The Boys Varsity Soccer team traveled to Cedar Springs on Tuesday night to contest a Regional Semi-final. The Cedar Springs Red Hawks had the home field advantage, but the Eagles showed grit and determination to find their way through. 

The Eagles came out with the intent of controlling the possession battle while the Red Hawks showed defensive discipline, playing a low pressure style that was difficult to break down. The scoreless first half was punctuated by an Eagle advantage in shots, but nothing to show for it on the scoreboard.

The Eagles increased the energy at the start of the second half and started to find the gaps in the Red Hawk defense. The Red Hawks remained dangerous on the counter attacks and were the first to tally a goal with about 25-minutes remaining in the match when a corner kick was volleyed into the upper corner of the Eagles net. The Eagles showed composure, continuing to follow the game plan even as the Red Hawks retreated their defensive shape in an attempt to preserve the slim lead. As the Eagles turned up the pressure, senior Jackson Mindling was able to create some space past two defenders and fire a shot from 30-yards out that screamed into the upper corner of the Red Hawk's net to level the score with 15-minutes remaining. The Eagles continued to press, creating several more chances (tallying 9 shots in the second half) and the defense held firm against the Red Hawk counter attacks. The Red Hawks created a shot with a minute to go in the second half that looked like it might find the net, but senior goalkeeper, Christian Dershem reacted quickly and dove low to his right to collect the ball and preserve the scoreline. 

With the score knotted at one goal a piece, the teams headed for overtime (2x10-minute periods). The first overtime remained scoreless, but the fatigue was becoming evident on the field. Just a minute into the second overtime, senior Grayson Montpetit drove the ball in from the wing and passed it across the top of the box to junior Peter Borst. As the defense collapsed on Borst, he layed the ball back across the top of the box where Mindling struck a shot with his first touch that found the bottom corner of the Red Hawk's net to give the Eagles a 2-1 lead. The Eagles continued to control the ball as much as possible, but the Red Hawk's showed no quit. With five minutes to go, an Eagle Clearance bounced off a Red Hawk attacker and put him in behind the defense, clear to goal. Dershem rushed off his line to close the space and was able to block the Red Hawk's best attempt in overtime to preserve the lead. The defensive line of Soren White, Carter Goodyke and Andrew Schepel held firm, winning tackles and clearing the ball to close out the match. 

The hard fought win puts the Eagles in the Regional Final against Fruitport at 6pm on Thursday night at Red Hawks Stadium.