Watch and Read: Hillsdale Academy soccer wins third district title in a row
HILLSDALE —The Hillsdale Academy Colts won their third straight district championship after defeating Lenawee Christian 5-0. The Colts played in front of their home crowd, which helped push the team to earn their third title so far this season, including the share of their league title and the County Cup.
The Colts met the Cougars earlier this season on Sept. 12. The Colts managed to win 4-1. That proved to be the successful blueprint to take down the Cougars in the postseason.
The Cougars have been a thorn in the side of the Colts for several years, including a regional title loss a couple years ago. Many Colts players celebrated their sweep of the Cougars, and believe it is a defining moment in their careers.
After 11 minutes of play, the Colts got on the board with a credited goal to Grant Walton. The Cougar goalie’s mishandling of the save gave the Colts their first point of half number one. The Colts got on the board again 10 minutes later, thanks to a Conner Welden goal. Jay Jenkins scored a few minutes later to give the Colts a 3-0 lead. The Colts did not score again until the second half.
The Colts struck with 35 minutes remaining in the second half. Conner Welden earned his second goal of the game. With 21 minutes remaining, the Colts scored their final goal of the game.
Mikey Plemmons held down the fort for the Colts, earning nine total saves for the game. Plemmons is responsible for several shutout wins this season for Hillsdale Academy.
With the win, the Colts move on to the regional semifinals. The semifinal and regional championship will be held at Lansing Christian High School, starting on Oct. 25 with a semifinal game. The Colts look to either play Laingsburg or Lansing Christian, depending on who wins the district title. The Colts played Lansing Christian earlier this season on Sept. 23 on the road. The Colts fell 0-2, but the team was in the middle of injury recoveries for a couple of their starters.
The winner of that matchup will play any of Schoolcraft, Kalamazoo Hackett, Clinton and Ann Abor Greenhills for a regional title on Thursday of next week.
Senior Conner Welden, who has been on the varsity team since eighth grade, said that the team’s ball movement and strong first half gives them momentums and it worked for them to win a district title. Welden hopes to keep the run going and reach his second regional final appearance during his career.
“Our passes need to be cleaner,” said Welden about what the Colts need to do to win next week. “A lot of our two-touches are sloppy and that’s something we need to work on. Our effort has been good. Our heart is there, and our courage is there. We just need to work on the technical stuff.”
Weston Mackie is focused on helping his team get through the short turnaround they have to get ready for their regional semifinal match.
“We need to stay on task and keep our head in the season and practice hard,” said Mackie. “I look forward to having fun playing with my team next week and seeing what we can do with the opportunity.”
Colt Ridley Fast still remembers last season’s penalty kick loss to University Liggett that ended his older brother’s senior career. Fast believes the team will have to play a full 80-minutes to win against whichever opponent they have in the semifinals.
“We have to play our hearts out,” said Ridley Fast. “Last year, we were up twice in the game and then we lost focused and got scored on twice. If we stay focused, I like our chances against whoever we play.”
Tickets can be purchased for the regional semifinal at the gofan website. The game is slated to get underway in Lansing at 5 p.m. on Tuesday.
This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Hillsdale Academy defeats Lenawee Christian 5-0 to win their third district title in a row
