BOYS SOCCER: Rochester Hills Christian shooting for eighth MACS state title
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
@LocalSportsFans
ROCHESTER HILLS — Simply put, Rochester Hills Christian does not have a star player who plays for a high-level club and would be considered a college recruit out on the soccer pitch this season.
That has not been in the cards in recent years.
What the Eagles do possess is a balanced squad and one of the best regular seasons in school history.
Rochester Hills Christian captured the Wolverine Christian Conference Red Division this season with a perfect 6-0-0 record and take an 11-1-0 overall record in this COVID-shortened season into Saturday’s Michigan Association of Christian School Division I state finals. The top-seeded Eagles will take on No. 2-seeded Midland Calvary Baptist at 11 a.m. Saturday at Davison Faith Baptist.
The last time these two teams met was in the 2018 MACS Division I state finals, which Rochester Hills Christian won 3-2 in a game that reached a shootout. The Eagles escaped on penalties, 5-4, in that game. RHC had six senior starters on side compared to only three this year.
Midland Calvary (11-6-0) captured the title last season by beating Waterford Oakdale Christian Academy, 3-0. The Eagles lost in the semifinals to Oakdale a year ago.
“We really don’t have a star player,” admitted RHC head coach Jerry Slota. “We have a bunch of guys with a decent amount of goals and good balance. We haven’t been giving up a ton of goals, either. WE have a bunch of guys that are really good athletes. Most of our roster also plays basketball.”
Junior Ethan Suciu was the starting goalkeeper in that state finals two years ago and has been sharp all season in net. Suciu also spends time in the midfield in blowouts.
Sophomore center back Evan Patton anchors the backline, along with fellow sophomore Sam Marker. Junior Landon Westerby and senior Deven Burrick fill in at the outside marking backs positions.
Junior Tyler Reid has 10 goals and leads the midfield as the team’s playmaker. Junior Bradley Mix and sophomores Logan Burrick and Ian Haminga also start in the midfield.
Up top, senior Jake McDonald leads the team with 13 goals and fellow senior Zak Connelly has 10 goals to spark the offense.
“We have some really good balance. We have four guys with around 10-13 goals each and after that a few guys have contributed a couple of goals,” said Slota.
In the semifinals, Rochester Hills Christian defeated Clinton Township Faith Christian, 1-0. It was the third time the Eagles defeated the Patriots this season.
Rochester Hills Christian owns seven MACS Division I state titles dating back to 1989, when the Eagles defeated Roseville Calvary Christian, 2-1, for the crown. Slota was the starting keeper on that squad.
RHC won five straight state titles (1989-1993) in an impressive run and added titles in both 2012 and 2018.
The Eagles also lost in the finals three other times in school history.
Slota is hoping for some good fortune in Saturday’s title game, the school’s 11th appearance in the MACS finals.
“Midland (Calvary Baptist) is always good every year. We know we’re facing a quality opponent,” said Slota. “I know our league is somewhat down from what it used to be and we were 6-0 this season in our league. But we’ll face a very good team Saturday.”
This is RHC’s first meeting with Calvary Baptist since the state finals two years ago.
“I remember they had that really good midfield and they were mostly sophomores two years ago,” said Slota, who really likes his own deep sophomore class. “They had a couple of good forwards and they were solid defensively. I know they have a lot of good players back and it’s their third straight time in the finals. We expect a very good game with them.”
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