2011 District Champions

2011 PN Husky Mens Soccer Team Honoring Justin Bailey Photo courtesy of Doug Arnold (Sharpshot Photos)

Click Here for MLive District Championship Article

PN vs. Loy Norrix – District Finals  10-22-11
Huskie fans arrived early at Loy Norrix, the hosts of the District Division 1 Tournament.  Dressed all in orange and armed with dozens of orange and brown balloons, each labeled with a player’s name the Huskie fans painted their cars and readied their pompoms waiting for the players to arrive.  Jeff Clark acted as the flag man (waving one of the many PN flags borrowed from the Chez Huskie concession storage room) waiting on the corner of Lovers Lane for the first sign of the Huskie caravan.
The cars rolled into the site, one by one, greeted by their loyal fans with flags waving, horns blowing standing behind the big orange Huskie banner.  The players, seemingly uncomfortable with the surprise greeting, tried hard to conceal their unmistakable smiles as they pulled into the lot … (very "uncool").  Stopping briefly for a team shot behind the banner, the players got right down to business as they walked through the field gate.
This was the first District finals game that the Knights had reached in 25 years.  They were focused, motivated, and desperate for a win.  The Huskies too had a lot on the line, not having won a District Title since 2008; they were hungry for the trophy.   Keeping their shape, the Huskies worked as a unit to control the first half of the match.  At 28:27, Charlie Norman found the back of the net, assisted by Josh Walker.  The Huskies led at the end of the first half, 1 -0.
 Norrix battled back, and at the 20:01 minute mark of the second half connected with their first goal.  The goal scoring Knight did a bit too much celebrating by removing his jersey and was rewarded with a yellow card.   A wake up call to the Huskies, they responded in true Northern character with goal from Brandon Bye with help from Charlie Norman.  The match became even more physical and intense as the Huskies confronted a desperate team of Knights.  With 6 minutes left in regular time, the Knights scored their second goal forcing the match into overtime.
Fans on both sides of the stands were on the edge of their seats, chanting and stomping cheers for their players.  Seven minutes into the first overtime period, Kaileb Bowers dribbled past a Knight defender to about the 6 yard line and fired a shot from the side of the net, in the air landing in the upper half of the back o f the net.  Huskie fans went wild as THE Superfan, Ryan Howard complete with a painted orange face and orange hair ran back and forth across the front of the stands waving the Northern flag.   Despite our lead at the end of the first OT, we had to play the second 10 minute OT half.  The team worked together to retain possession for much of that time, with the fans holding their breath as them seconds ticked away.  Chanting together the crowd counted down… 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!!!  Huskie’s WIN!!!!   The balloons were launched as the players piled together; hoisting the trophy that Mr. Riker presented the team.  Each player’s name was called as they received their District medal.  The team did their celebratory front body slide across the field to the crowd giving the Mom’s some victorious grass stains to remove before the first Regional tournament game.

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PN vs. Kalamazoo Central – District Semifinals 10-20-11
Torrential rains had been in the area for the past 24 hours.  The pitch at Norrix became so saturated that the AD moved the game to Harper Creek to take advantage of their artificial turf.  It was the worst possible night to play soccer, temps in the upper 30s – low 40s, driving rain and wind.  There was not enough cold weather gear to keep the Huskies anywhere near comfortable.
Despite the adverse conditions, the game was totally dominated by the Huskies, from start to finish.  KC strategy seemed to be to put two strong forwards up front and pack 18 legs inside the box and hope for a counter attack.  The strategy almost worked as the congested box and lack of offense from the Giants left little chance to score. 
The deciding goal came with 50 seconds left on the clock…not a Huskie on the pitch wanted even ONE more minute in this cold wet misery.  The score came from Charlie Norman, as he got a foot on the rebound from Brandon Byes shot.   This would be the game winner, final score Huskies 1, Giants 0.  Water soaked orange jerseys could be seen jumping through the side-winding rain in elation… at the goal… at their now advancement to the District finals… and at the thought of peeling off their wet socks in the warmth of the waiting car of their loyal Huskie fan.

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PN win vs BC Lakeview MLive Article

PN vs. BC Lakeview – Districts Game #1

Traveling to Battle Creek, the Huskies were confident that this game #1 of their District playoff would be an easy win after nearly handing
Lakeview a mercy during the regular season by defeating them 7 -0.  Jeremy Norman got the first Huskie goal with an assist from Brandon Bye 
at the 23:20 minute mark.  But, BC Lakeview struck right back following that goal off of a giveaway in their own end.  Adam Beer reported that
BC Lakeview played a very physical first half and it seemed to take Northern a bit by surprise.  The first half ended with the score tied at 1 each.

After a Vince Lombard like halftime speech by Coach Fuehr, Northern came out with a renewed sense of purpose.  This was evident at the beginning of
the 2nd half When Charlie Norman scored on a great low shot following a fine move to get himself into position to shoot.  After that goal the wheels 
seems to fall off of the cart for Lakeview and Northern piled it on.   Justin Eustice got goal #3 assisted by Charlie Norman.  Nine minutes later,  
Eustice fed an assist to Josh Walker who scored Huskie goal #4.  Less than a minute later, Steven Stryker scored goal #5, unassisted.   Wrapping up 
the goal scoring route, Albert Shija got Huskie goal #6.  It was a great night to be a Huskie as they savored the victory with good news that PC had 
lost their District game to Loy Norrix. ..icing on the cake.  
PN will meet KCentral in the District Semifinals.

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PN vs. Sturgis
The game started off with both teams seemingly evenly matched.   Jeremy Norman scored the first Huskie goal assisted by Brandon Bye.  Sturgis answered midway through the half with 2 back to back goals at the 22nd and 26th minute mark, giving the Trojans a 2 -1 lead.  Charlie Norman scored unassisted to even things up.  The half ends with the score tied at 2 each.
The Huskies started the second half slow…until Josh Walker woke the crowd up with a goal assisted by Colin Howard.  The Trojans added another goal ending regulation time at 3 goals apiece.
The golden goal rules applied in the overtime.  Josh Walkers corner kick was bounced around and eventually sent over the line by the Sturgis keeper at the 7:15 mark of the first overtime period.  The Huskies defended that lead through the next 13 minutes of overtime play to secure the victory, 4 -3.

PN vs. PC – SMAC Tourney , Game #2  10-6-2011
In a hard fought, heartbreaking match, the Huskies lost to PC after a double overtime in a shoot out.  Regulation time Huskie goal was scored by Brandon Bye.  Great effort by Evan Stoll in the net, he handled the pressure with true Huskie spirit, tenacity, and class.  As a loyal Huskie fan, it was heartwarming to see the guys with their arms wrapped around each other as their teammates took each shot during the final minutes.  Their love and support for each other was evident.  Great team work!   A special thanks to the PN SuperFans for their support and school spirit.  I am very proud to be a Huskie parent!

SMAC Tournament 10-04-11
Portage Northern earned the right to host their SMAC Tournament games by finishing in first place in the SMAC West Conference Division during regular season play.  Tonight’s guests are the Spartans from Battle Creek Lakeview. 
The Huskie pitch was prepped and perfectly manicured looking worthy of a World Cup match as the players took the field getting set for the clock to start.  The spirit flags flying along the edge of the stands stood still under the bright sunny sky with barely a breeze to be had.   Loyal Huskie fans donned their sunglasses and shed their sweatshirts enjoying their Chez Huskie chicken- on- a -stick (a post season Chez menu favorite).  All was good in Huskieville.
Less than two minutes into the game, Brandon Bye scores with an assist from Justin Eustice.  The Huskies dominated play as Jeremy Norman tallies the next goal with an assist from Josh Walker. Kaileb Bowers finishes the first half with the third Huskie goal of the evening.
The lights come on and the grass starts to slip beneath the cleats of the players as the dew settles in for the night.  Brandon Bye starts the second half with Huskie goal number 4 assisted by Steve Stryker.   Less than two minutes later, Jeremy Norman adds goal number 5 unassisted.  Goal number 6 also belongs to Jeremy Norman, this time assisted by Wondi Anemone helping Jeremy to complete his hat trick.  Lucky number 7 was scored by Albert Shija with an assist from David Shufelt.  A shut out evening for Evan Stoll and Nick Riesgraf with traditional spectacular support from the Huskie defensive line and a sold out night for Chez Huskie chicken-on-a-stick.   Final score:  PN Huskies 7, BC Lakeview Spartans 0.
The Spartans board their bus for a long ride back to Battle Creek, as the Huskies await another matchup with their rival PC Mustangs who will come to PN on Thursday for the SMAC Tourney Semifinal match.

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PN vs. W. Ottawa 09-24-11
W. Ottawa traveled back to PN to make up the game originally scheduled on August 23rd that was canceled due to weather.  After a scoreless first half Brandon Bye finished on an assist from Steve Stryker with 16 minutes left in the match.   Huskie’s lead 1 -0.  With 8 minutes left in the game Brandon Bye receives and assist from Adam Beer and finds the back of the net making it a 2 -0 match.  W. Ottawa avoided the shutout though as they scored with just 2 minutes left in the game.  Portage Northern wins, 2 – 1.

PN vs. Gull Lake 09-28-11
The Huskies traveled to Richland for a muddy goal scoring festival.  Even the rain stopped to sit back and watch the fun as the PN players celebrated the minutes away against the Gull Lake Blue Devils.  Kaileb Bowers started the party with a goal assisted by Jeremy Norman.  Bowers added a second unassisted goal, giving the Huskies a quick 2 – 0 lead.  Brandon Bye netted a goal with an assist from Justin Eustice, Josh Walker scored twice, with one assist from David Shufelt.  Walker finished his hat trick with help from Albert Shija, and continued racking up personal points as he assisted Wondi Anemone with the next Huskie goal.  Steve Stryker got goal number 8 with an assist from Brandon Bye, and Spencer Maroukis put the Blue Devils out of their misery when he found the back of the net on a direct kick scoring goal number 9.
Final Score, Portage Northern 9, Gull Lake 1. 

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9/22/11 PN vsPC

MLive Game Article

A crisp Fall evening with temps near 60 degrees and the sky dotted with ever increasing gray puffs of clouds …a prelude to the impending Michigan winter… and the chilling historic rivalry match about to take place on the PC pitch. Orange as far as the eye could see, PC land was invaded by the ever devoted Huskie fans that made the trip across town dressed in their PN orange and brown.  Not an empty seat in the PN side of the stands, they lined the fences surrounding their beloved Huskie players.  The super fans, dressed in painted chests and fuzzy slippers brought their voovezuelas and their best chants in an effort to help return the Derby Trophy back to Northern territory.
The Huskie players took the pre-game field dressed in their commemorative Justin Bailey t-shirts and wrist bands as the PC announcer read a tribute to Justin and fans from both sides gathered together to remember their fallen fellow soccer enthusiast who played with passion every time he took the field.   The former PN soccer player who was tragically taken from the world by a drunk driver in July of 2011 was honored with a memorial fund raiser to benefit MADD (Mother’s Against Drunk Driving).
Evan Stoll started the match play with a game saving stop as the PC offense took the ball down the field on the opening possession and got behind the Huskie defense with a breakaway opportunity off the 6 yard line.  The Huskies got on their game and there was a lot of back and forth during the first half as both teams battled fiercely.  The score remained 0 – 0 at the end of the first half.
 The Huskies looked composed and well organized, showing true Huskie character they moved the ball strategically threatening the Mustangs the entire 40 minutes of the second half.    The first 32 minutes of the second half mirrored the efforts of the first …with no connection …until Spencer Maroukis carefully positioned the ball near the half field mark setting up the Huskie free kick earned after a PC foul.  In classic Maroukis composer, he took a beautiful touch on the ball and placed it perfectly in the box as a slew of waiting Huskie players battled to get the ball over the crease and finally successful as Steven Stryker headed the ball past the PC keeper.  Huskies lead, 1 – 0!  The stands thundered as the crowd stomped and cheered.  Everyone was on their feet as play continued in its nail biting fashion as the clock ticked away the last 8 minutes of the match.  As the clock hit the 0.00 mark, the roar of the Huskie crowd could be heard for miles down Westnedge, as Chris Riker took the field to accept the Derby Trophy and bring it home to Northern.  The players gathered together in their Huskie pack formation, hoisting the trophy up into the air and parading it around the field as the Super Fans rushed the pitch to pouncing on their Huskies with adoration as the Huskies celebrated taking down their cross town rival and winning the SMAC west regular season title.

Huskys raise the Derby Tropy awarded to the winner of the PN vs PC game.

 

 

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PN vs. St. Joseph 09-20-11
Looking very organized and in control of the play, the Huskies came to St. Joe to face a senior stacked Bears team.    Northern moved the ball well and dominated play the first 20 minutes of the game as the lights came on the field.  Tons of back and forth play ended the first half with a score 0 -0.
At the 43:17 minute mark the Bears got around the Huskie defense to score the first goal of the evening.  Then, at the 43:54 mark, the Bears shocked the Huskies with another goal.  The Huskies responded with tremendous offensive pressure for the remainder of the game with several shots that missed the mark almost connecting when a cluster of Huskies crashed the net off a corner kick as the St. Joe keeper punched out the shot.  Finally, at the 72:45 minute mark, Spencer Maroukis scored with an assist from Jeremy Norman.  The Huskies would end the game coming up short, one goal… Bears win 2 -1 setting up a must win situation for the SMAC league title in the upcoming game against the rival Mustangs on Thursday at PC.

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PN travels to East Lansing 09-17-11
The Huskies made the trip to East Lansing for a mini-tournament format of games.  They faced St. Johns which came down to a shoot out, the Huskies prevailing with a 4 – 3 victory.   Goals were scored by Spencer Maroukis, Wondi Anemone, Charlie Norman, and Thomas Vandersloot.   Great defensive effort by Evan Stoll in the net.
In the second game against Midland, Jeremy Norman scored with an assist from Albert Shija.  Brandon Bye scored goal number two with a chip shot, and Wondi Anemone finished the Huskie scoring with a goal off an assist from Brandon Bye.
The Huskie’s were dubbed tournament champions!

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PN vs Kalamazoo Central 09-15-11
Just a brief summary for this game… KCentral brought a very physical style of play to the Huskie field with a game filled a lot of contact…not always with the soccer ball.  PN had to modify their world cup style of the beautiful game to a more scrappy high school soccer format.    KCentral got the lead during the first half on a PK, their only goal of the game.  The Huskies responded with true Northern character to come back and win the game 2 -1.  Both Huskie goals were scored by Brandon Bye with assists from Justin Eustice and Gagon Gupta.

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PN vs. Niles 09-13-11

The Huskies SMAC The Vikings- Portage Northern “welcomes” Niles into the SMAC West Conference League with a shut out 7 – 0 victory.

Highlights of the game:

Josh Walker had 2 goals and 2 assists.
Jeremy Norman had 1 goal.
Justin Eustice had one of his “signature” LONG goals.
David Shufelt had 1 goal.
Brandon Bye had 2 goals.
Steve Stryker had 1 assist on one of Brandon’s goals.
Cruz Aleman scored his first varsity goal as a Huskie off an assist from Charlie Norman.
Evan Stoll had a terrific save late in the game to preserve the shutout.
Huge win for the Huskies!!!

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PN vs. EK  09-10-11

The game opened up very fast paced and the Falcons were up 3-0 at the halfway point of the first half.  The Huskies had some good runs and after some back and forth… a fresh set of legs from the Huskie bench put some pressure on the Falcons and controlled the last 10 minutes of the half.  The Falcons kept up the pressure the entire half, substituting 17 times and outshooting Northern, 7 – 0.
Whatever medicine Coach Feuhr dished out during halftime, it was effective.  The Huskies came out with a much better effort.  The rest of the game was scoreless… the Huskies tied the Falcons with 3 shots each and held the Falcons in a shut out half.  The Huskies did a good job keeping fresh legs in the game, played on an exceptionally hot day.  The Kentwood squad subbed 42 different times.
The second half proved that the Huskies could hang with the Falcons and be competitive…and if we play like we did during the second half of the game a victory will be ours… next time…  Great job Huskies coming together with character and effort to tie the second half of the game.

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PN vs Plainwell 09-08-2011

Huskies meet the Trojan horse.  Disguised as an easy opponent to beat, the Plainwell Trojans caught the Huskies off their guard.  Various Huskie players could be heard in the days before the match describing in detail about their prediction for a mercy-like win over the Trojans, who are rebuilding after the loss of many seniors from last year’s team.
The dogs will learn after tonight’s game, that  the lightly taken team, according to their perception, will bring their strongest game in a match against the Huskies.  As a spectator for the game, each pass seemed to be just a touch off, and each of our 12 shots on goal was taken just a step too late.  Bobbling the ball from player to player, the Huskies just could not seem to string together a play.  The Trojans were pressuring hard, way more than what PN expected. 
The Huskies were able to connect early in the game with a pass from Gagon Gupta to Josh Walker who puts it in the net for the first goal of the game.  Caught back on their heels a few different times, the Huskie defense scrambled to organize and rise to the level of unexpected play from the Trojans.  After a lot of back and forth, none of it particularly pretty, the Huskies finally made another attempt at a goal when Charlie Norman completes a perfect pass to Jeremy Norman, the Trojan keeper comes out of the net and Jeremy chips a beautifully placed ball into the crease to a waiting Brandon Bye who heads the ball….just over the top of the net for a near miss.
Looking more determined, and like the Huskies’ we know and love, Josh Walker feeds Jeremy Norman a gorgeous ball as the keeper again came out too far.  Jeremy gets the second Huskie goal of the evening on an open Trojan net at the 24:48 minute mark of the second half.
At the 11:13 minute mark, Plainwell responded with a goal.  The score was uncomfortably close as the clock seemed to tick the seconds like minutes.  The Huskie defense, fully engaged in their typical top drawer style, worked hard to fend off the Trojans.  Against the clock the Huskies manage to hold on to their lead and secure the victory with a final score Huskies 2, Trojans 1.

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Tuesday, September 6th PN vs. Lakeshore

It was a dominant performance by the Huskie squad, both offensively and defensively. The dogs barked loudly on the Stevensville Lakeshore field on that chilly Tuesday evening.

The game started with a Huskie flurry – total domination from the opening whistle.  With great movement of the ball from Brandon Bye as he fed an excellent thru-ball to Josh Walker three minutes into the game, Josh took a touch off of a Lancer defender and blew past him for the first goal of the match.  Shortly after that, on a ball played to Brandon Bye from Gagon Gupta – Brandon launches a picture perfect cross to a waiting Wondi Anemone who tallied the second goal of the evening.  After more dominating minutes, Brandon Bye weaves his way past 2 Lakeshore defenders and crosses a pass/shot that bends into the goal just over the outstretched gloves of the Lancer keeper.  The Huskies can smell the scent of victory after just 15 minutes of match play. 
With the Lancers on their heels  and after a foul on Charlie Norman, Collin “Big Cat” Howard rips a laser free kick into the Lancer net from 35 yards out… the keeper did not even raise his hands in an attempt to make the play.  Huskies lead 4 – 0 at the half.
Opening up the second half, the Huskies scored in the first 41 seconds.  The ball was played wide from Steve Stryker to Jeremy Norman.  Jeremy took the ball into the corner and crossed it to Josh Walker for the final Huskie goal of the night.  A whole slew of Huskies got involved and controlled the remainder of the game.  The Lancers got on the scoreboard with a late goal.  It didn’t seem to matter which one of the Huskies was on the field, they controlled the pace of the game.  All 22 players were involved in a total team effort.  Great job Huskies!

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MLive PN vs Mattawan Article

Wednesday, 08/31/11 vs. Mattawan VARSITY

Hopefully Huskie fans brought their bleacher seats to this match as the metal rows of the stands were hot enough  to fry an egg… or a Wild Cat… 85 degrees and muggy as the team took the field, already warm but loosening up in their stylish new team t-shirts… great job Boosters!   Remembering the brutal contest last season against the Mattawan Wild Cats, the Huskies would need their entire pack of talent to protect their doghouse tonight. 
Moving together as a unit, keeping good shape, the Huskies showed no signs of fear as they came out onto the pitch.  After their initiation into high school soccer with the Rams on Monday, the Huskies were ready for this, the first SMAC division game of the 2011 season. 
Spencer Maroukis was the first to connect with a direct kick as a result of being fouled early in the game.  The Huskies maneuvered easily around the Wildcats, controlling the play for the majority of the first half.  Strong defense on both sides kept the play focus on the middle of the field.  At the 10:11 mark, Kaileb Bowers received a perfect pass from Josh Walker and seized the opportunity by putting another Huskie goal on the scoreboard.  What would be the “go-ahead” goal was scored with two minutes left in the half as David Shufelt was positioned in the box to get the rebound from Jeremy Normans shot …and put the ball into the back of the net.  The Huskies lead 3 -0 at the end of the first half of match play, after converting all three of their only shots on the net into goals.
The Wildcats made good use of their intermission at half time as they came back out onto the field noticeably more determined, stepping up their physical play.  Early in the second half, Wondi Anemone got tangled up with one of the Cats and received a yellow card after the tussle.  The Wildcats continued to press, taking shots on the goal, one of which ricocheted off the hand of a Huskie, earning the Cats a PK.  The Wildcats made a successful kick, getting them on the board with a goal. The Huskies responded by scoring less than ten minutes after the altercation as Jeremy Norman, set up by Gagon Gupta, and rifled a shot that smoked off the gloves of the goalie into the back of the net.   This ended the Huskie scoring for the evening at 4.  Mattawan took this opportunity to sub in a replacement keeper.
At the 24:34 mark, Mattawan scored with a powerful strike that hit the far right post and bounced diagonally back across the net into the left far post side of the net, a virtually unstoppable shot.  The Wildcats would board their bus back to Mattawan defeated by the Huskies, 4 to 2.

 

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