Junior had several big saves for No. 2 seed Bulldogs in their 2-1 win over No. 3 seed East Lansing.
MASON — Landyn Loveless has spent all season working behind the scenes and preparing for when and if his opportunity may arrive for the Mason boys soccer team.
And that opportunity finally came Tuesday, Sept. 30.
With two-time all-state goalkeeper Mikey Krysiak out, the Division 2 No. 11-ranked Bulldogs turned to Loveless to handle the duties in net.
And the junior succeeded while making his first start of the season by helping No. 2 seed Mason earn a shot to defend its CAAC Gold Cup final with a 2-1 victory over No. 3 seed East Lansing.
"It means everything," Loveless said. "I wanted to do this as a kid and now I get to. It just means the world."
Loveless learned on Monday, Sept. 29 he likely would be making his first start of the season. He was eager for the opportunity and then capitalized on it by making several big saves throughout the night for the Bulldogs before they got the game-winning goal from Kayden Hill with just under 10 minutes to play.
"Landyn was great for us," Mason coach Jacob Derby said. "I told him before the game that if you weren't playing here at Mason with Mikey in front of us, you'd be starting. (He's) been performing at a high level in training and (Tuesday) he got his opportunity to shine in front of everyone and he stepped up and he held it down. There were some saves there that really kept us in it and we're really proud of him."
Loveless said he was ready to step up in net in his first start because he's spent most of his soccer days as a goalkeeper. His father — former Okemos star Mike Loveless — helped push him in that direction when he started playing soccer.
And Loveless has kept growing at his craft as a goalkeeper over the years. That's included training with older players and even learning in practice from Krysiak this season.
"It helps so much," Loveless said. "(Krysiak) shows me the ropes and shows me how to do stuff and makes sure I look good when I'm doing stuff."
Loveless looked good to coaches and teammates with his first shot Tuesday. Hill said Loveless gave the Bulldogs everything they needed with his performance and is excited the program will have him around for another season.
"I think it's a great confidence boost for the team and himself," Hill said of Lovless' performance. "It shows that he has what it takes and if we're in a bad situation he can step up and do what we need him to."
A Gold rematch
The semifinal win over East Lansing gives Mason an opportunity to capture a second straight Gold Cup title. The Bulldogs will host No. 4 seed DeWitt on Tuesday, Oct. 2, in a rematch of the 2024 final it won in a shootout. DeWitt, which is ranked No. 15 in Division 2, knocked off top seed and Division 1 No. 4 Okemos in the other Gold Cup semifinal.
"The teams in the area were very, very good," Derby said. "There was probably seven or eight teams that all had the opportunity to compete in the Gold Cup. We're just fortunate enough to be one of those teams. Coming back for a second year in a row is a great opportunity to see if we can defend the title."
Contact Brian Calloway at [email protected]. Follow him on X @brian_calloway and Bluesky @briancalloway.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Landyn Loveless helps send Mason boys soccer to CAAC Gold Cup final
Category: General Sports
