FOREST HILLS NORTHERN 5 - WEST CATHOLIC 0
HUSKIES ROLL TO SHUT OUT WIN OVER STATE RANKED WEST CATHOLIC 5-0
Recognized by the Michigan High School Soccer Coaches Association as two of the top teams in the state, Grand Rapids West Catholic came into Wednesday night’s game ranked #9 in the recent division 3 state rankings while Forest Hills Northern entered the game as Honorable Mention in the division 2 poll. It was however the host Huskies who won the battle of the state ranked teams and walked out of Husky Stadium with the 5 - 0 victory.
Led by the strong defense of Senior Jace Mitcham; Juniors Becca Quinn and Kristiana Griffith; Sophomores Olivia Griffith, Danielle Harrison and Kat Krukowski, the Huskies limited the visitors to just one shot on goal and allowed the offense to settle in and work their magic.
The Huskies got on the board about 14 minutes into the game as Freshman Robyn Wujkowski received a pass from Senior defender Jace Mitcham and raced down the left sideline and towards goal. Wujkowski beat 3 Falcon defenders and blasted a shot back post and into the side netting for the 1-0 lead. The goal would be Wujkowski’s 9th of the season. The goal would also be her second game winner of the year (Both were against West Catholic). Mitcham’s assist would be her last point of the season as she went down midway through the second half with what appears to be a broken ankle. “Jace is a competitor and I know she is going to hurt from not being able to play but her teammates will have her back” Head Coach Jamie Bogart stated. Mitcham is a returning All-Conference and All-District player but most importantly is one of the team’s co-captains and at times the one who provides the emotion and energy to the Husky team. Coach Jamie Bogart continued about Jace “You can not replace the leadership, energy and drive that Jace brings each day to the team, but I am 110% confident that we will have girls who will step up and help fill this void”. Bogart continued “Jace will be missed on the field; however she will fill the “Assistant coach” roll to a T. She is now our Kalin Lucas (Injured Michigan State Basketball point guard and co-captain) and her leadership is going to shine even brighter from the sidelines”
The Huskies would get a second goal in the first half. This time it was Junior all-stater Maria Rich who scored on a pass from Sophomore Teigan Mitcham. Rich would get a great simple back door pass from Mitcham, opened up and hammered the ball back post. “It was a very nice pass that lead to a great goal from a great striker. Teigan and Maria are really starting to connect with one another and things are happening” Bogart said of the two strikers. The goal brought Rich to 8 goals on the season and marked the Huskies second goal of the night.
And that’s where the score would remain at half-time: Forest Hills Northern 2, West Catholic 0.
The second half started in the same manner the first meeting between the two schools took. The Huskies took full control and didn’t allow anything from the West Catholic Offense. “Sometimes our best defense is our offense, the other team can’t score if they don’t have the ball right?” Bogart stated. He continued “It’s kind of that simple really. When we possess the ball well, not many teams can hang with us”. The Huskies would get three second half goals for the final 5-0 score.
The first goal in the second half was when Maria Rich returned the favor to Teigan Mitcham. Mitcham set up with her back to the goal on the PK spot, where Rich found her standing. Mitcham collected the pass, took a “Basketball drop step” with the ball turning a defender and delivered a powerful shot past the Falcon keeper. The goal would Mark Teigan’s 11th of the season and Maria’s 12th assist of the season.
A few moments later, Senior Madeline Rammal half-volleyed a shot past the Falcon keeper on a great ball played in by Maria Rich on the Right wing. “It was a very pretty goal, but the thing we can take most from tonight on Madeline’s goal is that she is looking for her shot more than she was” Bogart stated of the senior. Rammal would continue to score, as with 13 minutes left in the game would connect for her second goal of the game.
The Ball was once again played into Teigan Mitcham, who’s shot was saved and cleared out to the right foot of Rammal. The senior midfielder took a touch and blasted a ball upper 90 from 24 yards out. “A few moments earlier, our JV coach (Dave Saylor) was sitting on the bench when Madeline geared up for a shot and quickly got excited. His comment “I get so excited when Mad’s gets ready to strike a ball”. I think we all do, because when she connects on a ball, there are times where I am glad I am not the keeper or the back of the net for that matter” Coach Bogart stated.
The Huskies would find more scoring chances in the closing 10 minutes of the game, however couldn’t connect, and Rammal’s goal would be the end of the scoring.
With the win, the Huskies move to 9-0 in the conference and can now focus on Friday nights inner-district game with rival Forest Hills Eastern in a battle of conference front runners. The JV game is set to kick off at 5:00pm with the varsity starting around 6:40pm.
The Huskies will return home on Monday, May 10th to play host to the Belding Redskins. Kick off is at 6:40pm with the JV starting at 5:00pm.
Led by the strong defense of Senior Jace Mitcham; Juniors Becca Quinn and Kristiana Griffith; Sophomores Olivia Griffith, Danielle Harrison and Kat Krukowski, the Huskies limited the visitors to just one shot on goal and allowed the offense to settle in and work their magic.
The Huskies got on the board about 14 minutes into the game as Freshman Robyn Wujkowski received a pass from Senior defender Jace Mitcham and raced down the left sideline and towards goal. Wujkowski beat 3 Falcon defenders and blasted a shot back post and into the side netting for the 1-0 lead. The goal would be Wujkowski’s 9th of the season. The goal would also be her second game winner of the year (Both were against West Catholic). Mitcham’s assist would be her last point of the season as she went down midway through the second half with what appears to be a broken ankle. “Jace is a competitor and I know she is going to hurt from not being able to play but her teammates will have her back” Head Coach Jamie Bogart stated. Mitcham is a returning All-Conference and All-District player but most importantly is one of the team’s co-captains and at times the one who provides the emotion and energy to the Husky team. Coach Jamie Bogart continued about Jace “You can not replace the leadership, energy and drive that Jace brings each day to the team, but I am 110% confident that we will have girls who will step up and help fill this void”. Bogart continued “Jace will be missed on the field; however she will fill the “Assistant coach” roll to a T. She is now our Kalin Lucas (Injured Michigan State Basketball point guard and co-captain) and her leadership is going to shine even brighter from the sidelines”
The Huskies would get a second goal in the first half. This time it was Junior all-stater Maria Rich who scored on a pass from Sophomore Teigan Mitcham. Rich would get a great simple back door pass from Mitcham, opened up and hammered the ball back post. “It was a very nice pass that lead to a great goal from a great striker. Teigan and Maria are really starting to connect with one another and things are happening” Bogart said of the two strikers. The goal brought Rich to 8 goals on the season and marked the Huskies second goal of the night.
And that’s where the score would remain at half-time: Forest Hills Northern 2, West Catholic 0.
The second half started in the same manner the first meeting between the two schools took. The Huskies took full control and didn’t allow anything from the West Catholic Offense. “Sometimes our best defense is our offense, the other team can’t score if they don’t have the ball right?” Bogart stated. He continued “It’s kind of that simple really. When we possess the ball well, not many teams can hang with us”. The Huskies would get three second half goals for the final 5-0 score.
The first goal in the second half was when Maria Rich returned the favor to Teigan Mitcham. Mitcham set up with her back to the goal on the PK spot, where Rich found her standing. Mitcham collected the pass, took a “Basketball drop step” with the ball turning a defender and delivered a powerful shot past the Falcon keeper. The goal would Mark Teigan’s 11th of the season and Maria’s 12th assist of the season.
A few moments later, Senior Madeline Rammal half-volleyed a shot past the Falcon keeper on a great ball played in by Maria Rich on the Right wing. “It was a very pretty goal, but the thing we can take most from tonight on Madeline’s goal is that she is looking for her shot more than she was” Bogart stated of the senior. Rammal would continue to score, as with 13 minutes left in the game would connect for her second goal of the game.
The Ball was once again played into Teigan Mitcham, who’s shot was saved and cleared out to the right foot of Rammal. The senior midfielder took a touch and blasted a ball upper 90 from 24 yards out. “A few moments earlier, our JV coach (Dave Saylor) was sitting on the bench when Madeline geared up for a shot and quickly got excited. His comment “I get so excited when Mad’s gets ready to strike a ball”. I think we all do, because when she connects on a ball, there are times where I am glad I am not the keeper or the back of the net for that matter” Coach Bogart stated.
The Huskies would find more scoring chances in the closing 10 minutes of the game, however couldn’t connect, and Rammal’s goal would be the end of the scoring.
With the win, the Huskies move to 9-0 in the conference and can now focus on Friday nights inner-district game with rival Forest Hills Eastern in a battle of conference front runners. The JV game is set to kick off at 5:00pm with the varsity starting around 6:40pm.
The Huskies will return home on Monday, May 10th to play host to the Belding Redskins. Kick off is at 6:40pm with the JV starting at 5:00pm.