GRAND LEDGE — No one should be blamed for being a little confused when first glancing at Portage Central senior Gunnar Thorhallsson.

At 6-foot-8 with a wingspan over seven feet, many probably look at Thorhallsson and ask how long he’s been playing basketball, only to find out something surprising. 

“I do not play basketball,” he said. “I was a former basketball player and wasn’t very good at it, so I decided to stick to soccer.”

It became clear to all who saw the Division 1 Boys Soccer Final between Portage Central and Ann Arbor Huron on Saturday why Thorhallsson is indeed a soccer player. 

Arguably the state’s best goalkeeper all season, Thorhallsson showed why once again, pitching his 18th shutout of the fall to lift Central to a 1-0 shootout win (4-2 in the penalty kick portion) over Huron in a battle of two teams making their first appearances in a Finals championship game. 

Thorhallsson made 11 saves in regulation and overtime, one in the shootout and then saw another Huron shooter miss the net on his attempt, most likely affected by Thorhallsson’s wingspan. 

“I’ve been saying all season long he’s the best goalkeeper in the state,” Central head coach Tim Halloran said. “We left him out to dry a few times. He had to save us, and he did countless times. In the penalties, part of the fact is we have to be so precise to beat him in practice because he’s so great.”

Following a scoreless regulation and overtime, Huron’s Philip Leucht and Central’s Carter Seim both converted kicks in the first round of the shootout. 

Thorhallsson then made a save to start the second round, and Max Bailey gave Central a 2-1 lead with a successful conversion. 

Chris Zou and Marshall Neumann then traded successful conversions to make it 3-2 Central after the third round.

Central then finished it off on a miss by Huron and a successful conversion by Jayce Handley to start the celebration for Mustangs, who completed an unbeaten season at 24-0-2. 

“When we got here, we were dumb little freshmen,” Thorhallsson said of the senior class. “We didn’t know what this program was all about. But the coaches developed us into great players. We formed a special bond over the past four years, and to be able to end on a high note like this is awesome.”  

Thorhallsson said he and his teammates in front of him on defense have the nickname “strap city.”

“We strap them,” he said. “We don’t let the offense get anything on us. We’re always there. They can’t escape us. We just hold it down in the back, and that’s why they weren’t able to score tonight.”

Huron ended up outshooting Central, 20-9, but couldn’t find the back of the net against Thorhallsson.

“The physical attributes, they go on the page and you can kind of see them,” Huron head coach Luis Gomez-Dominguez said of Thorhallsson. “But the reflexes, that’s something you don’t put on the stat sheet. The goalkeeper did an unbelievable job keeping his team in the game.”

But even in defeat, advancing farther than it ever has was a source of pride for Huron.

“Being here is unbelievable,” Gomez-Dominguez said. “I think these boys raised the bar for the people coming up after them.”

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PHOTOS (Top) Portage Central keeper Gunnar Thorhallsson makes a save during his team’s Division 1 championship victory Saturday night. (Middle) AJ Giebel (4) controls possession for the Mustangs with Huron’s Nasser Diarra in pursuit. (Below) Central’s Eli Greenwald (19) and Huron’s Malic Kasham compete for a loose ball. (Photos by Adam Sheehan/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)