Sophomore Bennett Nieuwkoop played hero yet again for the boys varsity soccer team on Thursday night in a 1-1 tie against East Grand Rapids. Bennett played well all over the place but played a key part in scoring a goal on a penalty kick to take away a win from the Pioneers. Fellow sophomore Kyle Webb calmly booted in the PK with ease to tie the game up.

“After all the energy expended on Tuesday against Grand Rapids Christian, it was tough to replicate that early against East,” head coach Paul Kramer said.

With a new conference record of 1-2, the Rangers were looking to get up to the .500 mark in conference play against a very scrappy East Grand Rapids team.

In the first half, it was looking like the Pioneers would run away with it. With only one and a half days rest, the Rangers looked sloppy and very slow from the get-go. The defense didn’t play very well during the first half, giving EGR a lot of shots on the net. Halfway through the first half, the Pioneers finally struck gold. A rocket was put into the top right corner of the net, and East found themselves up quickly 1-0. The score would stay the same until halftime, with each team getting their fair share of shots on net.

When the second half rolled around, the boys looked like a new team. When the second half was kicked off, the Rangers rose to life. Each possession and the defensive front looked dominant from FHC, and there was no telling that they were due to score at any moment. With less than 3 minutes left in the game, Bennett was taking the ball downfield and was just about to shoot at the top of the keeper’s box but was knocked down by a Pioneer. EGR drew a penalty on the play, and Kyle lined up for the PK. EGR’s goalie thought it would go right, but Kyle fooled him and took an easy kick right into the left side of the goal to tie up the game at one. With little time left, FHC wasn’t able to muster another offensive possession to try and break the tie. 

FHC now holds a 3-5-1 record and will face West Catholic in a make-up game on Saturday, September 18, at West Catholic High School.