Harper Creek wins first All-City boys soccer title in 16 years

BATTLE CREEK — Harper Creek doesn't win a lot of All-City titles in boys soccer.

But the Beavers' Tre Cotton seems to win one about every season lately, so he was expecting something good to happen at the All-City tourney on Friday.

Harper Creek won the All-City championship in boys soccer for the first time since 2008 and only the second time in the history of the tournament with Cotton scoring the game-winning goal.

Cotton helped Harper Creek defeat Lakeview, 1-0, in the finals of the All-City boys soccer tourney at Lakeview High School on Friday.

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For Cotton, it was his second All-City title in a matter of months. In the spring, he helped the Harper Creek boys track team win an All-City title for the first time in school history.

"This is fun making history. In track, we won it for the first time in forever. And, now we just won the All-City title in soccer for the first time in a long time. This is great," Cotton said. "This is my first year on the team. I just came out for conditioning, so I can stay in shape. But, it's been a lot of fun. It's great to be on this team."

Cotton, a senior, was able to score with :48 left in the first half for the only goal of the game. The scoring chance came after Phillip Moerchen had a free kick from 35 yards out that went off the hands of the keeper and bounced behind him before Cotton saw an open goal for the score.

Lakeview had won five straight All-City boys soccer tournament championships coming into this season. So, to end that streak and to make history, Cotton made it a night to remember for the Beavers.

"It's been a long time since this has happened," second-year Harper Creek head coach Kyle Grestini said. "This is something I thought could happen this year. This group has put in a lot of hard work over the summer."

Harper Creek sophomore keeper Broderick Hanger earned the shutout in goal.

The Calhoun Christian/St. Philip co-op defeated Pennfield in the consolation game. The contest was 1-1 at the end of regulation with Calhoun Christian/St. Philip winning in a shootout, 4-3.

Harper Creek advanced to the finals with a 5-0 win over the Calhoun Christian/St. Philip co-op in the semifinals. In the other half of the bracket, Lakeview held off Battle Creek Central, 2-1, in the semifinals.

BCC opened the tournament with a 3-0 win over Pennfield.

Contact Bill Broderick at bbroderi@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow him on X/Twitter @billbroderick.

This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: Harper Creek wins first All-City boys soccer title in 16 years