FOREST HILLS NORTHERN 1 - BAY CITY JOHN GLENN 0
HUSKIES GRAB FIRST EVER REGIONAL SOCCER CROWN IN SCHOOL HISTORY
Below you will find two game write ups. The first is from the Grand Rapids Press, the second from the Bay City Times. Above you will find brief highlights from the game for photos from this game click HERE.
FHN Stats: Goal Junior Maria Rich from Junior Becca Quinn.
Forest Hills Northern captures girls soccer regional title with 1-0 win
Jane Bos | The Grand Rapids Press, June 11, 2010 12:46 a.m.
CEDAR SPRINGS -- Five Forest Hills Northern students, sporting blue-painted chests, might have been the first to realize that, yes, the girls soccer team was going to win it's first regional championship in school history.
Their booming chants had a rippling effect on the rest of the Husky fans, who slowly stood and clapped and cheered.
By the time the buzzer sounded and Forest Hills Northern had earned a 1-0 Division 2 regional final victory against Bangor John Glenn, every Husky coach, player and fan was screaming and celebrating at Red Hawk Stadium on Thursday night.
The win sends Forest Hills Northern (19-3-1) to Wednesday's 7 p.m. semifinal at Grand Rapids Christian. The Huskies face the winner of Friday's regional final at Battle Creek Harper Creek, pitting DeWitt and Plainwell.
"It's real," FHN coach Jamie Bogart said about finally winning a regional. "We are pretty happy. Everybody on this team, even girls who did not get in, even girls who did not start, made this happen with hard work at practice everyday."
It didn't look like it anything would pay off after the scoreless first half ended. The Bobcats seemed to be in control. The Huskies simply were not playing their game.
So at halftime, Bogart gave his team two choices:
"Listen," he said. "You have 40 minutes, and when it's done, you either have three days off or nine months off."
You know which they picked.
Forest Hills Northern came out energized. They dominated. And with 10:26 left in the game, junior Becca Quinn sent a high, angling cross to Maria Rich, who was standing a few yards in front of the goal.
Rich, also a junior, ran for the ball, got on the end of the kick, and scored.
"It was a wonderful team effort for us, I am so proud of everyone on our team," Rich said. "I think we came out a little less strong, and we knew we could be better. We pumped ourselves up. Our coaches encouraged us a lot, and we came out in the second half a little stronger."
While everyone contributed, Bogart is especially happy for his five seniors: Jace Mitcham, Andrea Byl, Hanna Schlesinger, Joanna Chen and Madeline Rammal. When they were freshmen, they played in the schools only other regional final appearance, but lost.
Four years later, they made history.
This season, for the first time in two decades of soccer at FHN, the Huskies won the O-K Blue Conference and a district title in the same year. Now they've added a regional crown.
Since Bogart began coaching in 2006, they've earned one regional and three district championships, along with winning one conference tournament and one conference title.
"This year, we said, 'Remember the past and live for the future. It's our time now,' " he said.
And it was.
John Glenn coach Fran MacMillian has been here before. A year ago, his Bobcats also lost in the regional final, that time to East Grand Rapids. His team ends this season with a 22-2-3 record.
"Other people said we played a lot better in the first half," MacMillian said. "We weren't playing real well, real tough. They played a really good second half."
THE BUZZ
Forest Hills Northern 1, Bangor John Glenn 0
· Records: Forest Hills Northern (19-3-1), John Glenn (22-2-3)
· Key moment: With 10:26 left in the game, Forest Hills Northern junior Maria Rich scored the decisive goal on an assist from Becca Quinn.
· Surprise, surprise: Forest Hills Northern captured its first regional title in 20 seasons of existence.
· Say what?: "They fixed what they were doing wrong in the first half. We took our foot off the gas." John Glenn coach Fran McMillan
Bangor John Glenn falls to Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern 1-0 in Division 2 regional championship
Bill Petzold | The Bay City Times, June 10, 2010 9:13 p.m.
CEDAR SPRINGS - Bangor John Glenn controlled the first half, but Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern won the second half and the game 1-0 in a Division 2 girls soccer regional final here Thursday.
It was the second consecutive 1-0 loss for the Bobcats in the regional championship, the only two Bay County soccer teams to advance past district play.
"I think we played a lot better in the first half, but they fixed whatever they thought they were doing wrong and we kind of took our foot off the gas," Glenn coach Fran MacMillan said. "We weren't playing real tough is what I thought. They played really well the second half. They're a good team."
About 12 minutes into the game, Glenn's Katie Tobin sent a header toward the Forest Hills net which Holly Duncan redirected into the goal, but an offsides call negated the score.
Tobin put on a nice display of individual skill to create a shot in the 37th minute, but both teams remained scoreless at the half.
For all the pressure they put on Forest Hills in the first half, the Bobcats had to withstand plenty to open the second half. After surviving a couple close calls, Glenn took the ball to their end of the field where Tori Montgomery sailed a shot just over the net.
The Huskies' Maria Rich finally broke the deadlock with 10:25 to go in regulation, scoring the game-winner to send Forest Hills to a state semifinal showdown with the winner of the Plainwell / DeWitt game.
"Maybe we did look a little tired, I'm not sure," MacMillan said. "They might have changed up something, stepped up the pace, I'll have to watch the video to see. We just looked like we weren't going in on balls and we were making passes that instantly put us in a bad spot. Maybe there was a little fatigue, but everybody seemed OK at halftime.
Glenn wraps up its season with a 22-2-3 record, an North East Michigan Conference title and its second district title.
"Great season, absolutely wonderful team," MacMillan said. "I've been blessed two years in a row to be down here with a great group of girls.
"Players win games, coaches lose games. I guess I've got to figure out what I did wrong."
FHN Stats: Goal Junior Maria Rich from Junior Becca Quinn.
Forest Hills Northern captures girls soccer regional title with 1-0 win
Jane Bos | The Grand Rapids Press, June 11, 2010 12:46 a.m.
CEDAR SPRINGS -- Five Forest Hills Northern students, sporting blue-painted chests, might have been the first to realize that, yes, the girls soccer team was going to win it's first regional championship in school history.
Their booming chants had a rippling effect on the rest of the Husky fans, who slowly stood and clapped and cheered.
By the time the buzzer sounded and Forest Hills Northern had earned a 1-0 Division 2 regional final victory against Bangor John Glenn, every Husky coach, player and fan was screaming and celebrating at Red Hawk Stadium on Thursday night.
The win sends Forest Hills Northern (19-3-1) to Wednesday's 7 p.m. semifinal at Grand Rapids Christian. The Huskies face the winner of Friday's regional final at Battle Creek Harper Creek, pitting DeWitt and Plainwell.
"It's real," FHN coach Jamie Bogart said about finally winning a regional. "We are pretty happy. Everybody on this team, even girls who did not get in, even girls who did not start, made this happen with hard work at practice everyday."
It didn't look like it anything would pay off after the scoreless first half ended. The Bobcats seemed to be in control. The Huskies simply were not playing their game.
So at halftime, Bogart gave his team two choices:
"Listen," he said. "You have 40 minutes, and when it's done, you either have three days off or nine months off."
You know which they picked.
Forest Hills Northern came out energized. They dominated. And with 10:26 left in the game, junior Becca Quinn sent a high, angling cross to Maria Rich, who was standing a few yards in front of the goal.
Rich, also a junior, ran for the ball, got on the end of the kick, and scored.
"It was a wonderful team effort for us, I am so proud of everyone on our team," Rich said. "I think we came out a little less strong, and we knew we could be better. We pumped ourselves up. Our coaches encouraged us a lot, and we came out in the second half a little stronger."
While everyone contributed, Bogart is especially happy for his five seniors: Jace Mitcham, Andrea Byl, Hanna Schlesinger, Joanna Chen and Madeline Rammal. When they were freshmen, they played in the schools only other regional final appearance, but lost.
Four years later, they made history.
This season, for the first time in two decades of soccer at FHN, the Huskies won the O-K Blue Conference and a district title in the same year. Now they've added a regional crown.
Since Bogart began coaching in 2006, they've earned one regional and three district championships, along with winning one conference tournament and one conference title.
"This year, we said, 'Remember the past and live for the future. It's our time now,' " he said.
And it was.
John Glenn coach Fran MacMillian has been here before. A year ago, his Bobcats also lost in the regional final, that time to East Grand Rapids. His team ends this season with a 22-2-3 record.
"Other people said we played a lot better in the first half," MacMillian said. "We weren't playing real well, real tough. They played a really good second half."
THE BUZZ
Forest Hills Northern 1, Bangor John Glenn 0
· Records: Forest Hills Northern (19-3-1), John Glenn (22-2-3)
· Key moment: With 10:26 left in the game, Forest Hills Northern junior Maria Rich scored the decisive goal on an assist from Becca Quinn.
· Surprise, surprise: Forest Hills Northern captured its first regional title in 20 seasons of existence.
· Say what?: "They fixed what they were doing wrong in the first half. We took our foot off the gas." John Glenn coach Fran McMillan
Bangor John Glenn falls to Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern 1-0 in Division 2 regional championship
Bill Petzold | The Bay City Times, June 10, 2010 9:13 p.m.
CEDAR SPRINGS - Bangor John Glenn controlled the first half, but Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern won the second half and the game 1-0 in a Division 2 girls soccer regional final here Thursday.
It was the second consecutive 1-0 loss for the Bobcats in the regional championship, the only two Bay County soccer teams to advance past district play.
"I think we played a lot better in the first half, but they fixed whatever they thought they were doing wrong and we kind of took our foot off the gas," Glenn coach Fran MacMillan said. "We weren't playing real tough is what I thought. They played really well the second half. They're a good team."
About 12 minutes into the game, Glenn's Katie Tobin sent a header toward the Forest Hills net which Holly Duncan redirected into the goal, but an offsides call negated the score.
Tobin put on a nice display of individual skill to create a shot in the 37th minute, but both teams remained scoreless at the half.
For all the pressure they put on Forest Hills in the first half, the Bobcats had to withstand plenty to open the second half. After surviving a couple close calls, Glenn took the ball to their end of the field where Tori Montgomery sailed a shot just over the net.
The Huskies' Maria Rich finally broke the deadlock with 10:25 to go in regulation, scoring the game-winner to send Forest Hills to a state semifinal showdown with the winner of the Plainwell / DeWitt game.
"Maybe we did look a little tired, I'm not sure," MacMillan said. "They might have changed up something, stepped up the pace, I'll have to watch the video to see. We just looked like we weren't going in on balls and we were making passes that instantly put us in a bad spot. Maybe there was a little fatigue, but everybody seemed OK at halftime.
Glenn wraps up its season with a 22-2-3 record, an North East Michigan Conference title and its second district title.
"Great season, absolutely wonderful team," MacMillan said. "I've been blessed two years in a row to be down here with a great group of girls.
"Players win games, coaches lose games. I guess I've got to figure out what I did wrong."