Plymouth vs. Canton-First Round Districts: In the first round of soccer districts, the Canton Chiefs edged the Plymouth Wildcats with a score of 2-1. Mohammed Miri scored both goals for Canton, including the game-winner with less than 10 minutes left. This game ended Plymouth’s season, after finishing with a record of 9 wins, 7 losses and 5 ties.

Plymouth’s high point in the season was beating Canton in their first match-up. They shut them out 1-0 and gave Canton one of their only two losses. Plymouth Senior, Van Nguyen, had some parting words about his Plymouth soccer experience. Nguyen says, “Being able to see this team evolve and develop every year has been rewarding and was really sad to see it end. The memories I’ve had with my team on and off the field are memories I’ll cherish forever. Go Wildcats!”

Salem vs. Churchill-First Round Districts: Salem took on the Churchill Chargers on the varsity field. It was clear from the beginning that Salem had more talent and a better ability to work as a team. They broke down and pulled apart Churchill’s defense, with most of the action coming from Salem on Churchill’s side of the field. They were victorious by a score of 5-0 in an overall team effort.

Canton vs. Salem-Second Round Districts: One team’s dreams of winning the state championship this year had to come to an end. Canton had control through most of the game, and they grabbed a 2-0 lead early in the second half after leading 1-0 at the half. With about nine minutes left, the momentum of the game took a seismic shift. The game felt so much more in reach for the Rocks after Salem Senior, Christian Freitag, knocked in a goal. Freitag added another just five minutes later to knot the game at two. Canton couldn’t quite find a third goal in them in the second half, so the game went into overtime. In the first 10 minute half of extra time, Freitag capped off his hat trick with a bar-down strike off the crossbar. Salem’s defense fended off Canton for the last 12 minutes or so as Salem walked out victorious and Canton’s run came to an end. As one of the favorites to win the state championship, Canton went home disappointed. Miri said, “This season has been a dream for me. This loss was upsetting, yes, (but) God says everything happens for a reason.” They ended the season with a 16-3-2 record.

Salem vs. Crestwood-District Final: The huge win against Canton set Salem up for a District Championship game in which they took on Crestwood. Michael Schwartz scored on a penalty kick after a penalty in the box from Crestwood. Crestwood responded with a goal fairly late in the game, sending it to overtime. Salem didn’t waste any time in overtime by scoring quickly in the first half of OT. Bryan Rodwell scored that first goal, and not 10 minutes later, Freitag scored to give Salem a very comfortable 3-1 lead. They held off Crestwood and advanced to Regionals to play against Saline.

Salem vs. Saline-Regional Semifinal: Salem’s run continued on a Tuesday night. They played in the Regional semifinal game at Ann Arbor Huron High School against Saline. Saline won their District, just as Salem beat Crestwood in theirs. Saline looked to be a tough test for the Rocks, who have survived all but defeat in their amazing playoff run. They needed to keep their energy and effort up throughout the game to have a chance against another team that was as hot as them at the time. Saline scored a goal midway through the first half to lead 1-0. Salem scored a goal in the first few minutes with a goal by Crosby. They later scored again with yet another clutch goal from Freitag to put Salem ahead and complete the comeback win not much later than they had started it.

Salem vs. Novi-Regional Final: Salem looked to continue its unprecedented success against Novi in the regional championship game. A win in this game would give them a spot in the Michigan Soccer Division 1 final four. Most of the action throughout the first half took place on Novi’s end. The ball was mostly controlled by Novi for the first half, but to no avail. The Rocks D stayed stout for the time being. Salem continued to keep fending off Novi’s attack early in the second half. But, when it came to the midway point in the second half, the Wildcats struck first, and weaved through the Salem D before finding an open man and firing it into the back of the net. You could tell Salem was deflated. They had finally reached the point where they couldn’t keep a goal out. They were exhausted. Salem had a cross or two with plenty of potential but they just didn’t have enough magic on that particular day. 1-0 was the final score, and Salem’s season was over. Salem junior Christian Freitag said, “We came into the season losing 13 seniors. Everyone put us down as the worst team in the Park. We exceeded expectations; as we went on to win Districts. We succeeded through adversity, not as a team but as a family, and I’m proud of what we did.” They ended the year with a stellar record of 13-7-3 including an amazing playoff run.

These playoffs for P-CEP soccer was one to remember. The games had more energy and excitement than many previous years. The soccer teams are expected to try to come back with more power than ever next season.