Varsity Boys Soccer Wins 15th Straight U.P. Championship; Finishes Season 21-2-2 And Unbeaten In Last 22 Games

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Varsity Boys Soccer Wins 15th Straight U.P. Championship; Finishes Season 21-2-2 And Unbeaten In Last 22 Games

Varsity Boys Soccer (21-2-2)

The MSHS Varsity Boys Soccer team hosted the U.P. Boys Soccer Championships on Saturday, 10/15/22, at the Kaufman Sports Complex in Marquette.  Teams competing in the Division 1 Tournament included Houghton, Iron Mountain, Kingsford, Marquette and Sault Ste. Marie.

After defeating Iron Mountain in the semifinal game by a score of 9-1, the team captured the 2022 U.P. Championship by defeating Kingsford 4-0 in the event final.  The tournament win is the 15th consecutive U.P. title for the MSHS Varsity Boys Soccer Team.

MSHS Varsity Boys Soccer – 2022 U.P. Tournament Champions

Game 1 – Semifinal:  Marquette 9, Iron Mountain 0

Evan Sysko (on left in red) passes the ball to his brother Jack vs Iron Mountain (Photo Credit: Mary Sysko)
  • Max Dawson scored his 100th career varsity goal to get the game started. The goal was assisted by Isaac Johnson.
  • Other goal scorers in the first half were Ben Wilson from Dixon Poggi and Kaleb Chipelewski; Ezra Pickard on a penalty kick; and Isaac Johnson from Max Dawson.  MSHS held a 5-1 advantage at the break.
  • In the second half, it was all Marquette.  Max Dawson scored back-to-back goals (the first assisted by Ezra Pickard and the second was unassisted).
  • Cody Struck added the next goal (assisted by Henry Wood) before Evan Sysko scored (assisted by Ezra Pickard).  Ethan Sandstrom finished off the scoring for the mercy rule win from a Kaleb Chipelewski pass.
  • Goalkeeper Edan Hautamaki faced four shots in the first half and one in the the second half for a five total saves in the game.
  • From MSHS Head Coach, Dan Salmon:  “We were pretty excited as a team that Max (Dawson) got his 100th career goal.  For his teammates to be a part of that is pretty special just as it is for us as coaches.”

Game 2 – Championship:  Marquette 4, Kingsford 0

Hunter Sandstrom (in pink on the left) plays defense against Kingsford (Photo Credit: Mary Sysko)
  • In the championship game against Kingsford, Marquette held on to a 1–0 halftime lead off an Ethan Sandstrom goal which was assisted by Isaac Johnson.
  • Edan Hautamaki faced three shots in net in the first half.
  • In the second half, it was all seniors for Marquette.  Goal scorers were Ezra Pickard (assisted by Evan Sysko); Isaac Johnson (assisted by Max Dawson) and Ezra Pickard (via penalty kick).
  • From MSHS Head Coach, Dan Salmon:  “The seniors made their mark on this game in the second half.  Evan Sysko, Max Dawson, Ezra Pickard, and Isaac Johnson were not going to be denied the championship.  These guys worked hard. It was a great team effort especially from the defense.  Particularly, Indigo Catalano and Hunter Sandstrom shut down the middle of the field.  Each year we win this, it puts more pressure on the next year and I couldn’t be more proud of how this team responded.  We are a young team and we came along way from the start of the season.” 

The MSHS Varsity Boys Soccer Team finishes the 2022 season with a 21-2-2 overall record and are unbeaten in their last 22 games (dating back to 8/20/22).  Marquette is coached by Dan Salmon with assistant coaches Collin Lake, Paul Lagrou, and Liam Jeevar.