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MADISON HEIGHTS — Madison Heights Bishop Foley has seen a revival of the program’s boys soccer program the past three seasons, and it’s courtesy of the 11 seniors that took the field for the Ventures this season.
As sophomores, they were district champions with aspirations for a regional title. As juniors, they had a grasp of the regional finals, but ultimately fell short. As seniors, it was no longer the regional title they had their sights set on, but rather the Michigan High School Athletic Association state finals game at Grand Ledge High School.
Bishop Foley last made the state championship game in 1997 when the Ventures were crowned Division 3 state champions in a 2-1 win over Ludington High.
On Nov. 4 at Grand Ledge High School, the Ventures would take the stage they’ve dreamed of reaching since their freshman season, but they’d have to go through the defending Division 4 state champions, Muskegon Western Michigan Christian.
“Ever since freshman year, our goal was to get better and better and ultimately get to the state finals,” senior goalkeeper Gregory Altman said.
Muskegon Western, the No. 1 ranked team in Division 4, would earn a 3-0 win over Bishop Foley to retain the Division 4 state title, but for Bishop Foley, all the focus was on the second half of play.
A scoreless first half in the finals brought promise for the Ventures, but Muskegon Western’s three goals in the second half would slam the door closed.
“I think we just had a bad half, honestly,” Foley coach Nino Maniaci said. “My keeper made some really great saves to keep us in it the whole time, but we had a couple chances in the first half that we could’ve been up by one or two goals. Once they scored that first goal, it was like, ‘Okay, we’ve been here before and we’re going to be fine.’ Once they scored that second goal, I could just see that they were exhausted.”
Regardless of the outcome, Bishop Foley’s 2023 season will go down in Ventures history as the one that not only ended a 25-year drought, but also fought through one of the toughest state tournament paths the Division 4 playoffs could throw at them.
Bishop Foley, the No. 7 ranked team in Division 4 according to the MHSAA, earned wins over Bloomfield Hills Roeper (No. 9), Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep (No. 4), and Catholic League rival Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett (No. 2) in the program’s journey to the state finals.
Senior defender Jayden Orr said one particular win propelled the team’s confidence throughout the state tournament.
“Definitely our win against Liggett,” Orr said. “We proved ourselves as serious contenders, and it was a big confidence boost taking them down.
Aside from the win bringing the Ventures their first regional title since 1997, Liggett had bested Bishop Foley 4-1 three weeks prior in the Catholic High School League Cardinal Finals, but it was a different stage with different implications for the Ventures. Foley edged Liggett 1-0 in a shootout win.
The win over Liggett set the stage for a semifinals matchup against Kalamazoo Hackett, and it would take an overtime goal from senior forward Jake Nihranz to lead Foley to a 2-1 overtime win. Nihranz tallied two goals in the win for Bishop Foley.
Nihranz’s 17 goals paced the Bishop Foley attack this season while senior forward Ben Barrett added 13 goals. Barrett scored two goals in the second half of the regional semifinals against Allen Park Inter-City Baptist to break a 2-2 tie and lead Bishop Foley to a 4-2 win.
Bishop Foley trailed both Kalamazoo Hackett and Allen Park Inter-City Baptist at respective points, but Altman said the early deficits played right into the strength of the Ventures.
“I believe our biggest strength was our resilience and our willingness to fight back in any situation,” Altman said. “We were a very talented team, but if we didn’t have that type of mentality or work ethic, I don’t think we would be in the position we got to.”
Altman led a Bishop Foley backline that posted 10 shutouts this season, including two in the state tournament.
The Ventures’ backline received efficient contributions from seniors Michael Drozdowicz, Dylan Barbieri, Patrick Ammon, and Orr.
With only eight players, six being freshmen, slated to return for Bishop Foley next season, the Ventures’ 11 seniors leave tough shoes to fill for the 2024 squad.
Maniaci said the seniors showed the underclassmen an important trait this season.
“I think they just showed them resiliency,” Maniaci said. “They’re going to face a ton of it no matter where they are in life, so I definitely think they led by example with that.”
It’ll be a change of pace next season for a Ventures team that brought back 10 of 11 starters in 2023, but the unknown teams can sometimes be the most fun to watch.
If one thing is for certain now, it’s that expectations and standards have been raised for the Bishop Foley soccer program after this season.
“They’re going to be thrown into the fire,” Maniaci said. “They didn’t get a lot of run where it’s like, ‘Cool, I’ve been here before and faced some of the adversity with the older guys.’ I think they’ll be ready to go. They’re going to have to be ready to go.”
