Dexter's Path to State Final Ends in Heartbreaker Loss Against Hudsonville

By Alex Hardie

Despite a hard-fought match on Halloween, Hudsonville Unity Christian beat Dexter 1-0 in a Division 2 state semifinal to give the Crusaders their second consecutive state final playoff berth.

Dexter began the game with some good possession of the ball and pressure on Unity’s end of the field in the first 10 minutes of play. Unity then evened up the possession for the middle portion of the half, with the Dreads finishing with better attacking chances in the last 10 minutse before the half-time break.

“Unity’s No. 7 player gave us some problems with his runs forward with the ball. We made some adjustments in the second half which limited this, unfortunately it allowed them to find one of their wide midfielders with a pass that set up their goal,” said Dexter coach Scott Forrester.

With just over 23 minutes left in the game, Unity found their left midfielder with a penetrating pass that put Hudsonville in behind the defense.

“It was a nice goal that resulted from a defensive breakdown on our part, allowing them to score. Unfortunately, the chances we had from Bobby Toth weren’t finished on, and the other few chances that we had were blocked by their solid defensive play.

"The boys had a great season with a lot of accomplishments. They added to our tradition and should be proud of themselves.”

This year’s Dreadnaughts (19-6-3) won district and regional championships along with the Oxford tournament and the SEC White Division title.