FOREST HILLS NORTHERN 1 - FOREST HILLS EASTERN 0
MADELINE RAMMAL'S GOAL LIFTS HUSKIES TO BACK TO BACK DISTRICT CHAMPIONSHIPS
With just over 5 minutes left in the first overtime period, Senior Madeline Rammal scored her biggest goal of her high school soccer career. The goal lifted the Huskies to a 1-0 victory over rival Forest Hills Eastern and back to back MHSAA District Championships.
A game that was circled on both team’s calendars, Forest Hills Northern (FHN) and Eastern (FHE) met for the District Championship for the second consecutive season. Last season the Huskies prevailed in a double overtime shootout over the Hawks at Northview High School. Saturday’s District championship would be the first time the two schools met in Huskies Stadium and was played in front of a rather large crowed estimated around 750. “The crowed was awesome” Head Coach Jamie Bogart stated. He would continue “Where have they been all season? None the less, both teams didn’t disappoint the fans”. Saturday’s game would also be the second meeting of the season between the two schools separated by just 3 miles. The regular season game ended in a 1-1 tie with Northern carrying about 75% of the play.
Saturday’s district championship saw a different game as the two evenly matched teams took to the field. It was FHE that came out with the run of play and with less than 4 minutes into the game found themselves with a 1 v 1 situation with a charging FHN goalkeeper Kristiana Griffith. The Hawks shot missed by just 4 inches away as the ball hit off the left post to which Griffith ran down. “We dodged a bullet right out of the gate” Coach Bogart said of the slow start. That shot would be the closest the Hawks would get until midway through the second half. The Huskies, in slow motion manner started to take more control of the game. And with about 15 minutes into the opening half, the Huskies and Hawks found themselves in the middle of what would turn out to be an “Instant Classic”.
The first 40 minutes ended with a 0-0 tie as both teams saw missed opportunities and chances. For FHE, it was that first shot out of the gate which was their most dangerous chance of the half. The Huskies defense cranked up the pressure and didn’t allow the Hawks to get much pressure in the final third of the field. For FHN, Sophomore striker Teigan Mitcham had two great looks at the goal, however sailed her shots high and wide.
As the second half got underway, both teams made a couple of adjustments and came out strong. No adjustment was more noticeable than the FHN adjustment to put Senior Madeline Rammal up top and Junior striker Maria Rich at Central Midfield. “We wanted to get Maria out of pressure, FHE was sending 2 or 3 girls at her every time she touched the ball and we felt we could use Madeline as a link and have players play her the ball and play off of her” Coach Bogart said of the adjustment “In the end, the move paid off”
The second half was much like the first half only with the Huskies having more run of the play and pressure on the Hawks defense. The Hawks however came up with the most dangerous opportunity of the game with just over 18 minutes remaining. The Huskies defense was top notch at this juncture as well. Hawks striker Jessie Fatum laced a shot at the Husky goal; where Husky goalkeeper Kristiana Griffith moved and made a great save. The save bounced away from Griffith and wound back on the foot of Fatum who took a second crack at the goal, but the shot deflected off the hands of the charging goalkeeper. The deflected ball landed on the foot of Hawks junior Layne Vandenberg who sat all alone at the penalty mark. Vandenberg fired the one touch shot at the keeperless Husky goal. The goal however was bottled up by Husky defenders Kat Krukowski and Olivia Griffith. The two defenders made the save which moved the ball halfway between the goal line and Vandenberg. Vandenberg charged the loose ball to which Husky goalkeeper Kristiana Griffith dove onto the ball securing the ball for the Huskies. The dramatic play brought about a large roar from the crowed. “I couldn’t be more proud of where the minds of our players were at that moment. Kat and Olivia had their goalkeepers back and Kristiana stayed with the play and made sure that ball didn’t get in the net” Coach Bogart would continue “That’s the type of play that wins you championships, that’s the type of play that will be remembered 5 and 10 years down the road”. The Hawks would not manage another shot on goal for the remainder of the game.
Following that play, the Huskies went on the attack and put consistent pressure on the Hawks defense. With about about 12 minutes left in the game FHE’s center back cleared what would have been an FHN goal. Sophomore Carly Belsito turned on the jets and raced down the sideline where she received a very well placed ball from Madeline Rammal. Belsito would beat a Hawk defender and proceed to cut the ball down the baseline and towards goal. Belsito slotted a great ball to a crashing Maria Rich who was wide open in the middle of the goal. The FHE defender came from behind the play to clear the ball before it reached the foot of Rich. “It should have been 1-0 us on that play. That defender came out of nowhere to save that goal. Maria was wide open and Carly was just sensational on that play” Commented head coach Jamie Bogart.
The Huskies would get another solid look as Teigan Mitcham received a pass from Senior defender Joanna Chen on the left sideline. Mitcham turned a defender and raced towards the Hawks goal. Once inside the 18, Mitcham set up for her shot and as timed like the Belsito to Rich play the Hawk central back Ann Kennedy closed Mitcham down and deflected the shot out of bounds for the a Husky corner kick. That would be the last solid chance ether team got in regulation.
After a 0-0 tie, the Huskies and Hawks headed to sudden victory overtime where the first team to score wins the game. MHSAA playoff format is two 15 minute sudden victory overtime periods. If tied after both overtimes the teams will head to a penalty kick shoot out situation.
After the 5 minute break, the Hawks took full control however could not get off a shot. “They had us on our heels, our defense was spent and we had two central middy’s in who played the majority of that second half. We were spent” Bogart said of the Hawks pressure. The Huskies made a substitution and things turned around started to turn around. “That one sub, Olivia Griffith was the heart and soul of our team today. Olivia was the difference maker today” Bogart said of his sophomore stopper.
The Huskies got another good look at Madeline Rammal volleyed a shot back post from about 20 yards away from the goal to which Hawks goalkeeper, Michelle Marcus made the save sliding to her knees. Teigan Mitcham would also have another opportunity in which Marcus made the save on.
The pressure the Huskies were mounting finally got to the FHE backs and with 5 minutes remaining Rammal hit home the game winner. The winning goal was set up by the efforts of Freshman winger, Robyn Wujkowski. Wukjkowski stole a ball about 35 yards out from goal and beat the Hawks player. Wujkowski would beat Eastern’s left back who went in for the tackle. FHE’s central back Ann Kennedy was forced to leave her mark and close down Wujkowski. Wujkowski found the wide open Rammal, standing about 15 yards out from goal. Rammal quickly flicked the ball back post and beyond the outstretched arms of Michelle Marcus and into the back corner of the goal. The goal lifted off a loud roar from the crowed and the FHN bench exploded onto the field. “An amazing goal! Not the prettiest goal I have ever seen, but it may rank up there as one of the most important goals any one of my players have ever scored” Bogart said of the game winner. “Robyn did an outstanding job first winning the ball and beating two defenders leading up to the pass to Rammal. That may possibly be one of Robyn’s biggest crowning achievements in soccer” commented an ecstatic Bogart
“I have never been more proud of a team than I am right now. They did EVERYTHING we asked them to do and more. They battled for 90 minutes and the effort paid off” Bogart would continue “Our defense was lights out tonight; Olivia Griffith was outstanding as was Kat, Becca, Dani, Jo and KG. They allowed us to have that opportunity to win the game. They were awesome!!”
With the win, the Huskies win the District Championship and move on to the MHSAA Regional’s. The win also makes this the Huskies 3rd district championship in 4 years and the first time ever that FHN has won both the Conference title and District title in the same season. The Huskies also add to their goal total which now stands at 105.
The Huskies will take on Fruitport (A 3-2 winner over Cedar Springs) on June 8th at Cedar Springs High School. The game is set to kick off at 7:00pm. The game will follow the other Regional semi-final featuring Holland Christian and Bay City John Glenn. Holland Christian beat last year’s state runner up, East Grand Rapids in a shoot out. John Glenn breezed through their district winning 4-0 in the final. Fruitport upset #1 ranked Spring Lake 1-0 in the District Semi-final.
A game that was circled on both team’s calendars, Forest Hills Northern (FHN) and Eastern (FHE) met for the District Championship for the second consecutive season. Last season the Huskies prevailed in a double overtime shootout over the Hawks at Northview High School. Saturday’s District championship would be the first time the two schools met in Huskies Stadium and was played in front of a rather large crowed estimated around 750. “The crowed was awesome” Head Coach Jamie Bogart stated. He would continue “Where have they been all season? None the less, both teams didn’t disappoint the fans”. Saturday’s game would also be the second meeting of the season between the two schools separated by just 3 miles. The regular season game ended in a 1-1 tie with Northern carrying about 75% of the play.
Saturday’s district championship saw a different game as the two evenly matched teams took to the field. It was FHE that came out with the run of play and with less than 4 minutes into the game found themselves with a 1 v 1 situation with a charging FHN goalkeeper Kristiana Griffith. The Hawks shot missed by just 4 inches away as the ball hit off the left post to which Griffith ran down. “We dodged a bullet right out of the gate” Coach Bogart said of the slow start. That shot would be the closest the Hawks would get until midway through the second half. The Huskies, in slow motion manner started to take more control of the game. And with about 15 minutes into the opening half, the Huskies and Hawks found themselves in the middle of what would turn out to be an “Instant Classic”.
The first 40 minutes ended with a 0-0 tie as both teams saw missed opportunities and chances. For FHE, it was that first shot out of the gate which was their most dangerous chance of the half. The Huskies defense cranked up the pressure and didn’t allow the Hawks to get much pressure in the final third of the field. For FHN, Sophomore striker Teigan Mitcham had two great looks at the goal, however sailed her shots high and wide.
As the second half got underway, both teams made a couple of adjustments and came out strong. No adjustment was more noticeable than the FHN adjustment to put Senior Madeline Rammal up top and Junior striker Maria Rich at Central Midfield. “We wanted to get Maria out of pressure, FHE was sending 2 or 3 girls at her every time she touched the ball and we felt we could use Madeline as a link and have players play her the ball and play off of her” Coach Bogart said of the adjustment “In the end, the move paid off”
The second half was much like the first half only with the Huskies having more run of the play and pressure on the Hawks defense. The Hawks however came up with the most dangerous opportunity of the game with just over 18 minutes remaining. The Huskies defense was top notch at this juncture as well. Hawks striker Jessie Fatum laced a shot at the Husky goal; where Husky goalkeeper Kristiana Griffith moved and made a great save. The save bounced away from Griffith and wound back on the foot of Fatum who took a second crack at the goal, but the shot deflected off the hands of the charging goalkeeper. The deflected ball landed on the foot of Hawks junior Layne Vandenberg who sat all alone at the penalty mark. Vandenberg fired the one touch shot at the keeperless Husky goal. The goal however was bottled up by Husky defenders Kat Krukowski and Olivia Griffith. The two defenders made the save which moved the ball halfway between the goal line and Vandenberg. Vandenberg charged the loose ball to which Husky goalkeeper Kristiana Griffith dove onto the ball securing the ball for the Huskies. The dramatic play brought about a large roar from the crowed. “I couldn’t be more proud of where the minds of our players were at that moment. Kat and Olivia had their goalkeepers back and Kristiana stayed with the play and made sure that ball didn’t get in the net” Coach Bogart would continue “That’s the type of play that wins you championships, that’s the type of play that will be remembered 5 and 10 years down the road”. The Hawks would not manage another shot on goal for the remainder of the game.
Following that play, the Huskies went on the attack and put consistent pressure on the Hawks defense. With about about 12 minutes left in the game FHE’s center back cleared what would have been an FHN goal. Sophomore Carly Belsito turned on the jets and raced down the sideline where she received a very well placed ball from Madeline Rammal. Belsito would beat a Hawk defender and proceed to cut the ball down the baseline and towards goal. Belsito slotted a great ball to a crashing Maria Rich who was wide open in the middle of the goal. The FHE defender came from behind the play to clear the ball before it reached the foot of Rich. “It should have been 1-0 us on that play. That defender came out of nowhere to save that goal. Maria was wide open and Carly was just sensational on that play” Commented head coach Jamie Bogart.
The Huskies would get another solid look as Teigan Mitcham received a pass from Senior defender Joanna Chen on the left sideline. Mitcham turned a defender and raced towards the Hawks goal. Once inside the 18, Mitcham set up for her shot and as timed like the Belsito to Rich play the Hawk central back Ann Kennedy closed Mitcham down and deflected the shot out of bounds for the a Husky corner kick. That would be the last solid chance ether team got in regulation.
After a 0-0 tie, the Huskies and Hawks headed to sudden victory overtime where the first team to score wins the game. MHSAA playoff format is two 15 minute sudden victory overtime periods. If tied after both overtimes the teams will head to a penalty kick shoot out situation.
After the 5 minute break, the Hawks took full control however could not get off a shot. “They had us on our heels, our defense was spent and we had two central middy’s in who played the majority of that second half. We were spent” Bogart said of the Hawks pressure. The Huskies made a substitution and things turned around started to turn around. “That one sub, Olivia Griffith was the heart and soul of our team today. Olivia was the difference maker today” Bogart said of his sophomore stopper.
The Huskies got another good look at Madeline Rammal volleyed a shot back post from about 20 yards away from the goal to which Hawks goalkeeper, Michelle Marcus made the save sliding to her knees. Teigan Mitcham would also have another opportunity in which Marcus made the save on.
The pressure the Huskies were mounting finally got to the FHE backs and with 5 minutes remaining Rammal hit home the game winner. The winning goal was set up by the efforts of Freshman winger, Robyn Wujkowski. Wukjkowski stole a ball about 35 yards out from goal and beat the Hawks player. Wujkowski would beat Eastern’s left back who went in for the tackle. FHE’s central back Ann Kennedy was forced to leave her mark and close down Wujkowski. Wujkowski found the wide open Rammal, standing about 15 yards out from goal. Rammal quickly flicked the ball back post and beyond the outstretched arms of Michelle Marcus and into the back corner of the goal. The goal lifted off a loud roar from the crowed and the FHN bench exploded onto the field. “An amazing goal! Not the prettiest goal I have ever seen, but it may rank up there as one of the most important goals any one of my players have ever scored” Bogart said of the game winner. “Robyn did an outstanding job first winning the ball and beating two defenders leading up to the pass to Rammal. That may possibly be one of Robyn’s biggest crowning achievements in soccer” commented an ecstatic Bogart
“I have never been more proud of a team than I am right now. They did EVERYTHING we asked them to do and more. They battled for 90 minutes and the effort paid off” Bogart would continue “Our defense was lights out tonight; Olivia Griffith was outstanding as was Kat, Becca, Dani, Jo and KG. They allowed us to have that opportunity to win the game. They were awesome!!”
With the win, the Huskies win the District Championship and move on to the MHSAA Regional’s. The win also makes this the Huskies 3rd district championship in 4 years and the first time ever that FHN has won both the Conference title and District title in the same season. The Huskies also add to their goal total which now stands at 105.
The Huskies will take on Fruitport (A 3-2 winner over Cedar Springs) on June 8th at Cedar Springs High School. The game is set to kick off at 7:00pm. The game will follow the other Regional semi-final featuring Holland Christian and Bay City John Glenn. Holland Christian beat last year’s state runner up, East Grand Rapids in a shoot out. John Glenn breezed through their district winning 4-0 in the final. Fruitport upset #1 ranked Spring Lake 1-0 in the District Semi-final.