Troy Caps Undefeated Season with First Finals Championship Since 2003
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
November 7, 2026
GRAND LEDGE — For as many powerhouse teams as Troy has had in boys soccer over the years, it’s hard to believe that going into Saturday’s Division 1 Final, the Colts had won only one state championship.
Well, now make that two.
Troy claimed its first championship since 2003 and became the 20th undefeated champion in MHSAA boys soccer history as it rode two first-half goals to a 2-1 victory over Livonia Stevenson.
In the process, the Colts (19-0-2) completed an unbeaten season and impressive tournament run that saw them win all six of their playoff games in regulation and outscore opponents by a combined 22-7.
“First one in 23 years, and it was a big goal of ours at the beginning of the year,” Troy head coach Adam Spinks said. “To do it in unbelievable style, going undefeated, it was crazy.”
Troy opened the scoring just 5:46 into the game on a goal by senior Faris Ibrahim off a set piece. Senior Ryan Wind fired a free kick from about 40 yards out into the box, where Ibrahim got off a shot that went inside the far post.
“From the set pieces, we’ve been doing it all year,” Wind said. “Just trying to get the ball in the middle of the box. We’ve got two giants in there, so I was trying to get in there, help them muck it up and try to get the finish. I knew we had to start quick. We’ve been doing that all year. I knew if we got the first goal, we could control the rest of the game.”
With 16:36 remaining in the half, Troy took a 2-0 lead on a goal by sophomore and leading scorer Connor Hotts, who put home a loose ball in the box created on a flicked header by senior Cole Cusmano following a corner kick by senior Kevin Garay.
Stevenson got on the board with 13:05 remaining in the first half, making it 2-1 on a penalty kick goal by senior Niko Zhuli after a Stevenson player was taken down in the Troy box.
Troy definitely didn’t sit on its lead during the second half, continuing to provide pressure and possession on the Stevenson side of the field.
The Colts couldn’t get the third goal, but it ultimately didn’t matter because Stevenson couldn’t generate a serious threat for an equalizer.
Making its first championship game appearance since 2008, Stevenson fell short of winning a seventh title and first since 1996, but could rightfully bask in bringing pride back to a historically powerful program this fall.
“Two early (goals) and I think we were just kind of late waking up and reacting, which obviously at the end of the day is something that we can’t do,” Stevenson head coach Louis Sala said. “In terms of the fight after, I’m proud of the guys. I wish we could have gotten our line a little bit higher up the field as well as a little more hole to play. But it’s hard to come back from two.
“Give all credit to them. We got a goal back, but credit to Troy. They’re a really talented team. They’re hard to play against, and all the spoils to them. I’m super proud of my guys to be back here for the first time since 2008. I’m not sure any of them had been born yet.”
PHOTOS (Top) Troy celebrates its Division 1 championship Saturday night at Grand Ledge. (Middle) Troy’s Cole Cusmano (10) winds up for a shot attempt with Stevenson’s Kouta Cawood defending. (Photos by Adam Sheehan/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
This Time, Powers Leaves as Champion
November 4, 2017
By Jeff Chaney
Special for Second Half
COMSTOCK PARK – Mason Smith and the Flint Powers Catholic boys soccer team were not about to have the same ride home this year.
Last year the Chargers dropped a heart-breaking one-goal loss in the Division 3 Final, and Smith remembers how he and his teammates felt after their loss to Grand Rapids Catholic Central – and how long that ride home lasted.
All you had to do was look at how big Smith's smile was after Saturday's championship game against Ludington to know this trip home would feel much shorter.
Smith and his Flint Powers teammates scored three first-half goals Saturday, and then held off a game Ludington team to win the program's third MHSAA title, 4-2 at Comstock Park High School.
"(Last year's loss in the Finals) made this happen," said Smith, a senior midfielder and captain for the Chargers. "Losing last year helped us overcome a lot of things. We just put in our head that we didn't want to lose like last year."
The Chargers came out on fire, and appeared to score an early goal in the first half – but the goal was taken off the scoreboard because of a foul.
That setback didn't slow Flint Powers down, as the Chargers got their first goal that counted at the 26:07 mark from junior midfielder Garret Delamielleure.
Ludington tied the game just more than six minutes later on a penalty kick by junior defenseman Noah Peterson, but Flint Powers scored at the 12:46 and 10:31 marks with goals by Delamielleure and senior midfielder Dominic Ruth. Ruth's goal was a beautiful header.
"I knew we were capable of starting out like that," said Flint Powers coach Tony Rowe, whose team ended its year at 21-2-1. "To get that goal called back, that was like a two-goal momentum. But the boys kept at it, and I am so proud. We never quit attacking."
It was that attacking that flustered the Orioles.
"I think the pressure got to us in the first half," said Ludington coach Kris Anderson, whose team completed its year at 18-5-2. "Our back line was out of sync. We had some people moving around in spots, and we missed some balls. We weren't organized back there."
But Ludington would not quit, and cut the Flint Powers lead to one goal with just over 17 minutes to play on a goal by senior midfielder Lucien Chasse.
However, 24 seconds later, Powers senior defenseman Connor Boerman capped the scoring for the game on a penalty kick after a Ludington foul, and sent the Chargers home happy.
"Ludington gave us a heck of a game," Rowe said. "Props to their coach and their team. I know what it feels like to lose in a state championship game, and they have nothing to be ashamed of, the way they played. They had an incredible season."
The two goals the Orioles scored Saturday were the only goals Flint Powers gave up the whole tournament.
"The first half we put ourselves in a hole," Anderson said. "But we talked at half, we said this game wasn't over, we have been in this position before being down two. We got that one, but then the call in the box (and Flint Powers' penalty kick goal) changed everything.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Flint Powers’ Garret Delamielleure works to gain possession during Saturday’s Division 3 Final. (Middle) Ludington’s Caleb Schoon (17) pushes the ball upfield while Chargers chase.