BYRON CENTER — Four years of hard work paid huge dividends for the Dowagiac soccer team each of the past three seasons.

Led by a strong senior class, the Chieftains won three consecutive Division 3 district championships. They reached the regional championship once (2018) and were eliminated by one of the state’s top five teams in 2017 and Tuesday night.

For nearly 68 minutes, the Dowagiac soccer team led No. 4-ranked Grand Rapids South Christian 1-0 in the Division 3 regional semifinals Tuesday night.

A pair of goals in the final 11:44 of the match by the Sailors allowed them to escape with a 2-1 victory and a spot hosting the regional championship match against No. 2-ranked Unity Christian Thursday night.

Veteran Dowagiac coach Mike Williams was happy with the way his team performed against the Sailors.

“I think that is the best game we have played all year,” he said.

Dowagiac grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 29th minute as Gustavo Cruz scored.

The match would remain tied for the remainder of the first and right up until Thom DeVries scored the first of his two goals in the 70th minute.

The Chieftains continued to battle, but struggled in the second half getting the ball on the South Christian end of the pitch.

DeVries then seals the Sailors’ victory with his second goal in the 78th minute.

“That was a tough one,” Williams said about the tying goal. “That was unlucky, or whatever you want to call it, but you cannot make mistakes against good teams and leave things open. You have to be on your toes the whole time, which is tough when they have as many numbers that they can rotate a new guy in on you on the outside, which they did. We did not have the depth of veteran players to fill in those spots.”

Williams said that is probably the best team he has had from front to back as a starting line-up. They worked extremely hard to improve, both in season and in the offseason.

“They play well together,” he said. “As you can see they play good soccer. They possess the ball real well and they move real well. They have a huge heart. There is a big difference between having a lot of sophomores and having a lot of seniors. The seniors have done an amazing job of leading and setting a good example by effort and commitment. That is what made this team so much better.”

South Christian outshot Dowagiac 16-4. Alejandro Martinez made 10 saves for the Chieftains.

Williams said preparation for next season will begin shortly as the indoor season starts in November.

“It is the same routine and these boys have been doing it for quite some time,” he said. “They are totally committed. They have done two sessions of indoor for the past four years and they have done the Blossomland Soccer League or another travel team. We have done summer camps and open field. They have done it all. They have done everything I have asked them to do, and you can see the difference because we are competing at the regional level instead of getting blown out by five goals.”

South Christian outshot Dowagiac 16-4. Alejandro Martinez made 10 saves for the Chieftains.