BOYS SOCCER: Red-hot Ortonville Brandon reaches district finals after winning 12 of 13 games down the stretch
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
ORTONVILLE — It’s not how you start, but how you finish.
Ortonville Brandon is living proof of that theory on the soccer pitch.
After starting the season 1-3-0 and being outscored 13-6 in that stretch right after Labor Day weekend, the Blackhawks are now one of the hottest teams in the state.
Brandon (13-4-0) has now won 12 of its last 13 ballgames and enter Wednesday’s 7 p.m. Division 2 district finals at Linden hoping to make their deepest run since 2015. The Blackhawks, who reached the regional finals that year, face off with Orchard Lake St. Mary’s to try to claim some district hardware and reach the regional semifinals.
“We started kind of slow,” recalled Brandon coach Shawn Lovelace. “Coming out of the Covid shutdown we played some good teams right off the bat and we’re trying to replace a very good center back (Hunter Martin) from last year. We were moving some kids around trying to get some guys in the right spots.”
Brandon lost to Linden (4-3), Marshall (5-0) and Goodrich (4-1) in the first seven days of competition, and all three of those teams were considered top 20 programs in Division 2 at the start of the season.
The Blackhawks have apparently put the right pieces to the puzzle together and have been a completely different side since that 1-3-0 start.
“Every coach wants their team to be playing its best (soccer) at the end of the season,” said Lovelace. “I think we have done that. We’re playing with some confidence.”
Senior goalkeeper Ben Grycza is a fourth-year starter and a strong presence between the pipes. He ranks in the top five in most single-game, season and career categories for goalkeepers at the school. Grycza currently has 11 clean sheets on the campaign.
“He’s one of the best goalkeepers in our league and there are some really good goalkeepers in this league,” said Lovelace. “He’s one of the career leaders in shutouts and he’s up there in a lot (of categories).”
Juniors Ben Querio (All-Flint Metro League Third Team last season) and Kaden Holloway moved to take over the center back positions for Brandon, while juniors Kirby Martin and Grant Burgard start at the marking back positions. As a unit Brandon is allowing only 1.06 goals a game and during the last 13 contests have yielded only five goals.
Offensively, senior Ian Burke retuned at forward after earning all-league second team status last season. Burke is also the kicker on an undefeated football team and on the soccer pitch is one of the league leaders in scoring with 19 goals.
Junior midfielder Aidan Reynolds has had a breakout year with 14 goals and 12 assists. Junior midfielder/forward Evan Sweeder (eight goals), senior midfielder Kyle Carlson and sophomore midfielder/forward Noah Carlson have also been solid contributors.
Overall, Brandon has outscored the opposition 58-18 over 17 games and fields one of the area’s most potent offenses. The Blackhawks are averaging 3.42 goals a game as a team.
“We’re scoring a lot of goals and we’re defending a lot better than we were at the beginning of the season,” praised Lovelace. “That was our biggest concern and I felt our defense has done a really good job as a unit.”
Brandon finished third in the 12-school FML this season with an 8-3 record — losing only to tri-champions Linden (4-3), Fenton (3-1) and Goodrich (4-1). The Blackhawks avenged the loss to Goodrich in Monday’s district semifinals, zapping the Martians, 3-0.
Holloway marked Goodrich sophomore forward Caeden Rossell out of the game after he scored a hat trick against the Blackhawks back on Sept. 16 — the last game that was part of that dismal 1-3-0 start.
“Rossell is a very good player who has 20 goals, which I think is the leading scorer in our league,” said Lovelace. “Holloway shut him down. That was a big difference in us winning that game.”
With its most talented team since 2015, Brandon hopes to stick around a while in the postseason.
“We’re really starting to click right now,” noted Lovelace. “Hopefully we can keep it going.”
Category: Featured Articles, High School (M-Z), Most Recently Updated Stories, NOS reference, Ortonville Brandon, Prep Wraps, Soccer, Sport, Top Stories, Uncategorized
