Hill stands tall as Avondale stops Lahser on penalty kicks
DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
BLOOMFIELD HILLS — Auburn Hills Avondale boys soccer coach Dave Muczynski was approached by one of his players two weeks ago after a practice and was reminded that Mike Hill was really good at saving penalty kicks. So when Hill was forced into the situation of facing five of them, the senior was up to the task.
Hill, who lost his starting job between the pipes to sophomore Ben Richter in early September, was selected to be the keeper in a shootout Saturday in a Division 2 district final against Bloomfield Hills Lahser. Hill stepped up and stopped Lahser’s third and fifth shooters to helped lead Avondale to a 3-2 victory over the Knights.
Avondale outscored Lahser 4-3 in the shootout to advance, with freshman Stuart Russ converting the fourth shot in the PKs for the winning edge.
“I’ve stopped a (penalty kick) before, but I’ve never played in one of these (shootouts),” said Hill, who is also a midfielder for Avondale. “I saw that they were all shooting to their right, my left, so I just started (leaping) that way.”
Muczynski, whose team lost in the district finals to Lahser 3-2 last season, said that it was pre-planned that Hill would be in net if the game reached penalty kicks.
“Matt Krupa came to me and said to ‘keep an eye on Mike Hill on penalty kicks. He’s really good at stopping them,’” explained Muczynski. “We kept working on it in practice and Mike turned out to be our shootout keeper.”
Avondale (14-5-2) needed some late-game heroics to set the stage for the shootout. Despite outplaying Knights throughout the entire game, Lahser forced overtime with a second-half goal and actually took a 2-1 lead in the first overtime period.
BIG STOP: Auburn Hills Avondale goalkeeper Mike Hill makes a save during a shootout against Bloomfield Hills Lahser. Photo | Larry McKee, www.lmckeephotography.com
Mark Shoemaker started the play with a long throw in into the penalty box. Lahser goalkeeper Logan McDonald got a hand on Erik Koberstein’s initial shot, but the ball popped loose and Koberstein got into a wild goal-mouth scramble before tucking in a shot from close range with 4:39 left in the second extra session.
Throughout 80 minutes of regulation and two 10-minute overtime periods, Avondale outshot Lahser by a wide 23-7 margin, including 12-5 with shots directly on goal, and even held a 12-3 edge on cornerkicks in the game. The Yellowjackets just struggled to score for long stretches of the contest.
Avondale outshot Lahser 17-5 in regulation.
The Yellowjackets opened the scoring with 9:58 to play in the first half, when Shoemaker broke free on the right wing and slipped a cross into the middle. Joe Davison corralled the low cross, beat his mark and laced a shot inside the left goal post.
The lead stood until there was 23:09 left in regulation. Conor Wahl redirected a pass from Connaugh McLaughlin to tie the score for Lahser (6-12-3).
“I thought that Avondale had the more chances than we did, but we gave up a soft goal (in overtime),” said Lahser coach Dougie MacAulay. “We did a nice job (being opportunistic) by battling back and tying the game and even taking the lead. You have to give Avondale credit because they found a way to tie it (late in overtime).”
In the first overtime, Lahser took its first lead when Michael Reitmyer lofted a perfectly-placed free kick into the middle of the penalty box and an onrushing Louis Yun headed home the shot with 2:22 left in the first overtime period.
Avondale, which won its fourth district crown in Muczynski’s 18-year tenure, will face Mt. Pleasant Tuesday in a Division 2 regional semifinal at Fenton.
“We had a lot of chances, but I don’t know how many of them were great threats,” said Muczynski. “So when we were down in overtime, the guys just kept working and Erik Koberstein was finally able to put one in. We felt good with what we had for the shootout.”
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Category: Auburn Hills Avondale, High School
