MUSKEGON — After the two teams played a low-scoring, physical battle earlier this season, it's no surprise that both Whitehall and Montague's coaches came into Wednesday's district semifinals believing that whichever team scored first would be the one to come out on top.
It took just over 65 minutes, but the Vikings proved to be that team, getting on the board when Austin Siemen came up with a loose ball in traffic and put it in the net with 14:43 to go in the game. Just two minutes later, the Vikings got a second goal when Samuel Chona's long ball slipped past the Wildcat keeper, Ethan Balon, and into the net, and those scores held up in a 2-0 Whitehall victory. The win sent the Vikes on to face Hart in the district final, set for Saturday.
The two teams did not get much offense going in the first half, with only three total shots on goal, two of them by Whitehall. Vikings' coach Dillon McCarthy attributed some of the tentative start to rust, as his team was the top seed and had a first-round bye, so hadn't played a full game in two weeks. There also may have been some nerves, especially given the stage and the fact that the team's archrival was on the other side.
"The reality is I have two seniors on my team," McCarthy said. "I probably had, of my 25-man roster, eight kids (who) have played in a district game before, so a lot of new experiences."
In the second half, Whitehall was able to press further against Montague, stressing the Wildcat defense. As can happen sometimes in soccer, it was that sustained pressure that created scoring chances, rather than any particular individual effort. Finally cashing them in took some weight off the team's shoulders.
"Soccer is a beautiful game and sometimes you get luck falling your way," McCarthy said. "That second goal was huge for us to get a little luck to fall our way. We were playing well and we hit a hard shot and caught (Balon) off his guard. When you get up two goals, it's the scariest lead in soccer, but with only 10 minutes, we knew if we could hold on, it'd be alright."
Keeper Ethan Sylvester earned the shutout in goal, continuing a quietly terrific season between the posts. Remarkably, only perennial powers North Muskegon and Western Michigan Christian have dinged Sylvester for multiple goals since the team's season opener back in August.
McCarthy said Sylvester has gained confidence over the course of the season and it's made him an excellent keeper.
"He came off his line, cleared some with his feet, played it with his hands," McCarthy said. "That's that confidence of the keeper. The growth from last year to this year is amazing. And he's all in. If I tell him to go run through that pole, he'll run through it. He literally got kicked in the head (on a collision with a Wildcat) and bounced right up."
Montague coach Brandon Mahoney said his team had a couple of decent opportunities in the first half, but ended up taking shots that were easily dispatched as they went up the center of the field. The missed chances to go ahead early kept the pressure on the Wildcats later.
"Especially right before they scored, they had a lot of possession on our half," Mahoney said. "It was tough. We had a couple opportunities earlier. We had a couple really good ones that we punched center on the keeper. I think if we would have gotten those two and we were up 2-0 at half, it's a different situation. But they're a great team."
The season ended too soon, of course, for Montague, but the 11-7 record the 'Cats posted brings optimism for their future. Cornerstone seniors Jonah Henderson, Tyson Schattenberg, Wyatt Grawey and Ethan Wood are among six who will graduate, but many of the players that made this season a success are poised to return, and Mahoney said the younger players are eager to make their mark.
"It's going to be tough, but there are kids ready to step up," Mahoney said. "There are kids that want to fill those spots. It's not this conversation of, 'We're going to be horrible next year.' It's like, 'I want that spot. I want to start. I want to make a difference.' We are loaded with juniors and sophomores on varsity, and we're going to come back pretty strong next year."
