Rochester Hills claims MACS upset of Stateline Christian
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
TEMPERANCE — Less than two weeks ago, Temperance Stateline Christian enjoyed a 6-1 boys soccer triumph over Rochester Hills Christian. In the Michigan Association of Christian Schools Division I state tournament, the Eagles turned the tables on the Patriots.
Rochester Hills Christian built a 3-1 lead on host Stateline Christian and held on for a 3-2 MACS-I second-round victory Saturday to advance to the third round.
The Eagles (9-7-1) will face second-ranked Vassar Juniata Christian at 4 p.m. Tuesday at Clarkston Springfield Christian in the North Regional finals.
“(Stateline) was really mad. They beat us 6-1 in our last regular season game and we came back and beat them in the tournament,” noted Rochester Hills Christian coach Jerry Slota. “They thought they were going to walk all over us.”
Rochester Hills Christian never trailed, going up 1-0 early in the contest and 2-1 the half.
Sophomore Brandon Rodriguez scored off an assist from sophomore Jesse Montgomery to open the scoring for RHC just 10 minutes into the contest.
Stateline Christian (11-12-1) tied the game moments later on a tally from junior Daniel Ellerbrouck, only to see Montgomery give Rochester Hills a 2-1 lead at the half when he finished off a feed from Rodriguez.
Senior Nathan Simon scored what proved to be the game-winner in the 60th minute when he picked off a pass and blasted home a shot from 15 yards out.
Senior Jordan Sancrant scored with five minutes to go for Stateline, but the Eagles held the Patriots at bay down the stretch to seal the upset.
“It was night-and-day the difference in how we played against them the last time,” said Slota. “We were missing a couple of guys last time. This time we played with intensity and we played much better defense. They were expecting to walk right over us and beat us up this time and it didn’t happen.
“We’re looking forward to see what we can do against Juniata,” continued Slota. “We are playing better than we did early in the season and except for the last time we played Stateline, playing some decent soccer (down the stretch).”
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Category: Rochester Hills Christian
