BOYS SOCCER: Athens hold off Eisenhower to advance to regional finals; Anchor Bay edges Walled Lake Central in shootout
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
TROY — Troy Athens may not be scoring in the same ways as it did during last year’s Division 1 state championship run.
The Red Hawks, nevertheless, are still scoring regardless of method and are very much alive in the 2020 postseason.
Host Athens built a 2-0 lead in the second half Tuesday — both off restarts — and held on for a thrilling 2-1 victory over visiting Utica Eisenhower in a Division 1 regional semifinal.
The Red Hawks (13-2-4) advanced to the regional finals and will face unbeaten New Baltimore Anchor Bay at 7 p.m. Thursday for the regional championship.
Athens will be going after its 11th regional title in school history.
“I thought we did a great job putting pressure on them and I thought we did a good job withstanding their pressure,” said Athens coach Todd Heugh, whose team advanced to the regional finals for the fourth time in the last decade. “They had their moments and we had our moments. There was going to be a bunch of 50-50 moments and what are we going to do with our moments? I am proud of my kids for surviving and advancing.”
Athens, which captured its sixth state crown last season behind 14 seniors, began to pressure Eisenhower’s goal during the final 20 minutes of the first half.
The Red Hawks finally broke the stalemate when senior midfielder Adrian Lekocaj’s low bending cornerkick sailed into the penalty box and senior forward TJ Renaud notched his team-leading ninth goal of the campaign when he redirected the cross into the goal with only 2:42 left in the half.
The Red Hawks picked up an unlikely hero on what proved to be the game-winner in the second half. This time Lekocaj’s cornerkick curled high into the box and junior defender Ryan Dombrowski headed home the ball from five yards out in front of the goal with 17:39 still to play.
“Set pieces. We have not been as dangerous on them as we have been the last couple of years,” said Heugh. “But we’ve been working on them and focusing on them. We scored on two corners. Ryan did a nice job. He’s not normally a guy that gets on the scoreboard for us and he scored a game winner in a regional semifinal. What a great way to (finish).”
The Eagles came into the contest having finished second in the MAC Red Division, winning one of the state’s most difficult districts and suffering only one loss in the regular season. The Eagles simply could not net a second goal against the Red Hawks and force overtime.
Eisenhower pushed up an extra attacker during the final 20 minutes and finally cut into the deficit with 7:13 left.
Junior midfielder Evan Jakuc’s free kick from 33 yards out cruised through traffic and right through the hands of Athens goalkeeper Matthew Gawthrop, who bobbled the ball in the slick and cold conditions.
Unlike last week’s district run when Eisenhower (8-2-4) won a pair of overtime games in topping Rochester Stoney Creek (1-0) and Clarkston (2-1), surviving a loaded district in the process, there was no such luck this time around.
“I just love this group so much,” sighed Eisenhower coach Josh VanHouten. “I just wish we had more time to play. With all of the COVID mess this year and games we lost (off the schedule). It’s hard. We had a great group of guys and it’s unfortunate that we came out on the short end today. It was a fun game, well-fought, and it went down to a few plays here and there.
“We just couldn’t get another one in,” said VanHouten. “I envisioned this going to overtime and PKs. If we could have caught a break at the end, that would have happened.”
Athens held a 13-7 shots edge in the closely-contested, including 11-5 with shots on frame. The Red Hawks also held a 6-5 edge in cornerkicks — yielding five first-half cornerkicks to the Eagles but clamping down defensively and not allowing Eisenhower to generate many serious threats.
Gawthrop finished with four saves for the win in goal for Athens, while senior Evan DeJong bowed out of a stellar four-year career with nine saves for Eisenhower.
ANCHOR BAY RALLIES PAST WALLED LAKE CENTRAL
TROY — New Baltimore Anchor Bay found a way to keep its best season in nearly two decades alive Tuesday night.
The Tars did so in the comeback fashion.
Unbeaten Anchor Bay came back from a one-goal deficit in overtime, netting the game-tying goal before edging Walled Lake Central, 3-2, in a shootout at Troy Athens.
The Tars broke the stalemate with a 4-2 edge on penalties.
Anchor Bay (11-0-0) will face host Athens, the defending state champions, at 7 p.m. Thursday for the regional championship.
“This team doesn’t quit,” smiled Anchor Bay coach Nate Williams. “Even when we were down in overtime, we kept pushing and we were able to get that goal. This is a (resilient) bunch of guys that play for one another. It doesn’t matter who does what, they just want to win.”
The Tars lost in the 2001 regional finals and also lost in the regional semifinals in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2006, but have not been this far in 14 seasons. Anchor Bay will live another day and go after the school’s first regional trophy.
Junior forward Tommy Mittelstadt put Anchor Bay on the board first with 13 minutes to go in regulation off an assist from senior Ethan Welchner.
Walled Lake Central (10-4-2) came storming right back. Picking up a steal 25 yards in front of Anchor Bay’s net, senior Alex Basmajian split two defenders and uncorked a laser into the far post with 9:19 left to tie the game at 1-1.
In overtime, the Vikings went ahead 2-1 when senior midfielder Alex Diaz slotted a ball between two defenders and Basmajian broke through for a breakaway goal with 0:42 left in the first extra session.
Walled Lake Central almost went ahead by two goals but Basmajian misfired on an opportunity. That set the stage for Anchor Bay’s comeback.
Anchor Bay tied it with 3:04 remaining tin the second overtime. Junior midfielder Carson Hodgson’s long free kick into the box was headed home by Mittelstadt to send the game to penalty kicks.
“This team is really like a family,” said Mittelstadt. “We do everything for each other. Last year when we watched (Clinton Township) Chippewa Valley celebrate on the field after beating us in the district (finals), we all felt like we didn’t want that to happen again. We want to keep playing and go as far as we can.”
Tanner Hodgson, Tommy Stackpoole, Welchner and Zack Slezak converted their penalties kicks in succession. Evan Linsley stopped Walled Lake Central’s third shooter, while the Vikings’ fourth shooter misfired to the right, setting the stage for Slezak’s game-deciding penalty kick.
“One we settled down in the second half we realized we could compete with them. I thought Anchor Bay outplayed us in the first half,” said veteran Walled Lake Central coach Joel Sharpe. “We tied it and then took the lead in overtime. But Anchor Bay is a very good team and they found a way to (force a shootout) with that late goal.”
Walled Lake Central put together some upsets and made a run to the state finals three years ago. A repeat performance came up a couple of victories short this time around.
“We were hoping for some magic tonight. We just came up short,” added Sharpe. “We took a very good team to overtime and penalties.”
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