Lakers come from behind twice, fall to late Holland Christian goal in OK Blue opener

Aug. 31—SPRING LAKE TWP. — With the number of high-profile opponents Spring Lake had hosted in their non-conference schedule, the Lakers' schedule reminds Hunter Malaski of a Tom Izzo-Michigan State basketball schedule.

The Lakers' first opponent of the OK Blue season might have been their toughest test to date.

Holland Christian has given Spring Lake fits since coming over to the OK Blue last fall, and in a back-and-forth contest, a late Maroon goal gave them a 4-3 victory on Monday night.

"They're smooth," the senior defender Malaski said. "There's not a bad player on the field for them and they worked just a little bit harder than us."

Holland Christian's Brandon Walters settled the first of what will hopefully be two meetings between the teams this fall, with their only other potential meeting coming at the end of the OK Blue conference tournament. His goal with three minutes to go shocked the Lakers, who came from behind twice and could have earned a fair tie.

Scoring three goals and losing isn't common, even at this level, something that will not sit well with an experienced Laker defense. The Maroons, outside of a 10-minute stretch following the Lakers' second goal, were able to pass around Spring Lake players and find space to create in a way few teams have been able to in the opening weeks of the season.

"We needed to be a little tougher mentally, especially on defense," coach Jeremy Thelen said. "We committed a number of guys back into defense and we can't have some of those mistakes."

To their credit, the Lakers hung in with a team that will seriously threaten for a Division 3 state championship. Porter Saunders gave Spring Lake an early lead, poking a rebound in after a free kick bounced around in the Holland Christian penalty area five minutes into the match.

Maroon senior Kirby Eggers, a shoo-in selection for the all-state lists at the end of the season, was a difficult presence for the Lakers to deal with all night. He responded with a goal four minutes later, shooting past an oncoming Aidan Parker after finding space at the top of the box.

"They like to put the ball on the ground and pass," Saunders said. "That's not always the way teams will play at this level, they connect with each other really well."

A break down the wing gave Christian the lead in the late stages of the half, Adam Kroeze tapping a pass into an empty net six minutes before halftime. The Lakers were on their heels, with Jonathon Deal sliding in to prevent a third goal in the final 30 seconds.

Holland Christian had momentum, but Spring Lake dug in and found a response shortly after the restart. Mulder collected a chipped pass from Keegan Fritsche and squeezed in-between a pair of defenders to tie the game with a right-footed shot inside the far post.

"We had highs and lows, but those lows we can really feel right now," Mulder said. "We know we can be tougher all over the field."

Midway through the half, it was Eggers again with a solo goal. He skipped away from a pair of Laker defenders and had just enough space to fire a shot off the post and in for a 3-2 lead. That came after Spring Lake's best minutes of the night, where Fritsche and Mulder were active and combining with Conrad Bush in the midfield.

"We want to be there competing with those guys," Thelen said. "We have to match their intensity and we can't be scared."

Saunders was fortunate to tie the game in the final 10 minutes. A long pass to Mulder brought the Holland Christian goalkeeper out of his net, and a deflection left a bouncing ball for the senior to loft into an unguarded net with 8:31 to play.

"It's a good sign that we were able to respond and score ourselves," Saunders said. "But we have to make sure we play through the full game with the right intensity."

Both teams played for the victory in the final minutes — a sign of respect between the two favorites for the conference title. There was just enough time for Walters and his teammates to play a final set of passes in the Laker half, which set up a low shot that curled just out of Parker's reach to win the game.

Spring Lake's prize for a hard-fought match is a trip to Fruitport on Wednesday — kickoff from Ken Erny Field is scheduled for 6:45 p.m.

You can email Kyle at kturk@grandhaventribune.com or find him on Twitter @KyleTurkGHT.