Stoney Creek finds blue collar attitude in drawing even with Adams
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
ROCHESTER HILLS — Adam Bican has been working hard to infiltrate a much-needed blue collar work mentality into his Rochester Stoney Creek boys soccer team. Finally, such a work ethic is starting to appear on the pitch with the Cougars.
Stoney Creek, which started the season with a losing record, cracked the state rankings this week at No. 9 in Division 1. Even better yet, the Cougars gained an important 0-0 league tie at rival Rochester Adams Tuesday night in OAA Red Division play to move into fourth place in the eight-school league.
LOOKING FOR SPACE: Rochester Adams' Jake Parnell and the Highlanders couldn''t find the back of the net in a 0-0 tie Tuesday with Rochester Stoney Creek. Couresy Photo | Randall McAdory
“It took over half of the season, but I think we’re working a lot harder,” said Bican, a 1993 Adams graduate who is in his second season at Stoney Creek. “We lost some games earlier in the season because we were not playing hard. I think the guys are starting to get it.”
When the two rivals played three weeks ago, it was a non-league contest. Adams dominated play and settled for a 2-1 victory over Stoney Creek. This time around, the Cougars held even with the Highlanders, ranked 10th in the state in Division 1.
“I don’t think we played well at all,” admitted third-year Adams coach Josh Hickey. “They out-worked us. We didn’t come out ready to play with the energy you need for a league game and a game against one of your rivals. You have to give credit to Stoney Creek. We got a little bit lucky because they had that goal called back.”
Stoney Creek (7-4-4, 1-2-2) had a goal disallowed in the second half. Freshman Jack Luchi’s header towards the net was called back for an off-sides call, even though the Highlanders had a defender near the goal line.
“I didn’t like the call, but that’s part of the game. I did like our effort and the way we played with energy. We didn’t show that when we played Adams a few weeks ago,” said Bican. “I thought we had 3-4 really good chances in this game. We created some really good chances that we might not have a few weeks ago.
“I have the utmost respect for the Adams program and its coaches. Plus, I’m an Adams alum, so it’s nice to see us care about such an important game,” continued Bican. “We have the state tournament coming up in three weeks and we have to be ready.”
Griffin Wright made five saves for Stoney Creek, while freshman starter Spencer Ward made six saves for Adams (7-3-2, 5-1-1).
Adams came in tied in the loss column with third-ranked Troy and unranked Athens. Troy was 5-1 in the league and Athens 4-1.the tie could hurt the Highlanders in the final standings, as each league team is down to only two or three league matches.
“It could hurt us in the end,” said Hickey.
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