LocalSportsJournal.com

CEDAR SPRINGS – Hearts will break when there’s a matchup between evenly talented teams, especially when it is a “winner take all” tournament clash.

The Fruitport Trojans’ undefeated soccer team found itself just in such a situation on Saturday morning in its Division 2 regional final matchup with Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern at Cedar Springs High School.

Playing to a 1-all tie through regulation and overtime, Fruitport ultimately fell 2-1 in a shootout to Northern.

The Trojans did all they could to find the edge they needed to advance to the state semifinals.

“At the end of that second OT, we were in the mindset that we would have loved another 10 minutes, but that’s the way it goes sometimes,” said Fruitport Coach Dan Hazekamp. “It’s a hard way to go today, but it’s not with lack of effort and execution, pens (penalty kick shootouts) are a brutal ending and unfortunately we came up on the short side of today.”

Photo/Leo Valdez

In the first half, Fruitport’s defense limited Northern to virtually zero offensive opportunities. Meanwhile its offense, which was led by the talented junior forward Jorge Burgos-Yack, had a pair of scoring opportunities that just couldn’t quite get the team over the edge.

“We had talked a little at half time about how we felt the game turning, but as the game went, we could feel the game turning (for us),” said Hazekamp.
 
Even when Northern scored early in the second half to take a 1-0 lead, Fruitport responded right away with a successful attack of its own.

Barely a minute after falling behind, the Trojans rallied a great offensive opportunity with Burgos-Yack on the attack. A Northern penalty in the box on the potential strike set up a penalty kick for Isaac VanderMolen. The 6-5 senior buried his shot and knotted up the score 1-1 for the Trojans.

Photos/Leo Valdez

Fruitport continued to push all the way to the last seconds of regulation. When a longball to Northern’s endline was softy chased down by its defense, Burgos-Yack put on his jets to challenge for possession, forcing a corner kick for Fruitport.

As the first overtime wound down, the Trojans hustled to keep the ball on Northern’s side on four straight possession changes, but they still could not find pay dirt.

“The first three or four minutes (of first overtime), we had some really good opportunities,” said Hazekamp. “We held the ball down there, those guys (at midfield) do a lot of the dirty work.”

Jayden Booker, Davis Johnson, and VanderMolen gave all they could to keep the ball rolling for Fruitport. 

“Isaac played forward and at mid today for more support, he provided lots of versatility for us,” said Hazekamp. 

After playing evenly through both overtime periods, it all came down to the dreaded penalty kick ritual.

One team must lose, and unfortunately for the Trojans, they fell short 3-2 in the shootout.

“I can’t point to anyone who had an off game today, they did everything we asked,” said Hazekamp. “I thought we were right there.”

Fruitport goalie Logan Werschem was able to stop six shots on the day, including one in the shootout. The senior goalkeeper finished his career with a Trojan record of 27 shutouts in his two seasons as starting goalie.

“It takes a lot of courage to step up to the line, whether they convert or not, we own it as a group and walk out together,” said Hazekamp. 
 
Finishing its season at an incredible 20-1-1, Fruitport can boast an O-K Blue conference title and a district championship.

Photos by Leo Valdez