FRUITPORT – Both the Mona Shores and Fruitport soccer teams expected to have a physical and competitive season opener on Wednesday night.

That’s exactly what they got, with the two teams battling through a scoreless first half before Mona Shores pulled out an exciting 2-0 victory on the Trojans’ home field.

“I’m ecstatic,” said Mona Shores head coach Bill Moulatsiotis. “I think the world of Fruitport and their program. They have a lot of speed, and we were really worried about this game. I think a 2-0 result is surprising to me.”

Mona Shores’ Kyle Anderson (3) tries to get past Fruitport’s Brady Brown. Photo/Jeremy Clark

While the Trojans fell in the game, head coach Dan Hazekamp was still impressed with the fight his team showed against a tough Sailor squad.

“You know you’re going to get a great effort from Mona Shores,” he said. “It’s kind of a crosstown rivalry game and a lot of the kids play club together. It’s kind of nice to have a competitive game right off the bat. Tonight, we came up short, but we had some good opportunities and we saw guys do some nice things.”

The game was back and forth in the first half with each team launching four shots on goal, but neither finding the net.

Mona Shores goalie Dylan Brady and Fruitport keeper Justin Laus both played well in the first 40 minutes.

The game could have broken in Fruitport’s favor in the second half when Mona Shores switched goalies, from Brady to Kaden Semlow.

Fruitport’s Isaac VanderMolen (22) and Mona Shores’ Lane Fisher battle for the ball. Photo/Jeremy Clark.

Semlow was tested almost immediately and made the grade with a diving save to keep the contest scoreless.

“Both our goalies have been a question mark,” Moulatsiotis said about the halftime switch. “They’ve been playing pretty equally in practice. I almost didn’t switch them, but I believe in both of them, and they each did great.”

Mona Shores senior captain Dan VanderPloeg finally ended the stalemate midway through the second half when he corralled a bouncing ball and found the back of the net, giving the Sailors a 1-0 lead.

“I had a few people ahead of me,” VanderPloeg said about the goal. “But I cut in and cut again, then had an open goal. I just placed the shot and it went in. There are no words really to describe that feeling. It was a whole team effort.”

Senior Kaden Pulaski added a goal with 3:15 left in the game, icing the victory for the Sailors.

Fruitport’s Sean Gieske (12) tries to pass with a Mona Shores defender givng chase.

Mona Shores outshot the Trojans 9-6 on the night.

“They have a lot of resilience,” Moulatsiotis said, when asked what he learned about his team in the victory. “I think we’re also deeper than we thought.”

The Sailors will travel to Jenison for a game on Saturday while Fruitport will travel to Ludington.

“We’re going to try and build,” Hazekamp said about his team’s tough non-conference schedule. “We’ll come back and train tomorrow to get ready for Ludington, who’s going to be really good. Our schedule is no joke, so we’ll be tested. We want to be playing good soccer in October.”