Western Michigan Christian Scores Lone Goal Late to Clinch 8th Title
By
Perry A. Farrell
Special for MHSAA.com
November 5, 2022
NOVI – It was a life-changing experience for Muskegon Western Michigan Christian junior forward Matthew Bradford-Royle.
With 14 minutes, 50 seconds left in Saturday’s Division 4 championship game, he planted the rebound off a free kick from teammate Ashton Leffring into the Ann Arbor Greenhills net for the game’s lone goal as the Warriors (16-8-2) claimed their eighth MHSAA Finals title with a 1-0 victory at Novi High School.
“It was a great moment for him. It was a great moment for the team,’’ said WMC coach Ben Buursma. “It was just a hustle play. We practice that all the time. Ashton had a great shot. The goalie couldn’t handle it, and Matt was right there.
“I expected we would score a few more goals today, but the wind was a factor to deal with in the first half and they came out strong. They pressured us more offensively than we thought they would.’’
It was the only goal Greenhills (8-7-4) gave up during the playoffs.
“I knew (Leffring) was going bottom right corner,’’ said Bradford-Royle. “We practice it forever. He ripped it as hard as he could. I know we can’t catch it, so I ran and knocked it in. Easy as that.
“Oh my God, defense was great. Eli Malek, Jake Hwang did some nice work. Jared Olsen was great in goal. Our defense was just fantastic.’’
The Warriors, like Greenhills, entered the postseason unranked, but got hot at the end of the year to reach the Final.
Greenhills entered tournament play 3-6-4 before reeling off five straight victories to reach the championship match.
Western Michigan Christian started the season 2-5 and reached its 15th Final by allowing only four goals over six playoff games.
Bradford-Royle said the team changed its defense during the season and took off from that point.
“We usually try to start with a 3-5-2 formation to get a little more offensive power,’’ said Buursma. “The schedule we play doesn’t always work that way. We went back to a traditional 4-4-2. It worked out for us. We have the athletes we need to hold that line.’’
Buursma said he realized the Warriors could accomplish this goal, he joked, “with nine minutes to play.’’
The defensive first half ended scoreless, and the Gryphons concentrated on defending their goal.
With less than 20 minutes left to play, neither team had mounted a serious scoring chance with Greenhills providing most of the offensive attack.
“If you look at the stats, we put some good shots on goal and a number of corner kicks,’’ said Greenhills coach Lucian Popescu. “We played a strong game. We played our way; a little bit disruptive.
“The difference was a very small margin. They were strong, they defended well in the last minute. The goalkeeper made two or three important saves. We faced a team today that was solid offensively, defensively and in goal.’’
PHOTOS (Top) WMC’s Jake Hwang (3) works to keep possession with Greenhills’ Michael Zheng defending. (Middle) Warriors keeper Jared Olsen (00) gathers up the ball.
Turning to Dad's Memory, Kropp Seals Leland Title with Unforgettable Clincher
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
November 1, 2025
GRAND LEDGE — As he made the walk toward the ball, all Leland senior Howie Kropp could think about was his late father.
With Leland mired in a shootout against Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett in the MHSAA Division 4 Boys Soccer Final, Kropp approached the ball facing the dream scenario – an opportunity to give his team the championship.
He could have been thinking about the fact that he hadn’t scored a goal all year, or that he had never taken a shot in a penalty kick shootout before.
Instead, all that was on his mind was his father, who passed away when he was 8 years old.
“My Dad, he’s up there. I knew he would take over if I just put the ball on the ground,” Kropp said. “He coached me in soccer throughout my entire life. Ending on this note meant the world to me.”
Kropp stepped up and calmly delivered the winning goal, giving Leland a 4-2 advantage in the shootout for a 2-1 overall win and Leland’s first Finals championship since 2018.
“I kind of let myself go,” Kropp said. “I know he helped me put it in the back of the net.”
Leland head coach Rob Sirrine knew Kropp, who was a goalkeeper his first three years of high school before transitioning to the field this year, entered the game having not scored this year.
However, that didn’t prevent Sirrine from putting Kopp as the fifth shooter for his team.
“He couldn’t buy a goal in the regular season,” he said. “We kept telling him that you’re going to get an important one in the playoffs. He kept going and he kept going, and didn’t get one. I was like, ‘Howie, now is your time.’”
With the game tied 1-1 after regulation and overtime, Leland took a 1-0 lead after the first round of the shootout following a successful conversion by senior Ignacio Creamer and a save by senior keeper Ravello Smith.
After Leland’s Weston Burda and Liggett’s Ollie Cooley traded conversions, Liggett tied the shootout at 2-2 on a goal by Brady Ancona.
Leland then went up 3-2 in the fourth round with a goal by senior Adrian Spencer and another save by Smith, which set up the title-clinching opportunity for Kropp.
Despite the loss, Liggett head coach David Dwaihy still had lots of reason for optimism. Not only did his team make it to the championship game, but the future looks bright with a roster laden with sophomores and freshmen who played big roles all season and throughout the game.
Liggett was aiming to win its first title since 1999.
“We’ve got a really strong collection of ninth and 10th graders who made an impact,” Dwaihy said. “It was neat to see them step up on a big occasion and not back off.”
Leland took a 1-0 lead with 24:24 remaining in the first half on a goal by Spencer, who took a pass from junior Jose Roman and fired a shot from just outside the box inside the far post.
Liggett answered with 5:55 left in the first half on a goal by sophomore Sekou Manneh, who found a loose ball on his foot in the center of the field just outside the box and fired a perfect low shot into the net.
That would be all the scoring in regulation and overtime, which set the stage for penalty kicks and Kropp’s memorable moment.
“I’ve never even been in a shootout,” he said. “I was just trying to take deep breaths and let the emotions flow out of me. I really just had a lot of faith.”
PHOTOS (Top) Leland’s Howie Krupp and his teammates begin to celebrate his game-winning goal and the Division 4 title Saturday at Grand Ledge High School. (Middle) Comets keeper Ravello Smith makes a save during the shootout. (Below) Liggett’s Sekou Manneh celebrates his equalizing score. (Photos by Adam Sheehan/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)