This past season marks the second year in a row the Cardinals have won a share of a regular season CSAA title.

Despite only finishing this season with an 8-12 record, head coach Justin Fox was very pleased with the competitiveness his team showed with their tough schedule.

“Playing that level of competition puts it right in front of the guys,” Fox said. “(They) know that this is the expectation if we want to be successful.”

Big Rapids finished the season with a 4-3 record at home and a 6-1 record at home. The Cardinals improved their offensive output with an average of 2.4 goals per game as opposed to 2.27 in 2022; however, they did allow almost 0.5 goals per game more defensively with their tough non-conference schedule.

Coach Fox’s team also earned seven all-CSAA honors individually with first-teamers William Heydens, Tyler Neil, Nick Pischel, Isaiah Reidinger, Mason Richards, and Chrisitan Smits along with honorable mention Keaton Edwards.

According to Coach Fox, next year’s group will need a huge boost from the lower classmen.

“We are going to have a new look this (coming) year. We are graduating a bunch of key guys in key spots. I think from a positioning standpoint, the guys did well playing in new roles and dealing with that uncertainty at the beginning. We grew to figure out our positions and I think that showed in the results that we were able to get.”

When it comes to improvement, the Cardinals will work to gain better control and confidence with the ball.

“I’d like to see the boys get a little more technical, more comfortable with the ball their feet,” Fox said. “We did some technical work in the summer and I think the boys grew from that so we're going to continue it.”

For more local sports, subscribe to the Big Rapids Daily News at wbrn.com.