Holly pulls minor upset of Stoney Creek

AIRBORNE: Holly's Evan Fitzpatrick leaps above to rochester Stoney Creek defenders during the Bronchos' 1-0 win Tuesday.

BY DAN STICKRADT

SENIOR EDITOR

dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com

ROCHESTER HILLS — During its first Flint Metro League championship season, Holly had no luck against teams from the neighboring OAA Red Division.

In fact, the Bronchos’ only losses on the pitch were to OAA Red Division champion Troy and Rochester Adams, which ended Holly’s best-ever season in a Division 1 district opener (4-1).

Holly finished with a 17-2-1 record in 2010 and captured the FML title with an unbeaten league season. The Bronchos finally netted a rare win over an OAA-Red opponent Tuesday, going on the road and turning in a minor upset with a 1-0 victory over short-handed Rochester Stoney Creek.

“Tonight was a great team win,” said Holly coach Mike Steibel. “Stoney Creek is always a good squad, and I thought we came out with some good team hustle and got a big win against a good opponent. I think they’re more talented than we are, but we had more heart.”

Stoney Creek held a 19-5 shots edge in the contest, 10-2 with shots directly on net. Holly still scored first on its first scoring chance of the game and held on for the victory.

Junior Joe Baker attempted Holly’s first shot in the 22^nd minute, a close-range blast inside the box. Senior Dalton Sink was at the top of the box to clean up the rebound and he laced a shot inside the left post for game’s only marker.

Holly only attempted three more shots the rest of the way, but played enough stingy defense to keep the Cougars at bay. Senior Ryan St. John notched the shutout with 10 saves.

“It was key for us to (score) the first goal. I’ve got a great goalie in Ryan St. John back there and that makes it a little easier with only a one-goal lead,” noted Steibel, who returned six starters from last year’s team. “It makes all the difference in the world if you have a good keeper. Our back four is pretty solid, too. We’re solid defensively.”

While Stoney Creek controlled play, the Cougars’ had difficulty in the final third of the field, often settling for long distance shot attempts. The inexperience began to mount despite some fine possession play.

Stoney Creek had one of its best players serving a two-game suspension for a red card, while Cougars coach Adam Bican sat nine other starters and some reserves in the first half. Bican called up six freshmen from the junior varsity and started all of them.

The lineup shakeup was brought on by some uninspired play by Stoney Creek’s seniors and juniors.

“I have not been impressed with out play the past couple of games,” admitted Bican. “I made some changes.”

Stoney Creek outshot Holly 10-3 in the first half and controlled play with its young lineup.

In the second half, Bican reinserted some of his starters but the scoring punch could not be found.

“I’m not worried at all,” added Bican, whose team visits rival Rochester Thursday. “We just have to do a little bit of searching to find out who we are. I know that we can compete every night with every team. If we come out like we did tonight, it’s not going to be easy for us. We have some players that are not playing at the level that I kn ow they are capable of playing.”

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Tags: boys soccer, featured, high school boys soccer, Holly Boys Soccer, Non-League Boys Soccer, Rochester Stoney Creek Boys Soccer, soccer

Category: High School (M-Z), Holly, Rochester Stoney Creek