After last year’s loss against the Canton Chiefs in the MHSAA State Championship Finals, the Rochester Adams Men’s Soccer (RAMS) team was out for revenge in this year’s semi-finals.  On November 4  at Stoney Creek High School, the game came down to the last nail-biting seconds, only to end in a crushing 4-3 loss. Nonetheless, the RAMS’ pride should not be diminished.

The Highlanders started out strong with forward Lennart Zorn scoring at the 30 minute mark, but the success was short-lived as Canton then scored two of their own. Morale was still high despite a Canton 2-1 lead at the half, and the RAMS returned to the game with a vengeance. Goalie junior Dylan Brown blocked Canton’s attempts left and right, and when the Highlanders tied the game 2-2, Brown blocked a penalty kick with ten seconds left to keep the match tight.

The teams then advanced into overtime with penalty kicks. Each team scored once, but a miss by outside midfielder  senior Connor McDevitt gave victory to Canton, allowing the Chiefs to advance to the state finals.

Coming so far and just nearly missing victory is hard enough, but the Highlanders’ loss was made more devastating by Canton’s poor sportsmanship. After the clock ran out, Canton players rushed to the Highlander student section to give them a certain well-known hand gesture.

“I thought it was really disrespectful that [Canton] didn’t go celebrate with their team and classmates when they won. They just came to brag,” said senior Sophie Kimmel.

Both teams knew the feeling of making it to the state championships all too well from last season. Both teams gave it their all on the field. Only one, however, walked away with integrity and sportsmanship.