Haslett’s Charley Campbell is one of mid-Michigan’s top goal scorers this season.

Here’s a look at the girls soccer leaders in the Lansing area. This list reflects stats submitted by coaches. Stats should be submitted to jledwards@lsj.com by noon Friday each week.

GOALS

Tia Everdeen, Alma – 20

Olivia Trombley, St. Johns – 19

Chelsie Smith, St. Johns – 17

Sara Lee, Okemos – 14

Charley Campbell, Haslett – 14

Mariah Fedewa, Portland – 13

Danielle Stephan, DeWitt – 12

Mckayln Zigler, Portland – 11

Bailey Malthaner, Dansville – 11

Kennedy Davis, Alma – 11

Taylor Bishop, DeWitt – 10

Sydney Hanson, Alma – 10

Tait Hosford, Bath – 10

Emma Licina, Alma – 10

Alex Eibler, Stockbridge – 9

Sara Faverman, East Lansing – 8

Abbey Schuelke, St. Johns – 8

Whitney Luks, Mason – 8

Olivia Serafini, Dansville – 8

Sydne Everts, Dansville – 7

Kate McElhone, Mason – 7

Allison Sims, DeWitt – 7

Sydni Metzmaker, Bath – 7

Olivia Jubb, Bath – 7

ASSISTS

Mackenzie Dawes, DeWitt – 26

Sydney Hanson, Alma – 16

Tait Hosford, Bath – 11

Hannah Hughes, Okemos – 9

Lexi McPherson, St. Johns – 8

Chelsie Smith, St. Johns – 8

Kali Thompson, Mason – 8

Bailey Malthaner, Dansville – 8

Myranda May, Dansville – 8

Kennedy Davis, Alma – 8

Emma Licina, Alma – 7

Kailey Peterson, Okemos – 7

Olivia Trombley, St. Johns – 7

Cami Harp, Haslett – 6

Whitney Luks, Mason – 6

Sydni Metzmaker, Bath – 6

Alex Halstead, Mason – 5

Kai Dotson, East Lansing – 5

Abbey Schuelke, St. Johns – 5

Sydney Padgett, St. Johns – 5

Angela Dallas, Okemos – 5

Lauren Southworth, Okemos – 5

SAVE PERCENTAGE

Caroline Serkaian, Okemos – 93%

Marrina Schmidt, Dansville – 88%

Brooklyn Holley, DeWitt – 86%

Abby Schmieder, Alma – 85%

Alexandra Swackhamer, Haslett – 84%

Kylie Steingreaber, St. Johns – 81%

Madeline Chom, East Lansing – 79%

SHUTOUTS

Abby Schmieder, Alma – 9

Kylie Steingreaber, St. Johns – 7

Brooklyn Holley, DeWitt – 7

Caroline Serkaian, Okemos – 5

Alexandra Swackhamer, Haslett – 4

Autumn Aiken, Stockbridge – 4

Madeline Chom, East Lansing – 3

Contact James L. Edwards III at jledwards@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JLEdwardsIII.

Cayden Patrick continues to battle nasopharyngeal carcinoma, a rare form of cancer, however he still an active member of the Laingsburg High School golf team. He’s pictured here, with "Cayden’s Team" bracelet, Tuesday, May 10, 2016 at the Pine Hills Golf Course in Laingsburg.

Cayden Patrick continues to battle nasopharyngeal carcinoma, a rare form of cancer, however he still an active member of the Laingsburg High School golf team. He’s pictured here, with "Cayden’s Team" bracelet, Tuesday, May 10, 2016 at the Pine Hills Golf Course in Laingsburg.

Cayden Patrick continues to battle nasopharyngeal carcinoma, a rare form of cancer, however he still an active member of the Laingsburg High School golf team. He’s pictured here, with "Cayden’s Team" bracelet, Tuesday, May 10, 2016 at the Pine Hills Golf Course in Laingsburg.

LAINGSBURG – Cayden Patrick was four months old when Michael Jordan won his sixth and final NBA championship with the Chicago Bulls. Jordan, arguably the game’s greatest player, was strolling down the finish line of a once-and-a-generation career around the time Patrick started stringing together a full sentence.

But the 18-year-old high school senior grew up loving the game – he still does – and it was Jordan who inspired the native of rural Laingsburg to one day try for greatness on the hardwood.

“I wanted to be an NBA player growing up,” he said. “It was my favorite.”

But, in 2011, he was diagnosed with a rare cancer called nasopharyngeal carcinoma, which begins behind the nose and is most common in Asian men, and, despite a successful round of treatment, it returned to his liver in 2013, toward the end of his freshman year.

He played, briefly, for Laingsburg High School’s junior varsity and varsity teams his sophomore and junior seasons. The demands were too much.

But there was still golf – a game he grew to appreciate growing up around his grandfather, but never played competitively until his sophomore year.

“I had this passion for basketball,” Patrick said. “I always wanted to be playing. And once that was taken away, I didn’t want to stop being competitive and playing sports.”

Patrick is finishing up his final year on the Laingsburg High School golf team, which is something that didn’t look possible even a year ago.

“I’m just really thankful that I can even be here to swing or even golf,” he said.

The Little Things

Patrick is one of 11 golfers on the golf team. He’s not one of the five starters, and he said his average is in the low 50s through nine holes.

But he doesn’t do it to be the best. He does it to better himself.

“While I golf, I’m not thinking of the disease. I’m having a good time,” he said. “I’m just trying to shoot my best and make my score go down. It’s a confidence booster. I love the feeling of shooting a good round.”

Patrick still feels the effects of the disease while on the course. Cold, rainy weather sometimes forces him to miss practices and tournaments because of his weak immune system. His treatment causes his liver to swell. He takes pain killers every four hours. He’s rarely able to do all-day tournaments because of the walking required to compete.

Other than that, his teammates can’t tell the difference between the old and new him.

“You just see a part of him that you saw before he found out, a part you just don’t see as much anymore,” said Marcel Ball, a junior on the team, who has known Patrick since middle school. “It’s nice to see him out here doing something that he can actually do. I know doing all the chemotherapy and the treatments has taken a toll on him.”

And nobody is happier to see that than his mother, Rebecca.

“It was very hard for me to go to a basketball game and not see him out there,” said Rebecca.

From May to November of 2013, she traveled with her son every two weeks to Texas Children’s Hospital so he could receive treatment.

“I used to get really, really upset, and I would look to him and say, ‘I can’t stay here.’ And he would say, ‘Mom, it’s just not my time,'” she said.

“For me to watch him golf and see him out there, whether he does awesome or horrible, I’m just so happy to see him out there. I’m so happy he can go to school this year and graduate and do the things he wants to do.”

Still Going

During both his sophomore and junior years, Patrick was forced to leave school in November to start back up with treatment, after scans showed the cancer was not going away. He kept up with his work through homeschooling.

From the end of 2013 to the end of 2014, he did chemotherapy at the University of Michigan. When that didn’t eradicate the cancer, his family and his doctors looked for alternatives and found an all-natural treatment center located in Irvine, California. Starting around February of 2015, Patrick would do chemo in Ann Arbor for two weeks and, on the third week, he and his mother would fly out to California for 10 days. This went on for months.

“From the very beginning, when this happened, my husband and I sat in a room and talked and promised we wouldn’t let this destroy are marriage or our family,” said Rebecca, who estimates the the family spent around $200,000 during the back-and-forth trips to California. “We were going to sell the house. We just prayed, trying to figure out what was best for Cayden.”

The family’s prayers were answered. In July, over the course of six days, family and family friends donated about $56,000. Rebecca packed up her family, and they moved to California from August to November for more treatment.

But Patrick still found time to golf.

“I don’t think I stopped (during treatment),” Patrick said. “Sometimes I forget that I even have it. I don’t see anything different, and I don’t feel anything different – besides the pain. It’s just regular everyday life for me.”

Patrick returned home in the fall and returned to Laingsburg High School. Basketball was out of the question, but golf wasn’t.

As a sophomore, Patrick was able to play a good amount of golf. But the following year, the impact of the cancer was too much. According to coach Greg Beavers, “he wasn’t strong and didn’t play much at all.”

With that in mind, Beavers talked with Patrick before golf season started and told him the first thing they had to do was build his strength back up.

It’s been a fight, but he’s winning.

“The first month and a half, he was tired after five or six holes,” Beavers said. “Now, the last month of the season, he’s got the strength back up, he can walk nine holes.

“For me, looking at his future, (I wanted) to get him to a point where he can still do this and be happy with it. And I think he’s there now.”

Patrick said golf has taken over as his favorite sport. He said it rids his body of stress.

“I plan to golf for the rest of my life,” he said. “I just developed a love and passion for it like I did with basketball.”

Patrick, who plans on attending Lansing Community College next year, sees himself playing the game for “the rest of my life.” He said it doesn’t feel like his high school golfing career is going to end anytime soon.

But he’s never been one to focus on endings.

“I’m just glad that I got to experience golf and that it was brought into my life,” he said. “I’m glad I got to see the competitive side of golf because, at first, it wasn’t competitive to me. It was just about going out with my grandpa and doing a couple of holes and laughing about it.”

Contact James L. Edwards III at jledwards@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JLEdwardsIII.

Take a look at mid-Michigan’s top high school golf performers.

Here’s a look at the high school boys golf leaders in the Lansing area. This list reflects stats submitted by coaches. Stats should be submitted to jledwards@lsj.com by 2 p.m. Monday each week.

9-HOLE AVERAGES

Tony Fuentes (East Lansing)…34.6

Rhet Schrauben (Portland)…35.5

Ian Carroll (East Lansing)…36.0

Scott Campbell (East Lansing)…36.3

Zach Rosendale (St. Johns)…37.8

Eric Nunn (St. Johns)…37.8

Parker Jamieson (Lansing Christian)…38.2

Bubba Chester (Grand Ledge)…38.7

Luke Bunting (Grand Ledge)…39.6

Cam Carroll (East Lansing)…40.0

Miles Crutcher (East Lansing)…40.0

Connor Horstmanshof (Grand Ledge)…40.9

Kaleb Peterson (Mason)…41.1

Trevor Mohnke (Grand Ledge)…41.1

Alex Jordan (Mason)…41.2

18-HOLE AVERAGES

Zach Rosendale (St. Johns)…73.2

Tony Fuentes (East Lansing)…74.0

Rhet Schrauben (Portland)…74.3

Ian Carroll (East Lansing)…74.6

Eric Nunn (St. Johns)…76.4

Bubba Chester (Grand Ledge)…78.0

Scott Campbell (East Lansing)…78.6

Miles Crutcher (East Lansing)…79.4

Luke Bunting (Grand Ledge)…79.8

Cam Carroll (East Lansing)…80.0

Christian Jordan (Mason)…81.0

Alex Jordan (Mason)…82.3

Kaleb Peterson (Mason)…82.6

Austin Reutter (Mason)…83.0

Connor Horstmanshof (Grand Ledge)…83.1

Contact James L. Edwards III at jledwards@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JLEdwardsIII.

Dewitt’s Mackenzie Dawes, right, and Lansing Catholic’s Kate Burns battle for the ball Tuesday, May 17, 2016, in DeWitt, Mich. DeWitt won 2-0.

DEWITT – Mackenzie Dawes and the DeWitt girls soccer team aren’t ones to dwell on the past – even if it means letting go of last year’s memorable season that ended in the Division 2 state semifinals.

So when the top-seeded Panthers rolled into Tuesday’s CAAC Gold Cup first-round matchup with Lansing Catholic, there was no reminiscing of last year’s opening-round Gold Cup exit. All the focus was on preparation for another potentially deep postseason run.

And DeWitt still put itself in position to pick up some more hardware on the way.

The CAAC Red champions and No. 2-ranked Panthers opened the annual conference tournament with a 2-0 victory over the Cougars and will move on to face rival and defending champions Haslett in the semifinals Thursday at DeWitt High School.

“We have high expectations for ourselves,” said Dawes, who scored the game’s opening goal with 21:44 left in the match. “Being a young team last year, we knew that we still had a good chance (at a state title) this year. We put in a lot of work in the offseason.

“Every game matters. …If you slack off, then who knows, you could go into districts with that mentality. And we don’t want that.”

The Panthers (15-0-2), who picked up a victory over No. 6-ranked Detroit Country Day last week, showed off their firepower in the attacking third, but failed to see results until Dawes’ goal midway through the second half.

DeWitt put seven shots on goal in the first 40 minutes, but Lansing Catholic keeper Larisa Herdus cleanly sent away any near scoring opportunities. Herdus, a sophomore, had 16 saves on the night.

The Panthers put together their strongest possession with about 11 minutes remaining when junior Madison Tiemann put home a Danielle Stephan-assisted goal from just outside the 18-yard box.

Tiemann said she noticed areas of needed improvement for her side, which is one of the reasons a run in the Gold Cup is important.

“Especially with playoffs in a couple of weeks, we’re going to try and fix the mistakes we made in here before (districts),” Tiemann added. “We just have high expectations for each other, and we want to play for each other.”

For the Cougars (8-4-1), who finished second in the CAAC White this season, the defeat showed their ability to battle with tough teams, according to junior captain Abigail Gilmore, as they prepare for a playoff run of their own.

“Going forward, we’re going to see good teams – maybe not quite as good as them,” Gilmore said. “It was good to get a feel of what’s to come.”

THURSDAY’S SEMIFINALS (TIMES TBA)

No. 4 Haslett at No. 1 DeWitt

No. 3 Williamston at No. 2 Okemos

Contact James L. Edwards III at jledwards@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JLEdwardsIII.

Hannah Vogelsang of Haslett volleys against Lakewood No. 1 singles junior Kendra Stoepker May 19, 2016, during the Div. 3 Tennis Regional final at Haslett High School. [MATTHEW DAE SMITH | for the Lansing State Journal]

HASLETT – The Haslett girls tennis team was beginning to lay the groundwork when Hannah Vogelsang jumped aboard four years ago.

The Vikings had captured two consecutive regional titles – the first two in school history – by the time Vogelsang was a freshman, and she quickly found herself in the midst of a program that was on the rise.

It hasn’t looked back since.

Haslett earned its sixth straight regional title Thursday by picking up 28 points in the Division 3 regional tournament held in its own backyard.

“We’ve had a succession of really strong players,” said Vogelsang, who was crowned the No. 1 singles champion. “We’ve had a lot of tournament players come in and they’ve taken some of the top singles spots.

“We have a team that is really motivated to win, and we want to keep that tradition upheld.”

Lakewood laid the foundation for a tradition of its own by grabbing a second-place finish and qualifying for the state tournament for the first time since 2005. The No. 4 doubles duo of Morgan Kenney and Erica Potter was the school’s only champion Thursday, but all four singles competitors reached their respective flight championship matches.

“(Coming into the season) I thought we were just average,” said Lakewood coach Martin Snoap, who has been at the helm for 42 seasons. “We just worked toward simple things – as simple as you can get.”

Haslett walked away with the four singles titles, as well as the No. 3 doubles championship.

Williamston finished in third place with 14 points and will miss out on the state tournament for the first time in 10 seasons. However, the Hornets’ No. 1 doubles pairing of Emily Pell and Maia Guenther won their flight championship with a victory over Haslett’s Anjani Raja and Sophia Vogelsang.

For Pell, it’s the third regional title of her career and first at No. 1 doubles.

“We were trying to figure out who would be my partner (at the beginning of the season), and I was like, ‘Maia is going to be the one that wins regionals with me’,” Pell said. “That was definitely my goal.

“We’re in a rebuilding year. We lost a lot of people, but we definitely improved from the beginning of the season.”

Fowlerville and Hastings tied for fourth place with 11 points, while Corunna and Ionia tied for fifth place with four points. Eaton Rapids and Charlotte rounded out the bottom two.

Contact James L. Edwards III at jledwards@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JLEdwardsIII.

East Lansing’s Kentre Patterson runs in the 4×400 meter relay Friday, May 20, 2016, in Holt, Mich.

HOLT – East Lansing’s Kentre Patterson was in the process of proving he was more than a one-sport standout before his battle with mononucleosis.

Patterson, a junior, who is a receiver on the school’s football team, qualified for the state track meet as a freshman, but was unable to put together a proper follow-up performance after the illness sidelined him toward the tail end of his sophomore campaign.

He came into Friday’s Division 1 regional at Holt High School looking to make up for lost time, and he did so by placing first in the 110 and 300 hurdles and helping the Trojan boys capture a second-place finish with 72 points.

“I knew I was capable of doing this,” said Patterson, who was a part of East Lansing’s second-place 1600 relay team. “(The state title) is at the top of the list. That’s a priority.”

Okemos grabbed the most points (89) out of any Lansing-area team at the event and finished in second place. Daria Richards placed first in the high jump, Miah Nash won the shot put and the 1600 relay team of Kendall Bubolz, Ally Burba, Laya Hartman and Bria Telemaque also left victorious. Junior Sophia Franklin led the way for the Chiefs by winning the 100 and 300 hurdles events – her first regional victories – and placing second in the pole vault.

“It’s something I worked really hard toward,” said Franklin, who was seeded second in both races. “I wanted it so bad, so I went out and got it.”

The Okemos boys finished fifth with 57 points and got a second-place performance from Saano Murembya in the 800.

The Trojans’ girls team finished third with 74 points. Taylor Manson won both the 200 and 400 dash events and Re’Anna Blair finished behind Manson in the 400. The East Lansing girls were also victorious in the 800 relay.

Everett’s Marice Allen accomplished something that hasn’t been done at his school in at least 30 years, according to coach Chad Foster, by winning both the 100 and 200 dash events. The Viking boys finished in ninth place with 20 points.

Grand Ledge distance runner Jenna Magness helped the girls capture a 10th-place finish by winning the 1600 and placing fourth in the 3200. Magness broke her own school record in the 1600, which she set at the state meet last year, with a time of 4:58.77.

“I was shooting for under five minutes,” she said. “I was very surprised. I didn’t feel like I was going that fast.”

Rockford won both the boys and girls regional title.

The Holt boys team finished in 11th place, while the girls placed 13th. The Comet boys came in 12th place, and Everett’s girls team finished 14th.

Contact James L. Edwards III at jledwards@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JLEdwardsIII.

Goalie Grace Kraft ,0, of Williamston dives for the ball on an Okemos corner kick late in the 2nd half of their CAAC Gold Cup semifinal game Thursday May 19, 2016 in Okemos. The ball would get away from her allowing Skylar Westfall of Okemos to kick the ball in for the game tying goal.

WILLIAMSTON – Grace Kraft’s journey to becoming an all-state goalkeeper started out of necessity.

On her seventh-grade team, Kraft, who began playing soccer when she was in second grade, got thrown into the position when her team’s need for a permanent goalie became too great.

She hasn’t wanted to score another goal since.

“It’s more me,” said Kraft, who played forward before switching to keeper. “It’s pressure filled, and I kind of enjoy that.”

Kraft has risen to the occasion multiple times this year for the Division 3 No. 3-ranked Williamston Hornets (14-4-1), and not many were bigger than her two opening saves in last week’s penalty shootout victory over Okemos in the CAAC Gold Cup semifinals.

The senior goalkeeper has 11 shutouts on the season and hopes to pick up her 12th when the Hornets take on Division 2 No. 1-ranked DeWitt in the CAAC Gold Cup title game 7 p.m. Tuesday at Eaton Rapids High School.

“I don’t like it when I get scored on,” said Kraft, who still regrets a breakaway goal she conceded in a one-goal regional final loss as a sophomore.

Tuesday’s match will mark Williamston’s fifth straight trip to the Gold Cup finale. The last two years, the Hornets finished as runners-up in the conference tournament after losing in a penalty shootout. And it was the Panthers who did the honors in 2014.

“I feel like I play better against a team that I look forward to playing because it puts pressure on me,” Kraft said. “I like the feeling of having them challenge me.”

Kraft, who will play at Ferris State next year, has been the backbone of the Williamston defense all season, according to senior defender Allison Schmuecker. She said she and her teammates often look to the three-year varsity starter for guidance and confidence during matches.

Coach Jim Flore said his senior keeper is one of the most athletic he’s had in his 22 seasons, and he said he noticed Kraft’s abilities when he moved her up from junior varsity to varsity as a freshman after Caitlyn Clem, who now plays at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, suffered an injury late in the year.

“I expect a lot from her, but I don’t think about it,” Flore said. “I know she’s in there solid.

“She never get troubled or show that she’s troubled.”

Aside from her play between the posts, Kraft said she sets out to be “very loud and vocal,” and she knows she’ll need to do so against DeWitt, which knocked out defending CAAC Cup champions Haslett in the semifinals. Kraft and the Hornets have bigger goals than winning the conference tournament, but she believes a victory Tuesday could ignite a deep postseason push.

“The last two years we’ve been so close,” she said. “It would be nice to win it senior year, and it’d be a nice step going into the big tournament at the end of the year.”

Contact James L. Edwards III at jledwards@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JLEdwardsIII.

Take a look at mid-Michigan’s top high school boys golfers through this point in the season.

Here’s a look at the high school boys golf leaders in the Lansing area. This list reflects stats submitted by coaches. Stats should be submitted to jledwards@lsj.com by 2 p.m. Monday each week.

9-HOLE AVERAGES

Rhet Schrauben. Portland – 35.6

Ian Carroll, East Lansing – 36.2

Scott Campbell, East Lansing – 36.5

Tony Feuntes, East Lansing – 36.7

Eric Nunn, St. Johns – 37.0

Zach Rosendale, St. Johns – 37.7

Viani Magaswaran, Lansing Catholic – 38.8

Owen Rush, Lansing Catholic – 39.0

Cam Carroll, East Lansing – 39.7

Miles Crutcher, East Lansing – 40

Ethan O’Farrell, Lansing Catholic – 40.1

Jack Bouck, East Lansing – 40.2

Holden Kuhnert, Lansing Catholic – 41.2

Peter Kramer, Lansing Catholic – 42.3

Fritz Hittner, East Lansing – 43.0

18-HOLE AVERAGES

Zach Rosendale, St. Johns – 72.6

Owen Rush, Lansing Catholic – 73.5

Tony Fuentes, East Lansing – 74.0

Rhet Schrauben, Portland – 74.3

Ian Carroll, East Lansing – 74.6

Eric Nunn, St. Johns – 76.0

Scott Campbell, East Lansing – 78.6

Miles Crutcher, East Lansing – 79.4

Holden Kuhnert, Lansing Catholic – 80.0

Cam Carroll, East Lansing – 80.0

Viani Magaswaran, Lansing Catholic – 81.1

Ethan O’Farrell, Lansing Catholic – 82.6

Peter Kramer, Lansing Catholic – 83.5

Jack Bouck, St. Johns – 83.6

Contact James L. Edwards III at jledwards@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JLEdwardsIII.

Lily Stephan ,24, of DeWit is congratulated by teammates after scoring to put the Panthers up 2-0 early in the 2nd half of their CAAC Gold Cup championship game with Williamston Tuesday May 24, 2016 in Eaton Rapids. KEVIN W. FOWLER PHOTO

EATON RAPIDS – Tuesday night’s CAAC Gold Cup showdown between DeWitt and Williamston was one of redemption.

The top-seeded Panthers were out to make up for last year’s first-round loss to the Hornets, who stopped DeWitt from getting back-to-back conference tournament championships. The third-seeded Hornets were back in the championship game for the third straight year, and were looking to put their consecutive penalty shootout losses behind them.

In the end, it was the Division 2 No. 1-ranked Panthers that were able to walk away from Eaton Rapids High School satisfied after they shutout Division 3 No. 3-ranked Williamston, 2-0, for their third conference tournament title in six years.

“We definitely remembered last year’s game, that feeling, and how awful we felt after losing in (a penalty shootout),” said DeWitt junior Madison Tiemann, who scored the game’s opening goal. “We came in and set a bar high for us, and realized we can’t go below it. We had to keep playing to our level.”

The Panthers (17-0-2) showed why they are considered one of the favorites to capture the Division 2 state title in the opening 40 minutes of Tuesday’s match by controlling possession and putting up nine shots on goal in the first half.

Tiemann was able to put home the game’s first goal with less than 20 minutes to go in the first half after a diving save from Williamston keeper Grace Kraft led to an open net for the junior. Panther coach Jamal Mubarakeh described his team’s play in the first half as “beautiful” and credited his midfielders and forwards for setting the tone early.

“Our patience today was great,” Mubarakeh said. “We played phenomenal today.”

DeWitt’s second goal came after a Mackenzie Dawes pass found the foot of freshman Lily Stephan for a one-on-one scoring opportunity with 26 minutes remaining in the game. The goal handed Dawes her 31st assist of the year, which is a single-season record for the program.

And while the Panthers caused chaos in the attacking third for most of the night, the back line held a high-scoring Hornets (14-5-1) group to zero shots on goal. Senior defender Brianna Bishop said her group was keen on stopping any type of Williamston attack.

“We knew they were going to be a high and fast team,” Bishop said. “We knew to come out and give it our all.

“Every game is going to help our defense as we prepare for districts, so this game was another build up in preparation for our next game.”

Despite being shutout, Kraft, who had 14 saves in the game, said the Hornets were able to walk off the field with confidence after a much improved second half. The Hornets controlled the pace for the half’s first 10 minutes before DeWitt was able to take back control. However, Williamston still was able to create opportunities that were absent in the first 40 minutes.

“We finally found our game in the second half, but we just weren’t able to finish,” Kraft said. “I think we were kind of a little scared, but we came back and found our energy. That’s what we were missing in the first half.”

Contact James L. Edwards III at jledwards@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JLEdwardsIII.we

Connor Proctor

MIDDLETON – Barney Schultheis’ admiration for softball took a hold of him when he first met Connor Proctor nine years ago.

Schultheis, who became a three-time state champion softball coach at Boulder City High School in Nevada nearly 30 years ago, was visiting close friends when he saw the third grader pitching to her father – who was an acquaintance of his – in the yard next door.

Schultheis saw something he liked, so he walked across the lawn.

“At that time, for a little girl, I thought she was pretty good – they don’t know the mechanics and everything,” said Schultheis, who is also a former football coach at Fulton High School. “I said, ‘I’ll tell you what we’re going to do. Dad, bring her over next Sunday and we’ll get started.'”

The 86-year-old Schultheis and Proctor, who now pitches at Fulton, have worked together every summer since their initial meeting, and his presence has helped the senior blossom into the most decorated pitcher in school history.

Proctor, who is committed to play at Lansing Community College, picked up her 1,000th career strikeout this past weekend and now has 1,030 to her name, which, according to the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s record book, puts her in the top 30 all-time. Her 345 strikeouts this year is a single-season school record, breaking her own milestone from last season.

“I didn’t even know it was approaching until the day before,” Proctor said of reaching 1,000 career strikeouts. “I’ve never actually thought about it (before). It’s a cool accomplishment to have now that I got it.”

Last week, it was Proctor who stepped into the pitcher’s circle against Laingsburg when the Division 4 honorable mention Pirates clinched their first ever Central Michigan Athletic Conference title.

Coming into her senior season, with only four returning starters, Proctor said she wasn’t sure how her team would fare. But as the year progressed, she noticed the potential to do something special.

“It’s always a goal, you want to win every game, but it wasn’t like we had to win the league,” said Proctor, who has a handful of no-hitters this season. “But as we kept winning I was like, ‘Oh, we have a chance at this.’

“We’ve had some good teams in the past, and to be the first team to win it is very exciting.”

Coach Chris Barrus said he relied heavily on Proctor, who is 24-5 this year (a single-season school record for wins), to start the season as his players got acclimated to their new roles. Her confidence, he said, is what helped the team get the ball rolling.

“Her being in the circle just gives other girls confidence because they know what she’s going to do every game,” the second-year coach said. “She can, in a sense, hide certain flaws your team has. As long as you can get a couple of runs for her, you know what she’s going to do. She’s going to shutdown the other team for the most part.”

Senior Chloe Fife has been Proctor’s catcher since third grade, and she said her teammate’s “hard work and humbleness” have been motivators for the team. Fife added that she doesn’t have to say too much to Proctor during ball games and usually just tries to guide her when needed.

Fulton will need the longtime friends to be in sync more than ever next week, as the Pirates chase their first district championship in school history.

“We’re really excited,” Proctor said. “We have some good teams in our district, and it will be tough to win it. But we know we can beat the teams, we have, but we just have to come out and play our best.”

Contact James L. Edwards III at jledwards@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JLEdwardsIII.

Dewitt’s Danielle Stephan, left, and Lansing Catholic’s Shannon Crilley battle for the ball Tuesday, May 17, 2016, in DeWitt, Mich. DeWitt won 2-0.

Dewitt’s Danielle Stephan, left, and Lansing Catholic’s Shannon Crilley battle for the ball Tuesday, May 17, 2016, in DeWitt, Mich. DeWitt won 2-0.

Here’s the final look at the girls soccer leaders in the Lansing area. This list reflects stats submitted by coaches.

GOALS

Kasey Jamieson, Lansing Christian – 33

Renee Sturm, Williamston – 23

Olivia Trombley, St. Johns – 22

Ally Melvin, Lansing Christian – 21

Chelsie Smith, St. Johns – 21

Mckayln Zigler, Portland – 20

Juliana Figueiredo, Lansing Christian – 17

Mariah Fedewa, Portland – 17

Paige Lonier, Williamston – 14

Bailey Malthaner, Dansville – 14

Danielle Stephan, DeWitt – 13

Alex Lindig, Fowlerville – 13

Eliza Lewis, Lansing Christian – 13

Shannon Crilley, Lansing Catholic – 12

Olivia Serafini, Dansville – 12

Isabelle Poupard, Lansing Catholic – 12

Rilyn Ross, Lansing Christian – 11

Taylor Bishop, DeWitt – 10

Whitney Luks, Mason – 10

Sydne Everts, Dansville – 10

ASSISTS

Mackenzie Dawes, DeWitt – 31

Abigail Gilmore, Lansing Catholic – 16

Leah Davis, Williamston – 16

Eliza Lewis, Lansing Christian – 15

Danielle Stephan, DeWitt – 14

Juliana Figueiredo, Lansing Christian – 13

Kasey Jamieson, Lansing Christian – 13

Myranda May, Dansville – 12

Ally Melvin, Lansing Christian – 12

Bailey Malthaner, Dansville – 12

Kali Thompson, Mason – 11

Lexi McPherson, St. Johns – 9

Khloe Hitchcock, Williamston – 9

Chelsie Smith, St. Johns – 9

SAVE PERCENTAGE

Alex Hanks, Lansing Christian – 92%

Brooklyn Holley, DeWitt – 91%

Marrina Schmidt, Dansville – 89%

Grace Kraft, Williamston – 88%

Larisa Herdus, Lansing Catholic – 85%

Jordyn Spitzley, Portland – 82%

Erin Vielbig, Fowlerville – 81%

Kylie Steingreaber, St. Johns – 80%

SHUTOUTS

Alex Hanks, Lansing Christian – 16

Grace Kraft, Williamston – 11

Brooklyn Holley, DeWitt – 10

Kylie Steingreaber, St. Johns – 8

Marrina Schmidt, Dansville – 6.5

Jordyn Spitzley, Portland – 6

Contact James L. Edwards III at jledwards@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JLEdwardsIII.

Bath girls soccer seniors, from left, Clayr Owens, Lindsey Brown and Stephanie Hilts.

BATH – Jordan Parks’ first-ever coaching gig didn’t start out glamorous.

The resources for the first-year varsity girls soccer coach at Bath High School were minimal from the start. The team used donated practice pinnies (jerseys) and orange cones, and each player had to bring their own soccer ball during preseason workouts and the first week of practice.

Parks took control of a three-year-old team that was nearly scrapped a year ago due to lack of participation. This season, however, an influx of impressive underclassmen have coupled with a group of tight-knit seniors to help the Bees, who went 2-7-1 last year, capture 14 wins in just their fourth season as a program going into this week’s district tournament.

“Last year, I know there were games where only nine or 10 girls could play because (they) only had 12 girls on the roster,” said Parks, who fields an 18-person roster. “I was just hoping to be .500. I was focused on individual goals early on in the season, just doing the basics.”

Bath ended its regular season with a 14-2 record last week. The Division 4 Bees don’t play in a conference, and Parks used his connections as a Michigan High School Athletic Association referee to put together a full 18-game schedule, which consisted of wins over the likes of Waverly, Stockbridge and Portland.

Senior April Svendson said she was expecting a turnaround this season due to the growing numbers and strength of the incoming class, which includes leading goal scorers Tait Hosford and Olivia Jubb. But she didn’t expect to walk away from the regular season with only two losses — both of which were to Laingsburg.

The Bath seniors often felt outmatched the past three years, but that was not the case this season.

“It was hard to take it seriously because each game we knew we didn’t have the numbers, so we thought (going in) it would be hard to pick up wins,” senior Stephanie Hilts said.

The program is still trying to find its footing. There is no junior varsity team and the varsity squad plays on the school’s somewhat disfigured football field.

“There’s a big crown on the middle of the field, and for some of the shorter girls it’s hard to see other side,” Parks said laughingly.

The school’s athletic department, which fully funded the soccer team for the first time this year, is looking to invest in a soccer field within “the next five years or so,” according to Parks.

Still, Parks and his girls have found a way to bring excitement to the team that struggled to attract supporters in previous years. This season, the Bees have gained a consistent fan base and receive praise routinely from those inside the school.

“It is really cool to come out and see our friends supports us more, and even people we’re not that close with,” senior Lindsey Brown said.

Early on, Parks said he was concerned that the girls wouldn’t buy into the consistent effort, and added that he was worried the incoming freshman and seniors wouldn’t be on the same page. And after the first half of the season, anchored by an experienced defense, Parks said he started to see the potential.

Senior Clayr Owens is another veteran who was confident that this season would be different, but was wary about how all of the new pieces would mesh. Now, she believes the Bees have a chance to continue to write history at next week’s district tournament.

“Before, I never thought (winning a district title) was possible, honestly,” Owens said. “Now, I think we do. We have a shot.”

Contact James L. Edwards III at jledwards@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JLEdwardsIII.

FIRST ROUND DISTRICT SCHEDULE

Note: all games will be played Tuesday

DIVISION 1 (semifinal and final at Kalamazoo Loy Norrix)

Battle Creek Lakeview at Holt, 6 p.m.

Okemos at Everett, 6 p.m.

DIVISION 1 (all games at Rockford)

Grand Ledge vs. Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills, TBD

DIVISION 2 (semifinal and final at Dexter)

Jackson Northwest at Mason, 6 p.m.

DIVISION 2 (semifinal and final at DeWitt)

St. Johns at Waverly, 6 p.m.

Fowlerville at East Lansing, 7 p.m.

Haslett at DeWitt, 6 p.m.

DIVISION 2 (semifinal and final at Fenton)

Flint Kearsley at Owosso, 6 p.m.

DIVISION 3 (semifinal and final at Alma)

Midland Bullock Creek at Ithaca, 5:30 p.m.

Essexville Garber at Alma, 5:30 p.m.

DIVISION 3 (all games at Williamston soccer fields)

Portland vs. Williamston, 6 p.m.

Lansing Catholic vs. Lakewood, 6 p.m.

Stockbridge vs. Leslie, 6 p.m.

DIVISION 3 (semifinal and final at Lake Fenton)

Perry at Durand, 4:30 p.m.

Chesaning at Ovid-Elsie, 6 p.m.

DIVISION 4

Laingsburg at Saginaw Arts & Sciences, 5 p.m.

Bath at Carson City-Crystal, 5 p.m.

DIVISION 4 (at Dansville)

Maple Valley vs. Lansing Christian, 5 p.m.

Okemos’ Joseph Ciuk looks to pass against Vicksburg Tuesday, May 31, 2016, at DeWitt High School. Okemos won 19-10.

DEWITT – For a program that’s been nothing short of consistent during the 15-year tenure of coach Shawn Grady, the Okemos boys lacrosse team still has something to prove.

A year removed from their first Division 2 regional championship and trip to the state finals, the Chiefs set out Tuesday night to continue to be mentioned among the state’s top powers.

And they did so by moving one step closer to defending their precious title.

No. 6-ranked Okemos opened the regional tournament at DeWitt High School with a 19-10 victory over Vicksburg in the semifinals.

“We want to do it again. It was a good feeling,” said Mario Gonzalez, who scored five goals in the contest. “We obviously had a really good team last year, and we lost a lot of really good guys, but I think our main goal is to come in here confident.”

The junior helped the Chiefs (16-2) settle any early nerves when his Anders Staky-assisted goal handed them a 1-0 lead less than three minutes into the game. But the No. 17-ranked Bulldogs (15-2) immediately answered. Okemos went on to grab a 5-2 lead at the end the first quarter when Gonzalez scored his third goal of the first 12 minutes.

After goals from Bennett Sherman and Harrison Ramsey gave the Chiefs a 7-3 lead midway through the second quarter, Vicksburg put home two goals in less than two minutes. Senior Charlie Ciuk stopped the 2-0 run while starting a 3-0 spurt for Okemos, but the Bulldogs closed the half with two more goals in the final 1:39.

Freshman goalie Joseph Ciuk was able to combat any threatening surge from Vicksburg by recording nine of his 17 saves in the game’s first 24 minutes.

“We came into the season thinking we were going to need to fill Cam Stelljes’ spot in goal, since he was a senior,” said Charlie Ciuk, who is Joseph’s older brother. “We had this freshman kid come in and he just played really well. He’s really grown and you can see how confident he is.”

After a staggering first half and a halftime speech from Charlie Ciuk that focused on playing “ordinary lacrosse,” the Chiefs put the game away with three goals from Sherman within the first three minutes of the second half.

The Bulldogs’ Gavin Leach stopped the bleeding with a goal at the 5:41 mark of the third quarter, but a goal from junior Evan Jamieson, who finished with three, and another from Charlie Ciuk gave Okemos a 15-8 lead going into the fourth.

“A lot of our scoring is a team effort,” said Sherman, who scored a team-high six goals. “We’re pretty confident attacking when we know where each other are. We like to get the whole offense involved.”

The Chiefs will face the winner between Haslett/Williamston and Notre Dame Prep for the regional championship Friday.

Jack LaPres and Tommy Nordberg each added a goal for Okemos.

Contact James L. Edwards III at jledwards@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JLEdwardsIII.

St. Johns’ Myah Martinez, left, and East Lansing’s Sara Faverman chase the ball Thursday. St. Johns won 4-0.

St. Johns’ Lexi McPherson, right, gets the ball past East Lansing goalkeeper Madeline Chomentowski for St. Johns’ first goal Thursday, at DeWitt High School.

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DEWITT – The first order of business for Lexi McPherson each time she steps onto the pitch is to stop the opposing team from scoring.

St. Johns’ Lexi McPherson, center, Chloe Durgan, left, Chelsie Smith (6) and Abbey Schuelke, rear, celebrate McPherson’s goal against East Lansing.

But after the loss of junior midfielder and second leading goal scorer Olivia Trombley, who is sidelined after a violation of Michigan High School Athletic Association rules, St. Johns girls soccer coach Kim Brewbaker has looked to his center back for an offensive spark during the district tournament.

The senior delivered Thursday night.

St. Johns’ Lexi McPherson, right, gets the ball past East Lansing goalkeeper Madeline Chomentowski for St. Johns’ first goal Thursday, June 2, 2016, at DeWitt High School. St. Johns won 4-0.

McPherson scored a goal and tallied two assists as the Redwings shut out East Lansing, 4-0, in a Division 2 district semifinal game at DeWitt High School.

“In this game, I was trying to fill Olivia’s spot,” said McPherson, who’s been transitioning between the defense and the midfield more frequently in recent games. “Nobody ever said it to me, but I just kinda know. I have to do it for the team. It’s a team thing.”

After both teams played to a stalemate in the first 40 minutes, McPherson ignited a second-half scoring spree for the Redwings (15-5) when a Taylor Warnaar free kick found her right in front of the net less than four minutes into the half. McPherson notched her first assist nearly 20 minutes later when she found junior forward Chelsie Smith, who was able to put home a deep shot with Trojan goalie Madeline Chomentowski out of position.

“We needed something to get us going,” McPherson said of her goal.

In the game’s final 10 minutes, it was the Jasmine Barratt show. The senior scored her first goal with 8:48 remaining to give St. Johns a 3-0 lead and recorded an Abbey Schuelke-assisted goal with 1:24 to play.

“We need to improve a little, but it’s (losing Trombley) nothing that hurts our team. We work as a team,” Barratt said. “Losing a player is a big deal, but we can’t look at it as something that hurts us. We need to look at it as something to improve on and we need to come out and be stronger and prove to other teams that one player doesn’t make our whole team.”

For the Trojans (8-10-1), who tied for second in the CAAC Blue, the year ends with their third loss to the Redwings.

East Lansing’s most threatening scoring chance came with seven seconds remaining in the first half when Sara Faverman’s free kick attempt hit an open Kai Dotson in the 18-yard box, but the junior’s shot sailed just over the crossbar.

Coach Jeff Lyon said continuity has been an issue for his side, specifically in the attacking third, not only this year, but for the past couple of seasons.

“The hardest part about high school soccer, regardless of what team you are, is trying to find that continuity,” said Lyon, whose team has suffered injuries to key players this year and recent ones. “When you have has many injuries as we’ve dealt with … it’s a progression.

“We don’t have a deep team, so when you’re missing pieces of the puzzle like that it can cause some disruption to the continuity.”

Kylie Steingreaber recorded the shutout in net for St. Johns.

The Redwings will face conference foe and No. 1-ranked DeWitt on Saturday for the district championship.

Contact James L. Edwards III at jledwards@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JLEdwardsIII.

Okemos goalie Joseph Ciuk, center, jumps with joy as time expires in the Chiefs’ Division 2 Regional Final win over Notre Dame Prep Friday June 3, 2016 in DeWitt.

DEWITT – Charlie Ciuk’s recollection of Okemos boys lacrosse history differs from the rest of his upperclassmen peers.

Tommy Nordberg, top, of Okemos and his teammate Josph Ciuk celebrate after their Division 2 Regional Final win over Notre Dame Prep Friday June 3, 2016 in DeWitt.

Last season, the senior, who started attending Okemos High School two years ago, helped the Chiefs to the state tournament and capture their first Division 2 regional title in program history.

He’s always viewed it as the norm. And his teammates are starting to, as well.

Ciuk scored three goals and notched two assists Friday night as Okemos held off Notre Dame Prep, 9-8, at DeWitt High School to hoist its second consecutive regional championship trophy.

“All I know of Okemos lacrosse is winning,” Ciuk said. “That definitely helps instill a culture of striving for greatness.

“You don’t let something like this be your last game. You don’t even think about that.”

Okemos coach Shawn Grady said he envisioned this type of success when he started the program 15 years ago. Coaching a public school team — in a sport mainly dominated by private schools — has kept his expectations in check over the years. But it’s also the reason this two-year run has been special.

“I didn’t dream it this well. But, yeah, this is good. This is really good,” Grady said. “You love to build a program like (Michigan State basketball) coach Tom Izzo says, ‘to be elite.’ I don’t know that we’re there, but it’s definitely been a nice ride so far.

“It’s so much harder when you’re a public school — we get who’s in the zip code. You really try and do the best with who lives here.”

Division 2 regional champs @okemosboyslax https://t.co/rF5afCxzZ6

—
James Edwards III (@JLEdwardsIII) June 03, 2016

In the early moments of Friday’s matchup, Grady was especially thankful Ciuk moved into Okemos territory. With his team facing a 1-0 deficit just 10 seconds into the game, Ciuk scored back-to-back goals and assisted on a Bennett Sherman goal to give the No. 6-ranked Chiefs (17-2) a 3-1 lead.

Okemos didn’t trail again after Ciuk’s retaliation score.

The No. 8-ranked Fighting Irish were able to even the contest with 7:42 remaining in the third quarter when William Ballew’s goal made it 5-all. However, after his game-tying goal, the Chiefs outscored Notre Dame Prep, 4-2, the rest of the quarter. Sherman scored two of his three goals in the first 12 minutes of the second half.

“We’re no longer just that good mid-Michigan team,” said Sherman, a senior. “People know who we are now.”

In the fourth quarter, holding a 9-7 lead, Okemos conceded a goal less than two minutes in. And with his team’s back against the wall, senior defender Cameron Usiak said all his team could think about is the message Grady provided before the opening face off.

“Coach gave us three pointers going into this game: minimize mistakes, own ground balls and never give up,” said Usiak, whose team held the Fighting Irish scoreless following the early-quarter goal. “We just wanted to take that to heart.”

Anders Staky, Evan Jamieson and Jack LaPres each scored for the Chiefs. Freshman goalie Joseph Ciuk recorded 10 saves.

Okemos will face East Grand Rapids in the state semifinals Wednesday.

Contact James L. Edward III at jledwards@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JLEdwardsIII.

Okemos High School sophomore Alisa Sabotic

Going into Saturday’s state championship tennis match, Okemos No. 1 singles competitor Alisa Sabotic was a little uneasy.

Not because she wasn’t confident. The first-year player set her sights on the sport’s final day at the beginning of the season. But because the sophomore’s opponent was someone who has a history of giving her a run for her money. And someone she calls a close friend.

After losing the first set, 4-6, Sabotic won the following two, 6-3, 6-4, defeating Mason junior Olivia Hanover to capture the Division 2 state championship at Holly High School.

“It’s hard playing a friend, of course, but I don’t really look at it like that. It’s competition,” said Sabotic, who trains with Hanover most of the year. “Every time we play it’s really nerve-racking because it’s been close every time. I’ve won each time, but I go in knowing that I have to work hard.”

For Sabotic, who decided not to play her freshman year at Okemos, the state championship is a proper encore for the regional crown she captured in late May, which she also won against Hanover.

Sabotic follows in the footsteps of Emily Struble, who won the No. 1 singles state title for the Chiefs last season.

“It feels really good,” said Sabotic, who finished the year with a 32-1 record. “(Going in) I wasn’t really worried about what other people had done, but I’m glad to help carry that (tradition) on for Okemos.”

Hanover, who reached the semifinals a year ago, said she also had her eyes on the coveted trophy at the start of the season. She finished her junior year with a 26-3 record and a CAAC Red championship. All three of her defeats were to Sabotic.

“I knew I had it in me to get to the finals.” Hanover said. “My goal was to win the state title. Hopefully that happens next year.”

State champion: Okemos junior Monika Francsics won the state title at No. 2 singles with a two-set victory, 6-3, 6-2, over Breann Lunghamer of Bloomfield Hills Marian.

Contact James L. Edwards III at jledwards@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JLEdwardsIII.

The Williamston girls soccer team defeated Leslie, 3-0, to capture its first Division 3 district title since 2014.

WILLIAMSTON – The regular season didn’t end as planned for the Williamston girls soccer team.

Injuries sidelined key players as the Hornets fell to DeWitt in the CAAC Gold Cup finale, derailing any momentum the club thought it had coming into the Division 3 district tournament.

Williamston got back on track quickly.

On Saturday, in their own backyard, the No. 3-ranked Hornets capped a stellar district tournament performance with a 3-0 victory over Leslie to claim their first district championship since 2014.

“Our team slogan has been ‘For Each Other,’ and I think we really put it into effect during these games,” senior midfielder Leah Davis said. “We know that we have to put everything on the line because it could be our last (game).”

Williamston outscored its three district opponents, 15-0, on its way to the championship. Davis said her team has been looking forward to the postseason, in hopes of meeting the high expectations set at the beginning of the year.

“I definitely think this was a strong game for us,” she added. “We’ll have a lot of momentum going forward after this.”

Davis didn’t take much time Saturday night getting the Hornets (17-5-1) in position to close out the tournament. The senior scored the game’s first goal less than six minutes into the first half.  Less than a minute later, junior Paige Lonier put home a Kloe Hitchcock-assisted goal to give the host team a 2-0 lead.

Williamston’s ability to score from several different positions is what Lonier believes separates the Hornets from their competition. And it showed in the title game, as three different players added to the scoreboard.

“We have a lot of communication,” said Lonier, whose team had 20 shots on goal in the contest. “It’s helped a lot this season. We’re all working hard for each other and pushing each other to sprint and make sure everyone is motivated to their job.”

.@WHSgirlsoccer D3 district champs https://t.co/VUKOHvdBZQ

—
James Edwards III (@JLEdwardsIII) June 05, 2016

For the Blackhawks (15-4), Saturday was an opportunity to build on what they started last season. Leslie, which finished second in the Greater Lansing Athletic Conference, is a year removed from its first district championship in program history, and coach Jake Derby was hoping his team could take another step this season by knocking off one of the state’s top programs in the process.

“Last year, (that season) set a tone for us,” Derby said. “This year, our district draw was a little different. Williamston is a top-5 team and plays really good soccer.

“This season is the best we’ve played as a team.”

Renata Cunningham scored the final goal for the CAAC White champions with about 12 minutes remaining. Williamston senior goalkeeper Grace Kraft recorded her 14th shutout of the season.

Leslie keeper Britney Sibson tallied 16 saves on the night.

Contact James L. Edwards III at jledwards@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JLEdwardsIII.

The Okemos boys lacrosse team fell in the Division 2 state semifinals, 16-15, to East Grand Rapids.

GRANDVILLE – Wednesday night brought back a distinct memory for senior Charlie Ciuk.

It was around this time last season that the Okemos boys lacrosse team rallied back in the fourth quarter of the Division 2 state championship, only to lose in the final seconds to Cranbrook-Kingswood.

But it wasn’t the fear of defeat that maneuvered to the front of Ciuk’s noggin on this night, as his team once again battled back – this time by erasing a three-goal deficit against East Grand Rapids in the late stages of the state semifinals. It was the program’s foundation.

“I thought about the character of the guys on this team,” he said. “The guys that aren’t going to give up if their backs are against the wall.

“They’re not going to quit.”

In the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s semifinal matchup, No. 6-ranked Okemos scored three goals within the first three minutes to even the contest with the No. 5-ranked Pioneers. But the Chiefs would go on to eventually lose, 16-15, in a double-overtime thriller at Grandville High School.

“East Grand Rapids is a good team,” said senior Bennett Sherman, who scored seven goals on the night. “They just beat us.”

With 7:45 remaining in the game, it was Ciuk that gave the Chiefs (17-3) the lead, 13-12, for the first time since the midway point of the second quarter. A goal nearly two minutes later from Evan Jamieson made it 14-12 in favor of Okemos, but East Grand Rapids retaliated with a 3-0 run to take a one-goal lead with less than 40 seconds to play.

However, Sherman, the State Journal boys lacrosse player of the year, gave his team an extra life when his final goal made it 15-all with 18.8 seconds remaining in regulation.

And after neither team could put home the game-winning goal in the first overtime, it was the Pioneers’ Connor Davis that lifted his team to Saturday’s state title game with a score early in the second.

“The seniors took this team further than anyone would have dreamed,” said fifteen-year coach Shawn Grady, who patrolled the Chiefs sideline for the last time Wednesday night. “Their leadership was awesome.”

Both Jamieson and Ciuk scored three goals for Okemos. Junior Mario Gonzalez and senior Jack LaPres each added a score.

Freshman goalie Joseph Ciuk recorded 13 saves.

Contact James L. Edwards III at jledwards@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JLEdwardsIII.

Members of the Lansing Christian soccer team walk off the field after losing to Grandville Calvin 2-1 in the Div. 4 state final last season. The No. 1-ranked Pilgrims are looking to get back to the state tournament on Friday.

Members of the Lansing Christian soccer team walk off the field after losing to Grandville Calvin 2-1 in the Div. 4 state final last season. The No. 1-ranked Pilgrims are looking to get back to the state tournament on Friday.

Members of the Lansing Christian soccer team walk off the field after losing to Grandville Calvin 2-1 in the Div. 4 state final last season. The No. 1-ranked Pilgrims are looking to get back to the state tournament on Friday.

The soccer climate in mid-Michigan – and the rest of the United States, for that matter – was drastically different when Phil Malefyt coached the Lansing Christian girls soccer team around the turn of the new millennium.

Club, also referred to as travel-team soccer, now reigns supreme in soccer circles. And up-and-coming players seeking scholarships at the collegiate level are more likely to play the sport year-round.

Roughly 20 years ago, Malefyt didn’t have many of these players at his disposal. But he’s now reaping the benefits as an assistant coach for the Division 4 No. 1-ranked Pilgrims, who have outscored their opponents, 44-1, during their postseason run, which resumes Friday against No. 5-ranked Manchester in the regional finals.

“When I was coaching, if you had two or three premier (travel-team) players, you would be pleased,” he said. “We have eight freshmen that are travel-team players. There’s only a handful of players (on our team) that aren’t.

“These players are so experienced. It’s a night-and-day difference.”

Lansing Christian has bullied its way through the postseason tournament. The Pilgrims (20-1-2), who outscored their opponents, 122-5, during the regular season, opened district play with an 18-0 victory, which was followed by an 8-1 win over Dansville and a 10-0 win over Springport for the district title. They advanced to Friday’s contest by defeating Plymouth Christian, 8-0, in the regional semis.

Ten-year head coach Joel Vande Kopple credits the influx of club players into the program for his team’s success. But he added that his team’s hunger to get back to the state title game, after a one-goal loss last season, has helped fuel the fire.

“We have a lot of girls come back that are hungry to take that next step. That was the driving force for the girls returning,” Vande Kopple said. “They set the tone.”

Sophomore Kasey Jamieson, junior Juliana Figueiredo and freshman Ally Melvin have been the Pilgrims’ three-headed scoring attack this year. Jamieson, who scored 49 goals as a freshman, now has 47 this season. Figueiredo and Melvin each have 20-plus goals.

Vande Kopple said he doesn’t coach up his high-scoring trio too much, as he relies on them to use their creativity in the attacking third. That freedom is what Melvin believes has made her transition into the program effortless.

“We have really good chemistry with each other,” the freshman said. “It’s great playing up top with both of them because they’re so good. I can learn so much from them.

“No one fights to get more goals than the other one. We play as a team.”

One concern Vande Kopple had coming into this season was replacing his defense. The Pilgrims lost their back line and goalkeeper to graduation, but quickly found solid replacements in Holt transfer Abby Krueger and freshman Kealeigh Usiak.

Sophomore Alex Hanks, who moved from the field to the net this season, has spent many a night watching her teammates control possession and light up the scoreboard from afar. She’s wishing for more of the same going forward.

“I don’t get that much action,” Hanks said. “It gets a little boring at times.”

Contact James L. Edwards III at jledwards@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JLEdwardsIII.

Friday’s regional final schedule

DIVISION 3 (at Williamston)

Grosse Ile vs. Williamston, 7 p.m.

DIVISION 4 (at Spring Arbor University)

Manchester vs. Lansing Christian, 7 p.m.

St. Johns boys golf leads the way after Day 1 one of the Division 2 state tournament. East Lansing is in second place.

BATTLE CREEK – All season long, Eric Nunn felt the St. Johns boys golf team had the pieces in place to contend for a state championship.

The Redwings showed it on Friday afternoon.

On Day 1 of the Division 2 state golf tournament at Bedford Valley Golf Course (Battle Creek), Nunn tied for a tournament-low 69 for St. Johns, which ended the day in first place with a score of 298.

“I knew we had the potential to do something like this,” said Nunn, a junior, who opened his day with a birdie. “We’re feeling confident, but we know there’s work to be done tomorrow.”

Junior Zach Rosendale ended the day with a score of 71, which was the sixth lowest on the day. St. Johns captured the CAAC Red crown this season, as well as a district title. The Redwings finished third at their regional.

The East Lansing boys golf team is on the heels of St. Johns, as the Trojans are currently in second place with a score of 300. Junior Tony Fuentes shot a team-low 73. Senior Ian Carroll, who is the State Journal boys golfer of the year, and junior Cam Carroll both shot a 75.

East Lansing, which won the CAAC Blue championship, recently grabbed both district and regional titles. Fuentes said he’s liking his team’s chances going into the final day.

“We have a little bit of work to do tomorrow,” he added. “At the beginning of the season, we thought we had a chance. But we didn’t want to get too big-headed.”

DeWitt is tied for sixth place after Day 1 with a score of 311. Senior Ian Helm and junior Brendan Kahl both lead the Panthers with a 76. DeWitt captured its third state championship since 2010 at the event last season.

Contact James L. Edwards III at jledwards@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JLEdwardsIII.