Academy soccer defeats Hillsdale to end regular season; postseason soccer previews
HILLSDALE —Hillsdale Academy has not lost a game since Sept. 25.
The Colts were once a top ranked team in Division 4, but a few losses in the first half of their season knocked them out of the top 15 rankings for D4. With the rankings now out of their minds, the Colts varsity boys soccer team became the hunter in their final six games of the regular season.
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Over that stretch, the Colts have won four games and tied one. Their tie came to Jackson Christian in a 2-2 final. The Colts ended the regular season with their annual non-conference crosstown battle with the Hillsdale Hornets. The Colts won the matchup in an 8-1 final, closing with a 12-6-1 overall record.
Scoring for the Academy was Grant Walton, Jay Jenkins, Nathan Karlovich, Grayson Young (2), Ridley Fast, Benny Cote and Andrew Spiegel.
The Hornets fell to 5-7-3 on the season.
After the game, both teams' seniors shook hands one final time at Field of Dreams Park. For seniors like Ridley Fast, many Hornet and Colts soccer players grew up playing their youth games together at the park. Fast says it was sad to play his final game at that field, but he believes good things are ahead entering the postseason.
"This is where most of us grew up playing," said Fast. "So, it's sad to play our last game here. I played with half of the kids on Hillsdale growing up. It's always good to play them at the end of the year but hopefully good things will come for both teams."
Hillsdale County Soccer Postseason Preview
All three Hillsdale County varsity boys soccer teams play their district quarterfinals at home this Thursday night.
Coach Jeff Dice and the Jonesville soccer team take on Blissfield in the district quarterfinals. The game will be held at 5 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 12 at Jonesville High School. The Comets enter the season with a 4-8 record, with impressive wins against Leslie, Michigan Center and Quincy on their resume.
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Warrick Elder leads the Comets into the playoffs. They play in District 55 alongside Hillsdale Academy in the same district bracket. Should the Comets defeat Blissfield, they will play the winner of Hillsdale Academy and Jackson Christian on Tuesday, Oct. 17 in the semifinals. The game will be played at Lumen Christi Soccer field at 3 p.m.
Coach Garrett Collier and the Hornets move on to face Quincy High School for their District 36 quarterfinal matchup. It is a favorable matchup for the Hornets, and it will be held at their home field at the Field of Dreams. Should Hillsdale win, they will move on to face Eaton Rapids the following week at Eaton Rapids Soccer Complex.
Hillsdale senior captain Joseph Miller says the game against the Academy helps get the team sharp ahead of their postseason.
"It's a tougher team, so we have to be sharp," said Miller. "It's going to show that mentality of grit, and I saw a lot of that tonight. There was a lot of hard work, and if we carry that over to Quincy, we should look a lot better."
Miller was there last season when the Hornets lost on penalty kicks to Michigan Center to send them home early form the playoffs. That game was a 1-1 finish before penalty kicks. Miller says the team will have to have great defensive efforts like that game to give them shots in each round of the postseason. Miller believes that the team will have to be more patient in order to avoid games heading into extra time.
"We got to be patient on passing," said Miller. "We got to put the ball into the back of the net and stick to our plan and not playing anyone else's game."
Hillsdale takes on Quincy on 5 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 12.
Hillsdale Academy has a scheduled rematch with Jackson Christian for their District 55 quarterfinal. The game will be held at 5 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 12 and will be played at the new soccer stadium held at Hayden Park. The Colts haven't lost yet on their new home field.
Academy senior Ridley Fast says the team is ready to enter a postseason that will see them play three potential rounds of soccer if they want to four-peat as district champions. If they win the district title, Fast's class of seniors will be the first group to have accomplished that postseason mark.
"We have three games instead of two this year," said Fast. "We want some revenge against Jackson Christian, so it will be a fun first round. We've gotten a lot better offensively. We are trying to get rid of defensive mistakes. That's been the killer this year. We will play 78 good minutes and then two minutes will cost us. It's those little things that we will work on."
Should the Colts win, they have a chance to play Jonesville in the district semifinals. The semifinals and finals of their district bracket will be played at Jackson Lumen Christi. The finals will be played at 5 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 19. Clinton, Manchester, Adrian Lenawee Christian and Lumen Christi play on the opposite side of the district bracket.
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This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Academy soccer defeats Hillsdale; both teams prepare for playoffs
