RICHLAND, MI - Two years ago, the state semifinals were an eye-opening moment for the Richland Gull Lake boys soccer team.

On Wednesday, it felt right at home.

Led by its potent offense, the Blue Devils ran away with a 5-1 win over East Grand Rapids in the Division 2 state semifinals at Grand Rapids Christian High School to earn a spot in their first state championship game since 1993.

“Two years ago when we made it to the state semifinals, we were kind of in awe,” Gull Lake coach Matt Streitel said. "When we made it past the regional finals and got to practice the next day, the atmosphere just felt different than two years ago. It felt like a business-like atmosphere, and I knew the guys were pretty focused at that point.

“We did a lot of game-planning the last two days, and I think when we came out, we were organized defensively. We took away their No. 10 (Nolan Hunter), who is their big playmaker, and we knew that if we could capitalize on some set pieces, we could definitely run away with this game, and I think that’s exactly what we did -- the boys executed the game plan perfectly.”

Senior DeWitt Renwick gave Gull Lake a 1-0 lead on a goal from Tyler Corstange in the 14th minute, which provided a huge boost for the Blue Devils, who were surrounded by a very East Grand Rapids-friendly crowd.

“We talked about their crowd and their students and how many students we knew that were going to be at the game, and going up to Grand Rapids and playing a Grand Rapids school, we knew the fans were going to be huge for them,” Streitel said. "My thoughts at practice were, ‘Can we a take the fans out of it in the first 10-15 minutes?’ I think it was it was going to be big that we weather the storm in the first 10.

“After we scored our first goal, we were able to really dictate play, and I think that took the crowd right out of it after that.”

Gull Lake went on to control play for the rest of the opening half, but couldn’t find the back of the net again until three minutes after the break, when senior Roni Sylejmani fed junior A.J. Boucher, who drilled a shot past East Grand Rapids' diving goalkeeper from 20 yards out.

The Blue Devils added to their lead less than 10 minutes later, when Boucher sent a free kick to the foot of Corstange, and another Boucher assist -- this time to Sylejmani -- gave Gull Lake a 4-0 advantage with 22 minutes left in the game.

Riley Folk rounded out Gull Lake’s scoring with 15 minutes left in the game on Sylejmani’s second assist of the night, giving the Blue Devils an insurmountable 5-1 lead.

The talented trio of Boucher, Corstange and Sylejmani have been producing all season for the 15-2-1 Blue Devils, and to see them step up on the big stage impressed Streitel.

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“I think it shows that we have a mature team, and that big players step up in big moments,” he said. “Roni has had a ton of pressure on him, A.J.'s had a ton of pressure on him, and Roni specifically with what he is -- he scored two goals this postseason, so it shows that his teammates are ready to pick up the slack when people are man-marking him, or he’s not having a great game, and I think it just speaks to the maturity and the chemistry of our team.”

East Grand Rapids got its lone goal from Ben Cannon with 16 minutes left in the contest, and while his offense put up an impressive number, Streitel said his defense was also on top of its game.

“All season long, we’ve had games where we have allowed one shot or less, and it’s our back line -- our backline is exceptional -- but I think it’s every piece of our team from strikers to the backline, being organized, having seconds everywhere and really defending with each other as a unit, which has put us into these spots. Again, I think tonight was another game where we didn’t allow more than four or five shots on net or four or five in general.”

After winning just three games in 2019, East Grand Rapids wrapped up its season with an impressive 15-4 record and its first state semifinal appearance since 1989.

Gull Lake advanced to face DeWitt the Division 2 state championship game, which kicks off 3 p.m. Saturday at Comstock Park.

The Blue Devils defeated the Panthers, 2-0, on Sept. 26, but after suffering a second-round upset in last year’s state tournament, Gull Lake isn’t looking past anyone with so much on the line.

“They’re really beefy in the middle and a possession-style team, and I think when you get to a state final, it’s hard,” Streitel said. “We’re going to pick and choose, but we’ll pull some things from film, we’ll pull some things from our game, we’ll pull some film, hopefully, from games since then, but it’s a state final game.

"It’s a bigger, stronger, faster feel, and I think it’s going to come down to capitalizing on set pieces, capitalizing on opportunities that we have, and we’re not expecting to have a ton of opportunities on net, and I think the team that can come in and be able to put those in the back of the net and take advantage of those will come out on top.”

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