The Grand Rapids Community College men’s soccer team faced off against Jackson College which turned out to be a back-and-forth game of trash-talking, where the Raiders hung on to the victory 4-3.
GRCC started the match on a mission as the Raiders looked to score from the start. Freshman winger Lucas Freriks had a shot on goal but was unable to score. This was a consistent theme in the first half of the game.
Freshman goalkeeper Brett Miller was active in the first few minutes as he had multiple saves against the Jets offense.
The No. 2 goal-scorer in Division II, freshman striker Mohamed Tamour, made an impressive inside move into a shot, leading to the first goal of the game.
Tamour credited the team’s mentality which has allowed him to succeed.
“The team always comes out wanting to win more than the other team which has allowed us to have great success on offense,” Tamour said. “Along with the team’s mentality, we’ve put in the hard work that is necessary to see this level of success.”
The defense stayed stout throughout the first half due to great communication and solid defensive plays. Freshmen defenders Ian Gunderson, Xander Fredericksen and Alexander Harrington and Chase Laarman made hustle plays to allow the Raiders to shut out the Jets in the first half.
Although the Raiders were up 1-0 at halftime, they only had three more shots on goal and ended the first half with less intensity than when it started.
GRCC head coach Damiekco Smith noted that his team ended the half flat and were challenged defensively for the first time all year.
“They played the first half like they were complacent and they were challenged defensively,” Smith said. “This is the first time a team has challenged us on defense, and I have to give a lot of credit to Jackson (College) for doing a great job.”
Unlike the first half, the second half entailed much more action with both teams coming out aggressive. At the start, the Raiders had a few chances to increase their lead including a one-timer by Tamour which was saved by the Jets goalie. The Jets used this momentum to score their first goal of the game off of a GRCC mistake.
The Raiders responded immediately as the Jets had a foul which led to a penalty kick from freshman striker Elijah Maas, and he capitalized on the opportunity to score the Raiders second goal.
After Maas’ goal, both teams amped up their trash-talking along with their play. The Jets scored off of a penalty kick to tie the game.
Tamour continued his dominance by scoring the following two goals of the game, the first assisted by freshman striker Chibambo Munguakonkwa and the second being off of a penalty kick.
With the Raiders up 4-2, the game seemed all but over but the Jets made the final five minutes of the game interesting. They scored within the final minutes of the game, and continued to pressure the Raiders until the very last whistle. GRCC maintained their lead and walked away with a 4-3 victory over the Jets.
Smith was content with how the team responded in the first half but felt they could have done more.
“I’m happy with the way they responded but I wish they would’ve responded a little bit better,” Smith said. “They seemed complacent at times throughout the game but they got the job done and that’s all that matters at the end of the day.”
The Raiders increased their winning streak to five games along with maintaining their undefeated conference record of 6-0-1. In what is shaping up to be the Raiders’ biggest regular season game of the year, the No. 12 ranked Raiders travel to Livonia to face the No. 7 ranked Schoolcraft College, according to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) rankings. The match will be played on Wednesday, Oct. 11 at 3 p.m.
Smith acknowledged that the Ocelots are the team to beat regardless of the Raiders’ victory over them earlier in the season.
“It’s going to be a tough game if I’m going to be honest,” Smith said. “They still have the throne and although we beat them once we have to beat them (again) to get to the throne.”
