Page 12/The Sun and News, Saturday, June 3, 2023Shutout of Falcons gets Scots into district championship
Brett Bremer
Sports Editor
“Fairy tales do not start,
nor do they end in the dark
forest. That son of a gun
always shows up smack-
dab in the middle of a story.
But it will all work out,”
fictional professional soc-
cer coach Ted Lasso tells
his AFC Richmond soccer
squad during one particu-
larly tough stretch during
season two of his Apple TV
show.
After a 9-1-1 start to the
season as a whole and a 4-
start to the OK Red
Conference season, the
Caledonia varsity girls’
soccer team hit its dark for-
est in back-to-back losses
to the West Ottawa and
Hudsonville girls.
“Now, it may not work
out how you think it will or
how you hope it does, but
believe me, it will all work
out, exactly as it is sup-
posed to” Lasso told his
team.
“I think earlier in the sea-
son we were feeling a little
bulletproof,” Caledonia
head coach Sam Stearns
said. “A couple tough
games in a row just kind of
made things real for us. In
knowing that we have our
vulnerabilities, I think they
take things even more seri-
ously now – not that they
weren’t before.”
“It’s realizing we are not
infallible, but we are capa-
ble when we’re on ourgame,” he added.
The only loss since that
stretch was a 4-2 defeat at
the home of the fourth
ranked Hudsonville Eagles
in the championship game
of the OK Red Conference
Tournament. The Scots did
avenge the earlier loss to
West Ottawa in the confer-
ence tournament.
“We wanted to win. We
made a pact. We got this.
This is our year, we’re
going to get it,” Caledonia
junior goalkeeper Davanee
Balczak said. “Obviously,
we had a couple of those
upsets, but everyone still
wanted it just as much. We
get to play Hudsonville, if
we win [districts].
Hopefully, we can show
them this time.”
Things are working out
for the Fighting Scots in
their MHSAA Division 1
District Tournament.
Playing for their first dis-trict title since 2013, the
Caledonia varsity girls’
soccer team earned a spot in
Friday night’s, June 2, dis-
trict final in Kentwood with
a 3-0 win over the East
Kentwood girls in the dis-
trict semifinals Tuesday.
The Scots were set to face
Byron Center in the district
final Friday, a Bulldog team
that bounced the Scots from
the state tournament a year
ago and played them to a
0-0 draw back in April.
Balczak smothered a hur-
ried free kick from the
Falcons as the final seconds
ticked off the clock at thehome of the Falcons
Tuesday, making her first
save of the match.
For most of the match,
things had gone like they
did seconds earlier. East
Kentwood sophomore Ella
Zoerhoff pushed to beat
Caledonia junior defender
Laney Peterson one-on-one
moving towards the box
only to have senior defend-
er Stella Haan swoop in
from right to left at the last
moment to slide the ball
safely away before theFalcons could even get a
shot off.
“It is fun to be able to
watch the game. There is a
lot of pressure on me per-
sonally, but when you get
to watch the team perform
how they do it is fun to
watch and give them
advice,” Balczak said.
“I always give credit to
my defense. They’re mak-
ing just as many saves as I
do. Every time they make a200657
VILLAGE OF CALEDONIA
COUNTY OF KENT, MICHIGANPUBLIC HEARING ON
BUDGET FOR
2023-2024 FISCAL YEAR
PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that on June 12, 2023, at 7:
p.m., the Village Council of the Village of Caledonia will hold a public
hearing at the Caledonia Village Hall, 250 S. Maple Street, Caledonia,
Michigan, to hear and consider comments regarding the proposed Village
budget for the July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024 fiscal year. A copy
of the budget is available for public inspection at the Caledonia Village
Offices.
The property tax millage rate proposed to be levied to
support the proposed budget will be a subject of this hearing.
This notice is given pursuant to Act 43 of the Public Acts of Michigan of
1963 (Second Extra Session), as amended.Dated: June 3, 2023 VILLAGE COUNCIL OF THE
VILLAGE OF CALEDONIAPUBLIC NOTICE
GAINES CHARTER
TOWNSHIP
BOARD MEETING SYNOPSIS
May 8, 2023
The Gaines Charter Township
Board held a regular meeting on
Monday, May 8, 2023 and took
the following actions.
- Reviewed the Consent Agen-
da. - Approved the Meeting Agen-
da - Approved the Consent Agen-
da - Purchased wellness equip-
ment at a cost of $12,329.68. - Purchased of a mower
from Starr Lawn and Garden for
$12,490.00. - Set a Public Hearing for June
12, 2023 for a Steelcase Rezoning
Request. - Approved the 60th Street San-
itary Sewer Lateral Agreement - Approved the Prairie Wolf
Station Sanitary Pump Station De-
sign Agreement - Approved the renewal of the
contract with The Rapid - Approved the Assessor’s
out of state conference request - Discussed the 48/96 shift
trial for the fire departments, ARPA
monies, discarding old equipment,
ruts left from boring holes along
Kalamazoo Avenue, and further
discussion needed for adding ad-
ditional officer for Public Safety. - Adjourned the Regular
Board Meeting at 8:09 pm
A complete copy of the minutes
of these meetings and any resolu-
tions or ordinances adopted at the
meeting are on file and available
for review at the Gaines Charter
Township office, 8555 Kalamazoo
Avenue SE, Caledonia, Michi-
gan 49316. Ordinances, meeting
schedules, meeting minutes, and
other Township information are
also available at http://www.gainestown-
ship.org
Michael Brew
Gaines Charter Township Clerk
Caledonia sophomore defender Allye Risner (right) chases down East
Kenwood’s Ella Zoerhoff as she tries to start a counter-attack during the second
half of their MHSAA Division 1 District Semifinal in Kentwood Wednesday. (Photo
by Brett Bremer)Caledonia senior Gracie Gortmaker and freshman Bailee DeVries get off the
turf to celebrate DeVries’ goal which put the Fighting Scots up 1-0 over host East
Kentwood in their MHSAA Division 1 District Semifinal Wednesday. (Photo by
Brett Bremer)See SCOTS, continued next pageCaledonia senior Jocelyn Herrema races up the
left side with the ball early in the first half of her
team’s 3-0 win over East Kentwood in the MHSAA
Division 1 District Semifinal in Kentwood Wednesday.
(Photo by Brett Bremer)