The final game for the JV Grand Rapids Christian boys was against Forest Hills Eastern. The Eagles ended their season playing their best soccer as they looked connected both defensively and offensively.  In the first half, Caleb Glisson scored for the second game in a row and was assisted by Jeremiah LaRue. Dream Kwon scored the second goal off of another assist by LaRue. The Eagles were unselfish and looked to pass the ball first which allowed them to hold most of the possession. Eastern's defense was organized making the Eagles be patient but they continued to move the ball all the way from the defense through the mids, back across the field and then all the way back to the defense holding the ball for long spans of time.  The second half saw more possession for the Eagles resulting in three more goals. LaRue again dribbled to draw defenders then passed it off to Jaden Overvoorde for goal number three. Overvoorde returned the favor as he assisted LaRue in Jeremiah's first goal of the game. LaRue was a part of the first four goals, assisting three and scoring the fourth. Dream Kwon scored the final goal of the season which skimmed off the crossbar and into the net. Christian Burgess assisted the final goal and orchestrated much of the ball movement through the midfield. Alexander Scofield benefited from the Eagles defense with a clean sheet.    The  Eagles progressed throughout the season, ending it playing their best brand of soccer.   

Grand Rapids Christian defeated Wayland Thursday afternoon at Gainey Athletic Complex. The Eagles scored two goals in the first half and another two goals in the second half.  Right from the whistle, the Eagles attacked the Wildcats backline. Dream Kwon crossed the ball into the box where Ian Velzen-Haner cleanly volleyed the ball, bending it in the top right corner for the first goal of the game only 5 minutes into play. The Eagles continued to pass the ball extremely well completing 5-10 passes in a row before getting more shots on frame. The Wildcats goalie played a tremendous game making many saves. Jeremiah LaRue benefited from a long ball played by Brandon Porter as he scored the second goal of the game to take a 2-0 lead going into halftime.  The second half continued more of the same with excellent ball movement by the Eagles creating many goal scoring opportunities with the Wildcats goalie making save after save. Lahki Smith took the throw in quickly which went all the way over the defense for Caleb Glisson to run onto. Caleb didn’t miss his opportunity and calmly shot near post past the goalie for the third goal of the game. The final goal was created by getting endline penetration which was the halftime adjustment made for the Eagles. Freshman Chase Dykhouse dribbled past a couple Wildcats to then shoot it from an improbable angle, yet the ball went over the goalie and in the back corner which resulted in the bench loudly cheering for him.  The final score was 4-0 and the Eagles have their last match of the year on Monday against Forest Hills Eastern. 

Grand Rapids Christian hosted the Wyoming Wolves on a rainy Tuesday afternoon. Wyoming opened the scoring 10 minutes into the game from a corner kick, but the Eagles were quick to respond. Within 2 minutes of the opener, Dream Kwon threw the ball in to Aondover Amough who played it over to Christian Burgess in the middle where he slotted it past the keeper. Just a few minutes later, Brandon Porter headed the ball into goal off a cross from Ian Velzen-Haner. With 10 minutes left in the half, Jeremiah LaRue made his way to the end line to cross the ball, resulting in an own goal as the ball bounced off a Wyoming defender into his own net. Another individual effort by Jeremiah LaRue forced the Wyoming keeper to make a save, which fell right to Aondover Amough who was there to finish the rebound with 4 min left in the half. That wouldn’t be the end of the scoring in the first half, though. As Christian Burgess found a shot at the top of the box, it pinged between a couple Wyoming defenders before slipping into the back of the net with a minute left in the half. An exciting first half ended 5-1.  The second half saw more of the same, strong play from the Eagles as rain started pouring. Dream Kwon finished a penalty kick after a Wyoming hand ball in the box a few minutes into the second half. Not long after, Jerry LaRue took the ball past a few defenders, looked up and played a perfect cross to Caleb Glisson who was wide open in the middle. Glisson calmly finished to make it 7-1.  Unfortunately, the game had to end with 20 min left to play because of a storm. The Eagles are scheduled to play Wayland Union this Thursday with only 2 games left in the season.

Grand Rapids Christian faced off with Forest Hills Northern in an exciting battle of a game. The final ended 0-0 but much of the game was filled with action.  The last day in September reached temperatures of 84 degrees with turf temperatures even hotter. The Eagles rotated players in for quick shifts to sustain a high level of play. There were a few chances for both teams but the battle was in the midfield. Winning the second ball many times made the difference as Xavier Wright directed the midfield play for the Eagles.  In the second half, freshman Alexander Scofield made a one on one break away save to keep the Eagles in the game. Grant Bishop had many critical stops or blocks leading the defense in the clean sheet. Two balls were cleared off the line to keep FHN scoreless. The game ended with the Eagles continuing to claw and fight getting a shot on goal with seconds left making Forest Hills goalie to make a save.  The Eagles have 3 games left in the season. 

The rain let up just in time for Grand Rapids Christian to host Unity Christian Friday afternoon at Gainey Athletic Facility. The Eagles and Unity were well matched and both teams played hard. The first half saw opportunities for both sides with the Eagles controlling play slightly more than Unity. The first half ended 0-0.  The second half saw more of the same battle. Unity Christian dialed up the pressure and found themselves with a few great chances close to goal. Fortunately, the Eagles back line held strong. Lahki Smith saved the Eagles from going down a goal late in the game with a goal line clearance and Alex Scofield was forced to make a few saves as keeper throughout the half. Sophomore captain Xavier Wright had a outstanding game, leading the Eagles efforts through the midfield. Though both teams fought hard in the final minutes, the game ended in a 0-0 tie. The Eagles face Forest Hills Northern on Monday with only 4 games remaining in the season.

The Eagles faced the Trojans for the second time this season but the Trojans had revenge on their mind and they played like it. Thornapple Kellogg won the majority of 50/50 balls, combined extremely well throughout the field, and ended up scoring two goals in the first half. One goal coming from a free kick with unmarked players on the back post and the other came from a combination on the top of the box. The Eagles stand out defender was Ethan Lenters with consistent play, encouraging communication, and good decision making on the ball.  The Eagles came out in the second half with new energy that lead to a goal with 20 minutes left in the half. Dream Kwon took a bouncing ball off his thigh and then half volleyed it off the post for a wonder strike of a goal! The Eagles kept the momentum the rest of the game but weren’t able to create the final goal scoring chance to tie the game, resulting in a 2-1 loss. 

The Grand Rapids Christian Eagles traveled to South Christian Thursday night to face the Sailors. The Eagles came out strong in the first half and dominated play, keeping the pressure on the Sailors defense for most of the half. The Eagles back line was tested only a couple times but they held strong. The first half ended tied at 0-0.  South Christian turned up the pressure in the second half and found a few chances close to goal. About halfway into the second half the Sailors went up 1-0 after a long throw-in bounced inside the Eagles box before finding the back of the net. Grand Rapids Christian had a few scoring chances in the second half, the best coming from a Grant Bishop corner kick that found Ian Velzen-Haner’s head. Unfortunately for the Eagles, it went just over the cross bar. The game ended with South Christian defeating the Eagles 1-0.

The Eagles scored 8 goals in their win against Forest Hills Eastern on Tuesday night. Five of those goals were scored in the first half and the final three ended the game 10 minutes early as Alex Scofield received the clean sheet with one save.  The first goal was scored 10 minutes into the game when Jeremiah LaRue played a ball over the top for Parker Noesen to run onto. Parker was one on one with the goalie and finished over the keepers left arm. The scoring quickly continued as Parker played a throw ball for Jaden Overvoorde who scored his second goal in two games. Greg Richardson scored two consecutive goals that were unassisted as he stole the ball and finished himself twice in the same fashion. The final goal of the half came when Alex Williams controlled a punt and proceeded to chip the keeper.  The second half produced better passing and movement from the Eagles as they built their attack from the back. Forcing play through feet verses directly over the top. Ian Velzen-Haner scored two consecutive goals as well with one coming from a scrum in the box off of a corner and the second was a snap header directly from a corner kick by Xavier Wright. The final goal was a solo goal as Alex Williams scored his second of the game ending the game 8-0.  This gives the Eagles JV boys a four game winning streak. 

Saturday saw the Eagles and Cougars battle on a warm September afternoon with the Eagles coming away with the victory. Many opportunities were created early with the first goal by Brandon Porter coming from a long distance shot beating the keeper. The Cougars responded with their own goal tying the game 1-1. The Eagles bounced back with more possession through the midfield. Then, A ball was played into the air and Jeremiah LaRue went to head it but was fouled from behind giving Grand Rapids Christian a penalty kick. Grant Bishop took the PK and hammered it home, scoring to the left of the goalie. The penalty kick was taken with seconds left in the half.  The second half saw more possession from the Eagles and the ball was in the Cougars half for a majority of the half. Combination play kept the Cougars on their heals and one of those combinations ended with a blistering goal. Christian Burgess played the ball to Dream Kwon who hit the ball first time that knuckled past the Cougars keeper. The final goal came from a cross by Jaden Overvoorde to Brandon Porter who headed it into the back of the net scoring his second goal of the game.  This game gives the Eagles a three game winning streak. 

Grand Rapids JV Boys took on Wayland Tuesday night at Gainey Athletic Complex. The Eagles defeated the Wildcats by a score of 6-0. This was the Eagles most compete game of the season, playing the style of soccer they have been working towards all year.  The scoring started when Grant Bishop won the ball at half and played it to Christian Burgess who dribbled past two defenders to fire it in the lower side netting. With twenty minutes left, Dream Kwon passed the ball to Jeremiah LaRue who scored the second goal of the game. Brandon Porter scored the third after receiving a pass from Jaden Overvoorde.  The second half continued to see the Eagles pass the ball better than they have all season, showing large improvements, combining through the midfield and building out of the back. Scoring also continued in the second half with the first goal being scored only 4 minutes into the half. Ian Velzen-Haner played a throw ball between the backs with Jaden Overvoorde getting on the end of it and scoring his first goal of the season. Greg Richardson joined in on the scoring with his first goal off of a free kick crossed by Alexander Williams. The final goal came with about five minutes left in th game. Freshman Chase Dykhouse found fellow freshman Aondover Amough ending the game 6-0.   

The Grand Rapids Christian Eagles picked up a big win Saturday morning at Wyoming. The Eagles started strong and maintained possession for most of the first half but struggled to find the back of the net. A breakthrough came 3 minutes before halftime with a fantastic solo goal by Brandon Porter who took the ball at a half, dribbled past four Wyoming players along the sideline and slotted the ball past the Wolves keeper.  The Eagles continued their dominance into the second half with a couple more goals. Christian Burgess surprised everyone with another spectacular solo goal when he curled an Eagles corner kick into the net. With 10 minutes left in the game, Aondover Amough scored Grand Rapid Christian’s third and final goal from a cross by Grant Bishop. The shutout was shared by keepers Alexander Scofield and Noel Quinones along with a strong defensive back line: Lahki Smith, Jaden Overvoorde, Ethan Lenters, and Alex Busscher.

Grand Rapids Christian suffered a tough defeat on the road against East Grand Rapids Tuesday night. After a strong start to the game, the eagles went down 0-1 to an EGR goal.    The Eagles defense held strong for the rest of the game with a number of big saves by keeper Alexander Scofield. With a change of tactics at halftime the Eagles had a few good opportunities to tie up the game, including a free kick off the crossbar by Grant Bishop, but they were unable to find the back of the net. The game ended 0-1.

Grand Rapids Christian Eagles defeated Thornapple- Kellogg Trojans Wednesday night at Gainey Athletic Complex. The Eagles got off to a quick start forcing the play directly to their forwards creating goal scoring opportunities. After just 10 minutes, Christian Burgess passed the ball to Jeremiah LaRue who overpowered a defender slotting the ball pass the keeper in the corner. The high energy continued leading to a second goal in the first half. Dream Kwon took the corner kick which landed in the box before getting headed into the net by Ian Velzen-Haner.  The Trojans kept fighting forcing the Eagles to make saves and defend. Alex Busscher out of the left-back position, was locked in making many wise passes and shutting down attacks on his side of the field.  The Eagles didn’t finish any other attacks in the second half resulting in a 2-0 victory moving their overall record to 3-0-2 on the season with a two game winning streak. 

The Grand Rapids JV boys took on South Christian at Eagle Stadium on Monday night. Light rain made for quick conditions. The Eagles combined through the midfield to create chances during the first half. On one of those connections, Ian Velzen-Haner played a through ball for Brandon Porter, who then crossed it to Jeremiah LaRue ending in the game winning goal. The half time score was 1-0.  South Christian battled back, getting shots off and making Noelle Quinones make saves for Grand Rapids Christian. With a big throw, South Christian made throw-in after throw-in into the box making the Eagles defend dangerous attacks. Their bend not break attitude allowed the Eagles to rise to victory defeating South Christian for their first win of the season. 

In the second game of the day, GRC JV boys were defeated by Gull Lake Blue Devils. The game had an exciting start with a goal being scored in the first 2:30 minutes. Dream Kwon took a shot inside the box that was saved for a rebound that Jeremiah LaRue headed into the back of the net, scoring the first goal of the year. The Eagles lead lasted until 15 minutes left in the first half when the Blue Devils scored to tie the game up 1-1.  The second half started 1-1 with Gull Lake finding some early chances but were blocked by goalkeeper Noelle Quinones. Eventually the Blue Devils broke the defense and scored. Once they saw the ball in the back of the net, they continued to get more shots off resulting in 3 more goals. The Eagles responded but couldn’t find the final pass for a goal ending the game 4-1. Freshman Ethan Lenters for Grand Rapids Christian was a stand out player battling all 60 minutes making big defensive plays. 

Grand Rapids Christian JV boys were defeated by Holland High Saturday morning at Gainey Athletic Complex. Holland scored early in the first half by a long distance shot. The Eagles defense held strong the rest of the half. Offensively, GRC had some scrappy chances off of crosses into the box but Holland’s defense snuffed them out. The second half was a battle! The Eagles defense had a bend not break mindset. Holland hit the crossbar twice but were held to zero goals in the second half resulting in a 1-0 final. Stand out performance came from Jaden Overvoorde. He made big tackles in key moments and connected passes from the defensive line to the midfield. 

The Grand Rapids Christian Eagles played Forest Hills Central Rangers at Gainey Athletic Complex on August 22nd at 4:30pm. The game was the Eagle's first game of the season while the Rangers had two games under their belt. Both teams came to play and battled throughout the first half. Neither team was able to crack the code and they were knotted at half time 0-0. The Eagles defense lead by sophomore Grant Bishop denied chances created by the Rangers. Brandon Porter had an influential second half creating many goal scoring opportunities but the Eagles couldn't capitalize on them. The final score was 0-0 with both goal keepers for GR Christian Noelle Quinones and Alexander Scofield getting the clean sheet. Saturday the Eagles will have a double header facing Holland and Gull Lake.