FRUITPORT – Mason Kettel has not been in the spotlight much in his varsity soccer career.
Last year he served as the backup to All-State goaltender Logan Werschem, and did not see a lot of game action as Fruitport advanced all the way to the state quarterfinals.
Kettel became the starting goalie this year, but the Trojans dominated many games with a lot of talented scorers and a very tough defense, so sometimes he didn’t have to work too hard.
But on Tuesday night the Trojans needed Kettel to really step up, and he answered the call in a big way.
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He made seven saves, including five in a very challenging second half, to lead Fruitport to a tense 2-0 victory over as very good Coopersville squad in the Division 2 district semifinals at Fruitport High School’s Ken Erny Field.
The victory sends the Trojans to Thursday’s district championship game against another strong opponent – Allendale – at 7 p.m.
“I did what I could for the team,” Kettel said. “Our defense hasn’t given up many shots this year. Some games I haven’t had to do much of anything and I walked away with a shutout, but tonight I had to be on my toes.”
Fruitport Coach Dan Hazekamp said Tuesday’s game was definitely Kettel’s best so far.
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“Tonight he earned his keep and showed why he’s the guy between the pipes for us,” the coach said. ”He was probably our man of the match, to be honest.
“He had a couple of good reaction saves, he made good decisions about when to come off his line and when not to, and he really limited rebounds, too, which is a huge thing.
“It was a really great effort by him tonight. He’s worked hard to get to this moment. I’m glad to see him have a night like this, on our home field, and help us find a way to advance.”
The game was extremely tight and tense from start to finish.
Fruitport led 1-0 at halftime following a goal by Ryder Merkins about eight minutes into the first half. Carter Latsch sent a corner kick to the front of the Coopersville goal and Merkins managed to head it into the net.
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The game got really dicey for the Trojans in the first 11 minutes of the second half, when the Broncos reeled off four strong shots on goal and had several opportunities to tie the game.
Kettel made diving saves on the first two shots, then stopped two more, to preserve the one-goal lead with 29:24 left in the game.
His biggest save came near the end, however, when a Coopersville player got the ball away from a Fruitport defender near the Trojan goal and was about to break in on Kettel alone.
Kettel came out of the net and knocked the ball cleanly away from the charging Bronco, avoiding what could have been an easy goal for Coopersville.
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“I was like, ‘I’m not going to sit back on my line and give him a shot inside the PK (penalty kick) line,’ so I had to go out and make the play,” Kettel said.
“Coach has been telling me to play more aggressive all year, and I finally did it. It just shows you should listen to your coaches.”
About seven minutes later, Fruitport’s Jorge Burgos-Yack broke in and scored from the right of the Coopersville net, giving the Trojans their final margin of victory.
The win improved Fruitport’s record to 16-3-3 on the season. The Trojans have now won 15 of their last 16 games since a season-opening tournament when they posted a 0-3-2 record. The only non-victory since then was a 0-0 tie with Reeths-Puffer.
Despite their great record, the Trojans knew that winning a second straight district championship was going to be challenging, because the tournament included several other very good teams, as well.
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Coopersville ended the season with a 13-4-3 record.
“Coopersville is a very, very good team,” Coach Hazekamp said.”They have not lost in a long time and we knew it was going to be a dog fight tonight. Sometimes in the postseason you just have to find a way to get a win. I was glad to survive and advance.”
Allendale, the champion of the River Cities Alliance conference, enters Thursday’s title game with a 13-2-5 record. Fruitport beat Allendale in very tense game back in early September, 4-3.
“It was a crazy one,” Hazekamp said about the first matchup with Allendale. “They have a lot of talent and are very explosive. We’ve got a day to check our notes, make sure all of our prep is good, then come back for what is probably going to be another war on Thursday.”
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