Third-ranked Oakland Christian wears down Lutheran Northwest

BY DAN STICKRADT

SENIOR EDITOR

dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com

ROCHESTER HILLS — Auburn Hills Oakland Christian has learned that all wins out on the soccer pitch will not come easy this season unlike 2010, when the Lancers finished 19-2-0 and were ranked No. 1 for a long stretch of the season.

Oakland Christian overcame a few obstacles at Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest Tuesday before escaping with its third straight win.

Playing on a saturated and muddy field caused by Monday’s constant rain, the Division 4 third-ranked Lancers eventually overcame the upstart Crusaders for a 3-0 Michigan Independent Athletic Conference Blue Division triumph. But the win was hardly easy.

“Northwest plays very hard. That program is headed in the right direction,” offered Oakland Christian coach Caleb Combs. “They are a very scrappy team. I think we eventually wore them down in the second half.”

Oakland Christian, which improved to 8-1-1 and 6-1-0 in MIAC play, is coming off a touch stretch of several state-ranked opponents. The Lancers upended Birmingham Roeper, 2-0, last week when the Roughriders were ranked No. 1 in the state. The loss was to Allen Park Inter-City Baptist (4-2), which is now ranked No. 1 in Division 4.

“We were just coming off a camp and hadn’t played in a couple of days,” said Combs of the Inter-City loss. “I think we can beat Inter-City. We just played them at the wrong time. But since then we beat Roper and Southfield Christian last week and Northwest is a team that is getting better. I wouldn’t want to play them in districts.”

BATTLING FOR POSSESSION: Auburn Hills Oakland Christian's Chris Polite (No. 22 on right) is being pressured by Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest's Christian Woodfin during Tuesday's MIAC Blue Division contest. Staff Photo | Dan Stickradt

Northwest, which won the MIAC Red Division last season, set the school record for wins at 15 and was promoted to the top division of the MIAC this season, has felt the growing pains of playing in the state’s premier small-school soccer conference.

“I look at the eight schools in our division and six of the eight teams have won state titles in the past decade. Our league is loaded,” said Mike Miller, who in his fifth season has helped Northwest become a much more competitive program. “When you have to play teams now like Oakland Christian, Inter-City Baptist, Southfield (Christian), Roeper, (Ann Arbor) Greenhills, you are talking about some of the best in the state every year. Look at the talent these schools have produced in the past 10 years. We’re up here in this division now but as expected we’re struggling a bit.

“The guys are getting used to the difference from (the MIAC Red to the MIAC Blue). The margin of error is a lot less and the speed of the game is quicker,” reminded Miller. “The teams have a lot more talent and we’re trying to adjust to that.”

Northwest, behind the play of sweeper Christian Woodfin and goalkeeper Chris Tunis, kept the Crusaders (2-7-1, 0-6-1) close for the first 45-plus minutes. Oakland Christian finally broke the stalemate when Chris Polite converted a penalty kick with 30:33 left in the second half.

The Lancers made it 2-0 with 22:19 left when Polite’s free kick into the box was headed home by senior sweeper Drew Perrin.

Sophomore Chasen Massey capped the scoring with 15:34 to play, when he laced a shot from the top of the penalty box into the corner of the goal. Senior Spencer Hodges picked up the assist.

Senior Luke combs picked up his fourth shutout of the season, scooping up four saves for Oakland Christian. Tunis made nine saves in defeat for Northwest.

The Lancers held a 20-9 shots edge, including 12-4 with shots directly on goal.

“Defense is our cornerstone,” offered Combs, whose team has given up only eight goals all season. “I’ve got Drew Perrin, a first-team all-stater, back there at sweeper holding things together. He’s a very good player. He holds it all together and we don’t give team (many shots). Our stopper, Marco Garcia, works harder than anybody. We didn’t have him against Inter-City. Josh Gudobba is in his first season playing soccer. He’s playing right back and doing a great job and Phil Benedict is our left back, a sophomore, who has been solid all season. Defense is where we win games. And our offense seems to score enough to win most games.”

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Tags: Auburn Hills Oakland Christian Boys Soccer, boys soccer, featured, MIAC Blue Division Boys Soccer, Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest Boys Soccer, soccer

Category: Auburn Hills Oakland Christian, High School, High School (M-Z), Prep Wraps, Rochester Hills Lutheran NW