Page 16 — Thursday, October 21, 2021 — The Hastings Banner
Last-minute goal advances
Saxons in district
Brett Bremer
Sports Editor
The Saxons didn’t go into the state tourna-
ment eyeing a district championship, but they
got a district win and that’s a good start.
The 2022 fall varsity boys’ soccer season
came to an end for Hastings as the Saxons
were defeated 8-0 by Gull Lake in the
Division 2 District Semifinals at Gull Lake
High School in Richland Tuesday.
The Blue Devils come into the state tour-
nament ranked No. 1 in the state in their
Division and will face No. 11-Thornapple
Kellogg in the district final back in Richland
Saturday morning at 11 a.m.
Hastings earned its semifinal spot with a
3-2 victory over visiting Battle Creek Central,
getting the game-winning goal with just over
half a minute to play Thursday on Pierce
Field in Hastings.
“You need to win a district game before
you can even think about winning a district
title, and I think that is the biggest thing I can
reflect on,” Hastings head coach FranciscoLopez said. “They came out here and they
delivered.”
Saxon junior attacker Cohen Smith had a
shot deflected away from the Bearcat net and
the ball found its way to sophomore Sergynho
Arias on the right side of the box. He hit it to
the center for freshman Troy Hokanson who
fired it into the open net, touching off the
Saxons’ first victory celebration since the
first game of the season back in August.
Smith had the Saxons in front 1-0 in the
first half, after finishing off a cross from
Arias for the opening goal of the game. Smith
had a foot in each of the Saxons’ goals, also
assisting on a goal by junior Drew Thompson.
Battle Creek Central answered each Saxon
goal, tying the game at 1-1 and then 2-2.
Hastings led 2-1 at the half, but the Bearcats
tied the game up three minutes into the sec-
ond half.
“It was a stalemate for most of the second
half honestly,” Hastings head coach Francisco
Lopez said. “[Goalkeeper Zach] Chipman
had four break-away saves in the second half.
I would put the game on him more than I
would Troy for that last goal. Chipman saved
us! Absolutely, Chipman saved us. Chipman
looked like a god in the second half.”
He had four breakaway saves in succession
in the second half, keeping his team knotted
with the Bearcats.
“He came out, every single one of them,
body on the line, ball ricocheted off of him
out. He got back up and made more saves,”
Saxon assistant coach Wyatt Owen said. “The
biggest one that stood out was a breakaway
from about 30 yards. He was patient, came
out and then threw his body out and saved it
with just his knee – a little leg save up. It was
just amazing.”
Chipman has shared the goaltending duties
with Zach Gole this fall, and Chipman took a
play out of Gole’s book in being more aggres-
sive in his box during the district win.
Hastings closes the season with two victo-
ries and the second was a long time coming.
The Saxons defeated Hopkins 3-1 in the
opening match of the season Aug. 18 and
then won their postseason opener against the
Bearcats Oct. 14. They had 13 losses and
three ties in the 16 games in between.
“Heart,” was the resounding reason Lopez
and Owen gave for the Saxon victory.
“Not giving up, looking adversity right in
the face as we have all season. This is not the
first time. This is our second win. They won
when it mattered,” Lopez said.
“We told them, no matter the score you’ve
got to play the entire 80 minutes,” Owen
added, “and that is what they did. They capi-
talized on that.”
The Saxon team had one returning starter
from 2020.
“It is tough to go into a varsity soccer field
and get all of them into that pace,” Lopez said.
“It took all season long, and we just had to be
patient with it. Patience was key with this one.
Now, we’re able to control part of the game.
We are able to possess the ball and we are able
to move it down from defense to offense. In
the beginning of the season, that wasn’t the
case. It was more discombobulated. It wasn’t
team play. It was more discombobulated. It
wasn’t team play. It was more individual play.
It wasn’t their fault. They just lacked the
chemistry and the trust in each other to back
each other up and play as a team.”
They made it to celebrate in the end.TK soccer
team earns its
shot at No. 1
Brett Bremer
Sports Editor
The Trojans get number one with more
soccer and a district championship tro-
phy on the line.
Thornapple Kellogg, the tenth-ranked
team in the state in Division 2, will travel
to Richland Saturday for an 11 p.m. start
to its MHSAA District Final against top-
ranked Gull Lake. The Blue Devils
improved to 17-1-1 on the season with an
8-0 win over Hastings in the second of
two district semifinal match-ups in
Richland Tuesday.
Thornapple Kellogg’s varsity boys’
soccer team earned its spot in the district
final with a 4-3 win over Eaton Rapids
Tuesday in Richland.
Gull Lake lost a 2-1 match with St.
Joseph early in the season, but avenged
that defeat with a 4-2 win over the
Bearcats in the finals of the Southwestern
Michigan Athletic Conference
Tournament Oct. 7. A 1-1 tie with Portage
Northern is the only other blemish on the
Gull Lake record.
TK improved to 16-3-2 with its win
over the Greyhounds Tuesday, following
up on an 8-0 win over Charlotte in the
opening round of the state tournament
last Thursday in Middleville.
TK head coach David Wood said he
hopes all the battles with South Christian,
East Grand Rapids and the like through-
out the regular season have prepared the
Trojans somewhat for what they will face
Saturday.
“We hope everything clicks on
Saturday. We definitely need to be on the
top of our game to do it and use those
experiences to get us through an 80 min-
ute contest with what I would call the
best team in the state [in Division 2,]”
Wood said.
The winner of Saturday morning’s dis-
trict final will advance to the regional
round of the Division 2 state tournament,
beginning with a 5 p.m. regional semifi-
nal match at Otsego High School Tuesday,
Oct. 26.
The Trojans and Greyhounds were tied
0-0 at the half, but TK pushed to a 4-
advantage in the second half before Wood
emptied his bench with about 11 minutes
to go in an effort to rest his regulars for
Saturday’s match.
Those starters for TK included senior
goalkeeper Daniel Beyer who was injured
in the team’s OK Gold Conference
Tournament win over Forest Hills Eastern
a couple weeks ago, and returned to the
field for the first time for the orange and
black on Tuesday. One of the Greyhounds’
three goals got by him.
Nacho Hervas scored three goals for
TK in the victory and Alex Harrington
added one, all in the second half.
“We dominated the half in terms of
possession and the chances created,”
Wood said. “We just couldn’t find the
back of the net. I composed them a little
more at halftime. They were pretty frus-
trated with themselves.”The
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Become a member today.VIDEO TELLERSDRIVE-THRU ATMIN PERSONThe Saxons' Drew Thompson holds up teammate troy Hokanson as they celebrate
Hokanson's go-ahead goal with 34.6 seconds left to play in their team's Division 2
District opener against visiting Battle Creek Central on Pierce Field in Hastings
Thursday. (Photo by Brett Bremer)The Saxons' Thomas Christie is held up by Battle Creek Central's Jack Snyder as
he tries to push up the sideline with the ball during the second half of their district
ballgame on Pierce Field in Hastings Thursday. (Photo by Brett Bremer)The Saxons' Caleb Gurtowsky (left) and Caleb Waller (right) head for the celebra-
tion at their bench after taking a moment to collect themselves on the field at the
conclusion of their team's 3-2 win over visiting Battle Creek Central in the opening
round of the Division 2 state tournament Thursday at Pierce Field in Hastings. (Photo
by Brett Bremer)