SPRING LAKE – Spring Lake soccer fans are learning not to worry when their teams get off to a slow start at the beginning of the season, because a big turnaround is very possible.

Last spring the Lakers girls team got off to a 0-1-2 start, then pulled it together and advanced all the way to the state finals.

This fall the Laker boys got off a 2-2-2 start, but now are in the midst of a major hot streak as they prepare for their regional opener at Grand Rapids Christian on Tuesday.

Spring Lake started the season with ties against East Grand Rapids and Grand Haven, wins over Byron Center and Western Michigan Christian, then two frustrating losses to Holland Christian and rival Fruitport.

The 4-2 loss to Fruitport was particularly galling to the Laker players. In happened in front of a big, loud crowd at Fruitport, and it was the first time the Lakers had lost to the Trojans since 2016..

That was not acceptable for an experienced team with 10 starters returning from the 2020 season, when Spring Lake advanced all the way to the regional finals.

Since then they have won 13 out of 14 games, including the conference tournament championship in the super competitive O-K Blue, and two very impressive performances in a tough Division 2 district tournament at Reeths-Puffer last week.

Now the Lakers, 15-2-3, seem to be legitimate contenders to make a very deep run in the remainder of the state tournament, starting Tuesday against a tough Grand Rapids Christian squad at Cedar Springs High School. The winner will advance to the regional final on Thursday against the winner of the Petoskey-Forest Hills Central semifinal.

“Looking at our team in the beginning, we had two unfortunate injuries to two of our captains, and there was a lot of shuffling of players to different positions,” said Spring Lake’s senior goalie Aiden Parker, a four-year varsity player. “The winning streak can be attributed to Coach Thelen. He figured out where everyone fit, and everyone did a great job of adapting. And everyone agreed that in those losses we were not playing as good as we could be playing.”

Coach Jeremy Thelen, in his 21^st season with the Lakers, said the losses brought the players closer together.

“It was just kind of like, we’re going to start playing for each other,” Thelen said. “Guys stepped up into their roles, and they became more unselfish. Adversity seems to bring a lot of good things out.”

One early challenge for the Lakers was finding guys to fill the holes created by the graduation of Ben Bush and Sheldon Bunnell, the team’s two leading scorers last year.

Luckily, as the season went on, more than just one or two scorers stepped up.

Conrad Bush (Ben’s younger brother) has 16 goals, Porter Saunders has 14, Jack Mulder has 11, and Keegan Fritsche is not far behind them. That means opponents can’t focus on shutting down one or two big scorers and hope to contain the Lakers.

“I thought offense was going to be the problem this season, but the scoring has been coming through for us,” Thelen said. “The best part is that we’re not relying on one guy.”

Spectators watching last week’s district tournament couldn’t help but be impressed by Spring Lake.

In the semifinals, the Lakers trailed a good Reeths-Puffer squad 1-0 at halftime, and everyone was wondering if the Rockets, who had been playing very well in recent weeks, might pull off an upset.

But Spring Lake regrouped at halftime and promptly took control in the second half, scoring three goals within the first 10 minutes and won 3-1.

“Looking back at our results, I don’t think we had a comeback win this year before the Reeths-Puffer game,” Parker said. “It showed that we’re a resilient team. As a senior, when we were down 1-0 I got a little nervous wondering if this could be it, but everyone decided it was not time.”

The rematch with Fruitport in the district title game was expected to be very close and tense, but the Lakers dominated and won 4-0.

Spring Lake had already gained revenge for the loss to Fruitport by beating the Trojans in the conference tournament, but the Lakers still carried a grudge.

“We did not enjoy losing to them early in the season,” Parker said. “It stung. Our guys were extremely motivated for that game.”

The Lakers are also motivated by their painful exit from last year’s state tournament. They advanced to the regional finals (which is also the state quarterfinals) against East Grand Rapids and lost 2-1.

“Soccer is just one of those sports where bounces can decide the game,” Thelen said. “We were very much in that game last year.”

The Lakers are well aware that they will have their hands full against GR Christian, which has a 13-6-2 record. Spring Lake has not played the Eagles this season, but has only won 2 of 17 matchups against them over the years.

“Tuesday’s game is going to be a grueling kind of battle, but I know our guys will be ready for it,” Thelen said. “Grand Rapids Christian has had a great season and has very good players. We are not going to beat teams three or four to zero at this point. We’re going to have to compete for 80 minutes. But I totally believe in this group of guys. I know they will work hard until the end.”