he is,” East Lansing coach Nick Archer said of Jones. “He will see someone in a better position and lay the ball off. He’s a very unselfish player, and he has the talent to play both sides of the ball. He’s a real team player.”
The goal not only tied the game, but seemed to fuel East Lansing with some much-needed momentum.
“I just wanted to put it in the back of the net when I saw it coming,” Celovic said. “From there on, we just had to fix every mental breakdown that we had earlier that caused them to come back in the game and take the lead.
“I think after the tying goal before overtime that we did take the momentum. After that, the little huddle we had, we regrouped, and we weren’t going to let them have anything. We were just going to hang on to the ball, and we didn’t want them to come back in the game.”
In the first 10-minute stretch of overtime, Jones provided East Lansing with the lead when he crossed from the left side of the net and put the ball in the far corner in the third minute for an unassisted goal.
“I saw a space in the area where I took a shot before, so once I got there, I knew if I hit the shot hard enough, it would find its way to the back of the net,” Jones said.
The goal capped an incredible postseason run for Jones, who scored in each of East Lansing’s seven tournament games, including a five-goal performance in the District Final. He had 11 goals in seven playoff games and finished the season with 23 goals and 15 assists.
Still, the goal did not immediately end the game as overtime consists of two 10-minute periods, regardless of whether one team scores. The teams switched ends, and that was crucial as a strong wind blew from goal to goal and certainly provided the team with the wind at its back something of an advantage.
East Lansing maintained its momentum and kept Cranbrook Kingswood from scoring. It was the second consecutive victory in overtime for East Lansing, which nipped Mason 3-2 in overtime three days earlier in their Semifinal.
“These last two games, I thought I had a couple of gray hairs to give up. I know I don’t have anything left,” Archer said. “We were very fortunate to come out on top both times.”
Celovic got East Lansing started quickly when he scored in the first minute of the game with assists from Jones and Chris Pridnia.
“We just wanted to start out strong and take the lead early and put pressure on them,” Celovic said.
“When I saw the ball drop back, the first thing on my mind was to not kick it over and just put it in the back of the net.”
Midway through the first half, Zach Lane gave East Lansing a 2-0 lead when he beat the goalkeeper with a low shot to the left part of the net on a free kick. It appeared the Trojans would take that lead to halftime, but Ken Kernen of Cranbrook Kingswood outmaneuvered a defender and scored into the far corner of the net from the left side with five seconds to go to the cut lead to 2-1.
“It was a beautiful goal,” Cranbrook Kingswood coach Chad O’Kulich said. “Kenny has just stepped up his game. It was a fun goal to create; they’re still fighting with six seconds left.
“That goal was a huge momentum-shifter because going into the half down 2-0 against East Lansing would have been tougher. We knew we had the wind, so we felt good regardless of what was going to happen. But to score that goal and shift the momentum for us was huge because now you go into the locker room euphoric and elated and ready to go. And we knew we had the wind.”
With the wind at its back, Cranbrook Kingswood scored twice in the second half to take a 3-2 lead. Kernen tied it with his second goal of the game with a header off a throw-in from Simon Heidingsfelder.
When the clock got inside 10 minutes to go in the second half, East Lansing, playing into the wind and trailing by one, had to find a way to score.
“When we went down, we were a little nervous, but I told the boys, ‘We’ve been here before with Mason and Grand Ledge twice,’ ” Celovic said. “I told them, ‘There is nothing to worry about. We still have 10 minutes, that’s a long time.’
“It was just, ‘Give it everything you’ve got.’ The last 10 minutes of the game we’re down one and just give it everything you’ve got and just play with your heart. That’s what we did, and we just pressured them.”
Both goalkeepers were tested and came up with big saves. Cranbrook Kingwood outshot East Lansing 18-16 as Cranes goalkeeper Trevor Stormes had six saves. East Lansing goalkeeper Chris Wallace made five.
It was a thrilling way for East Lansing to win, but a tough way for Cranbrook Kingswood to lose.
“What a battle, what a game,” O’Kulich said. “To be down 2-0 against an East Lansing team and come back and make it 3-2 just shows the character this team has played with the entire season. They’re never out, they’re never down, and they battle until the last second.
Cranbrook-Kingswood, champion of the Detroit Catholic League AA, finished 19-3-1 and appeared in the championship game for the first time
“We walk out of here with our heads held high, and we walk out with the same positive culture that we’ve had this entire season,” O’Kulich said.
PHOTOS: (Top) East Lansing players including Andy Millar (6) and their fans celebrate the Trojans’ second straight MHSAA Division 2 championship. (Below) East Lansing’s Quinton Hay and Cranbrook Kingswood’s Garrett Powell (16) work for possession. (Top photo by HighSchoolSportsScene.com; below photo by Hockey Weekly Action Photos. Click for all team and action photos from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)