HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS SCENE
BY DAN STICKRADT
CORRESPONDENT
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans,@SportsSceneKeyes
EAST LANSING — Call it luck. Call it skill. Call it determination. But Hudsonville Unity Christian took Flint Powers Catholic’s best shot in the Division 3 state finals and still came away with its MHSAA record 10th state title.
Flint Powers, ranked No. 1 entering the postseason, outplayed Unity Christian in nearly every facet yet still came up empty handed against the Crusaders
Second-ranked Unity Christian still posted a 2-0 victory over Powers at at Michigan State University’s DeMartin Soccer Complex on June 18.
“I thought we dominated play for most of the game,” sighed Powers coach Art Moody. “We had tons of chances, we possessed the ball really well and we pressured them really well. I’m disappointed for the girls because they played a great game. Unity just found a way to win.”
Being outplayed by Powers Catholic for virtually the entire 80 minutes, Unity Christian scored a pair of counterattack goals, and the Crusaders’ defense, led by Michigan State-bound center back Maddie VanDyke and junior goalkeeper Emily Ponstein, shut the door on Powers.
The title was the third straight and 10th overall for the Crusaders (22-2-1), who made their 13th appearance in the state finals in the past 15 years. Powers Catholic slipped to 1-6 in state title matches dating back to 2000, in luring 1-4 against Unity Christian in the finals.
Unity Christian owns state finals wins over Powers in 2016, 2012, 2009 and 2007, while the Chargers defeated Unity Christian in the 2011 finals.
“It never gets old,” smiled Unity Christian coach Randy Heethuis. “They are all special in their own way. This win was a little different because we won with defense while some of the others we were really offensive minded. We started the year 3-2 and I don’t know how many people thought we’d been back.”
Powers outshot Unity Christian by a communing 15-3 margin in he contest, including 8-2 with shots directly on frame, and even held a 4-1 differential on cornerkicks.
Still, the Chargers could not solve Unity’s backfield and stellar goaltending.
Ponstein recorded eight saves for her 15th clean sheet of the campaign. Ponstein and the Crusaders’ backfield, anchored by the stalwart VanDyke, yielded only seven goals in 25 games — a paltry 0.28 goals-against-average.
“We had some great teams and players over the years, like former Miss Soccer (Laura) Hayboer and teams that scored a lot of goals,” said VanDyke. “We knew at the beginning of the season we were rebuilding ourselves. But we came a long ways this season and ended it today with another state championship.”
Unity Christian scored on its first shot on frame with 11:55 remaining in the first half on a goal by Alaina VanZalen.
Unity Christian tacked on an insurance tally on their only shot attempt of the second half when Alexis Ponstein took the ball from just inside midfield, beat two defenders and dribbled nearly 50 yards before slipping a breakaway shot into the goal.
“Hats off to Unity because their goalkeeper and defense was very good in this game. (Ponstein) played amazing. You would think that if you had (15) total shots that we would be able to slip one in,” said Moody. “Soccer is funny. The team that scores the most goals obviously wins, not always the team that controls play and has the most shots. I thought we had a team that worked their (tails) off the whole season and we had a great effort today. If we scored one earlier, it would have change the (flow) of the game.
“I feel bad for the (seven) seniors because they dedicated so much to this and we played really well all season,” continued Moody. “But we hope to be back. We only lose seven players and bring back seven starters. Our junior varsity team had a great season and we have some talented players coming up.”