The Boys Varsity Soccer Team returned to Forest Hills Central on Wednesday night to face top-ranked Holland Christian in the state semifinal. The match-up promised to be an exciting, hard-fought game and it didn't disappoint. 

The Eagles started strong, moving the ball up the field and generating the first shot of the game within the first minute when senior Jackson Mindling sent a left-footed strike rattling off the crossbar. As the half wore on, the teams traded blows with both defenses holding firm against their opponent's attacks. With 7 minutes left in the first half, Holland Christian was able to free up an attacker in the box who slotted a ball into the side netting to take the first-half advantage. The Eagles regrouped and held firm for the rest of the half, going into the break down 0-1. 

The Eagles came out firing in the second half, working ot break through the Maroon's defense. Just minutes into the second half, senior Andrew Overvoorde was able to get the ball on the endline and slot a ball across the face of the goal where junior John Cassiday struck it into the Holland Christian net, leveling the score 1-1. With the score level, both teams tried to grab control of the match. About midway through the half, a Holland Christian player was issued a red card for striking an Eagle defender, forcing the Maroons to play a man down for the remainder of the match. With man advantage, the Eagle patiently worked the ball around the field to generate attacking opportunities while the Maroons sought to counterattack. With 10 minutes on the clock, a Maroon attacker was able to get free in the Eagle penalty area and forced a tackle that led to a penalty kick for the Maroons. As the Maroon attacker stepped up to strike the penalty kick, senior goalkeeper, Christian Dershem read the shot well and dove to his right to gather the ball, thwarting the Maroon's opportunity to take the lead. The momentum shift energized the Eagles. With 5-minutes on the clock, sophomore David Pontarelli found Mindling high up the field. Mindling turned on his defender and struck a left-footed shot that beat the Maroon goalkeeper to take a 2-1 lead in the waning moments. The Eagles finished out the match, holding the Maroons at bay to take the win and advance to Saturday's State Championship match. 

The Eagles will face Mason in the State Final on Saturday afternoon (3:00 pm kickoff) at Grand Ledge High School.