HOLLAND – It shouldn’t be a surprise.
The Holland vs. Holland Christian boys soccer rivalry is arguably the best rivalry in the state – and the rivalry made its latest argument.
For the third consecutive regular-season match, the teams tied, this time 1-1 on Wednesday, Sept. 17, at Holland High School.
Holland is ranked No. 6 in Division 2, while Holland Christian is No. 7. The teams tied 2-2 earlier in the season.
“The first matchup was tense and a big, physical matchup. We thought we had an edge coming to our home field, and quite frankly, we played really well – and so did Holland Christian. They held strong defensively,” Holland coach Greg Ceithaml said.
This matchup showed that even talent level that has made this rivalry great for decades.
Holland Christian struck first on a penalty kick by Reuben Plaggemars nearly 5 minutes into the game.
Holland struck back with a first-half goal by Josiah VanHekken with an assist from Luke Rund-Scott.
“We have both progressed in our season and there were things that both teams did better tonight. They moved the ball well tonight and Josiah is a big threat and strikes the ball super well,” Holland Christian coach David DeBoer said. “When these two teams collide you are problem solving on the fly. Tactically, we asked them to do something different and they adjusted really well. I was proud of the effort.”
Both teams had chances in the second half.
Rund-Scott rocketed a shot that hit the corner of the post and crossbar. Andrew Legg shot one in that Holland Christian goalie John Oosterhouse tipped up and over the goal.
Holland Christian had a few chances as well. The best chance was off the foot of Plaggemars, but Holland goalie Simon Ozimek was able to pounce on it and stop the rebound.
The teams have tied several times in the past few seasons, but if they play a third time this season, there will be no tie because it will be the postseason, where there will be overtime periods and a shootout if necessary to see what team moves on.
Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSports.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Holland ties Holland Christian in rivalry showdown in state’s best soccer rivalry
Reporting by Dan D’Addona, Holland Sentinel / The Holland Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
