2018 Champ Novi No Longer Overlooked
By
Tom Markowski
Special for Second Half
May 2, 2019
NOVI – Perhaps it wasn’t such a surprise that Novi won the MHSAA Division 1 girls soccer championship last season.
Sure, Grand Blanc, ranked No. 1 at the time, was the favorite – an overwhelming favorite by some estimations. That opinion alone places added pressure on the team that’s expected to win and, yes, Novi was the recipient of a Bobcats defensive miscue on the game-winning goal late in its 1-0 victory.
What is apparent is that many overlooked the Wildcats. Forget about the five losses they suffered during the season. No program plays a more competitive schedule, and much can be said of a team’s mental toughness after having faced high-level teams week after week. Novi caught fire at the right time and allowed just three goals over its seven tournament games.
Rest assured, no one will overlook Novi this season as the Wildcats are 8-0 and ranked No. 1 entering the month of May.
Todd Pheiffer is in his fifth season as head coach, and the 1992 Novi graduate is used to winning. He spent nine seasons at Ann Arbor Huron and guided the River Rats to the program’s only title (in Division 1) in 2008. He was an assistant coach under Brian O’Leary at Novi when the Wildcats won MHSAA Division 1 titles in 2010 and ’11. Novi has won six MHSAA titles in girls soccer, the most of any program at the Division 1/Class A level.
Pheiffer lives and breathes soccer. He’s coached the boys team at Novi since 2016 and he also coaches a club team. His first boys team at Novi reached the Division 1 Semifinals before losing to East Kentwood. Last season Novi lost in overtime to Detroit Catholic Central, 3-2, in a District Final. His daughter, Abbey, a sophomore, is the starting goal keeper after serving as the back-up. Todd Pheiffer and his wife, Michele, also have a son, Zachary, who plays on a U12 travel team. The Pheiffers are also math teachers – Todd at Novi, Michele at rival Northville.
Todd Pheiffer didn’t begin his professional career in education. After graduating from University of Michigan, he entered the computer software business but found that field unfulfilling. He went back to school and received his teaching degree in 2009 (from Eastern Michigan) before earning a master’s in athletic administration and educational leadership from Wayne State University. He spent a year teaching at St. Clair Shores Lakeview before going to Salem for a half-dozen years and then to Novi in 2015.
“It just kind of worked out,” he said. “I thought I’d go into computers and then be an attorney. I don’t make the money I used to, but I love what I do.”
Novi lost to Brighton in the Districts in Pheiffer’s first season with the girls team, then reached the Division 1 Semifinals the next before losing to Rochester Hills Stoney Creek – which went on to win the MHSAA title. Novi then lost to Plymouth in a Regional Semifinal in 2017 before breaking through last season.
“We had a few players back from the team that lost to Stoney Creek in a shootout, and I told them we could have won it that year,” Pheiffer said. “Last year we lost the last two games of the regular season and my captains got the team together and told them that’s not it, that’s not how we’re going to end our season. They got them back up and motivated. We knew if we won our District that we would host the Regionals and have a good shot at going far.”
The Wildcats received additional incentive from another source. After Novi defeated Troy, 4-1, in the Semifinal and Grand Blanc held on to defeat Midland, 1-0, words were said that provided locker room material.
“The girls were on their phones with each other saying did you see what the Midland coach said,” Pheiffer said.
Jessie Bandyk is a four-year starter as an attacking center-midfield and she clearly recalls what took place between the Semifinals and Final.
“We saw things in the paper, that Grand Blanc was a sure thing (to win)” she said. “Pretty much everybody felt that way. It gave us motivation. Honestly, I think we could have done it either way.”
That’s confidence. And that confidence is back despite Novi losing five senior starters to graduation, including goal keeper Callie Rich, and two defenders. Abbey Pheiffer’s play in goal has provided a significant boost. Abbey started seven games as a freshman, so she does have valuable varsity experience. Over the first eight games this season, she’s stopped 39 of 41 shots with six shutouts.
“I definitely credit our defense,” Abbey said. “Our team chemistry has been really good this season.
“Last year was a lot of fun. Novi always has a big target on (its) back. Now that we’re state champs and doing so well, they want to give us that loss. I remember in scrimmages the other players talking about how they wanted to beat us.”
One of Novi’s best players is junior forward Avery Fenchel. She has a knack for scoring goals, and none was bigger than the one she scored against Grand Blanc in the 2018 Final. Fenchel led Novi in goals and points her first two seasons, and has eight goals and seven assists so far this season.
“She has a great field awareness and is very unselfish when she has the ball,” Coach Pheiffer said. “Although she loves scoring goals, she is always willing to make that extra pass when it’s the best option.”
Not to be overlooked is the play of its defenders, notably returning starters Lauren Calhoun, a senior center back, and sophomore Eva Burns, an outside back.
“Everyone wants to talk about who scored the goals and who had the assists,” Pheiffer said. “Our defense is definitely a strength.
“This season is tougher. There’s added pressure. We’re No. 1 now. Last year nobody looked at us. Our girls are motivated by that. We have a brutal schedule and play in a tough league (Kensington Lakes Activities Association). Plymouth is ranked No. 7 and Hartland is No. 4, and we play them both twice. Northville and Brighton are in the top 20 and Canton, which tied (No. 2-ranked) Grand Blanc isn’t even ranked.”
For Bandyk and the other four seniors who start, this is their final hurrah, their last chance not only to win a title but to play together as teammates.
“There’s a group of us who play travel together, and having chemistry outside of high school helps,” she said. “We set some goals before the season, not only to win a state title but to have more fun and to make the most of this season.”
Tom Markowski is a correspondent for the State Champs! Sports Network and previously directed its web coverage. He also covered primarily high school sports for the The Detroit News from 1984-2014, focusing on the Detroit area and contributing to statewide coverage of football and basketball. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Novi’s Jessie Bandyk moves play ahead during last year’s championship game win against Grand Blanc. (Middle) Abbey Pheiffer lines up to send the ball downfield this spring. (Below) Wildcats coach Todd Pheiffer mulls things over during the Final. (Middle photo courtesy of Novi athletic department.)
Performance: Lansing Christian's Kasey Jamieson
June 21, 2018
Kasey Jamieson
Lansing Christian senior – Soccer
The four-time all-state forward capped her career Friday with the lone goal of a 1-0 Division 4 championship game victory over Kalamazoo Christian, earning the final Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week” for 2017-18. Her final high school goal secured a second straight Division 4 title for the Pilgrims and gave her 197 goals for her career – the second most in MHSAA history.
Jamieson had 54 goals – tied for 10th most for one season – and 71 total points this spring in helping Lansing Christian to a 19-3-2 record. For the second straight year, she was considered the best player in all of Division 4 as the lone selection from that division to the all-state Dream Team. In addition to her 197 career goals, she’ll make the record book career assists list with 72 – and her 268 career points (over 101 games) rank third all-time. Jamieson also returned to her school’s basketball program this past winter, playing that sport for the first time since freshman year and contributing significantly to the Pilgrims’ 15-7 finish.
Her class valedictorian with a 4.0 grade-point average, Jamieson is drawn to biology and similar sciences and aspires to become a physical therapist. She will study kinesiology and continue her soccer career at Division I Liberty University in Virginia this fall after she joins other college players this summer as part of local United Women’s Soccer League team Lansing United.
Coach Joel Vande Kopple said: “The most visible aspect of Kasey’s impact had obviously been her production on the field, where both the number of goals and assists she had are records at LCS since I've been there. Something that often goes overlooked is her availability to play. She didn't miss any games in her four years, and knowing that she was going to be out there every game really boosted our girls. Her personality is what I've appreciated most about her. Despite all her accolades, she always wanted what was best for the team and to see her teammates succeed.”
Performance Point: “What I'm missing most is just the team,” Jamieson said, recalling her final game with the Pilgrims. “I've been with this team the past five months. Basically every day we see each other, so I guess it's just different not having practice to go to, just not talking to them about the games or what's going to happen, or cheering them on or encouraging them. ... I definitely didn't know going into the (championship) game if I'd be the winning goal, or if I would assist it, or if one of my other teammates would have it. But whatever it was, we would've done whatever we could have to have that goal, no matter who put it in or not. It was so awesome to finish my year off like that. Obviously, I couldn't have done it without any of the girls on the team, so all credit to them. It was just a fun year, a fun way to go out. … Obviously, we worked really hard for it, so I'm so proud of the girls.”
Pilgrim pride: (High school soccer) is so much different because it's more of a team mindset, while club becomes a personal mindset because you're trying to get noticed by colleges, by coaches. High school, we're not doing it for coaches. We're not doing it for scouts. We're doing it because we love this sport and we love each other, and we love to push each other and work together. That's what's different about high school – it's not the personal game, it's all team. And that's what I love about it – especially since our school is K-12, all these girls I've been playing with since I was little.”
Showing the way: “Our school, since we're so small, we get to hang out with the elementary students, which is so fun. You get a kindergarten buddy every year, so most of our kindergarten buddies were at the state championship game. It was so cool. And we all have little siblings that are younger students, so all the siblings brought their friends. So it's not just the high school supporting you, but the entire school. It's a cool environment, and it encourages you to do better. (Coach) talks about how there are these little girls that are looking up to you constantly, and how you act, they're going to notice it.”
Back on the break: “I played basketball all the way up to freshman year, and then I just stopped and I wanted to focus on soccer. I went into senior year like, I missed the sport and I wanted to try it out. It was fun. It definitely was different. It was cool using different workouts because I wanted to use different muscles and work different areas so I could be an overall (well-rounded) player. I shared the position as a point guard and a shooting guard. I played most of the entire game. We did well. ... The coach (Jason Salsbury) is super supportive, and the cool thing about our basketball coach is he was at all of our soccer games cheering us on. And he has two little girls and a little boy who are looking up to us so much, which is just so fun because some of us get to babysit them. So it's just a cool environment. We're just like a family.”
Faith and family: My faith is the most important thing to me. … A cool thing about Liberty that I like, every time before games they prayed, and they prayed for other people. It was even a bigger family than at Lansing Christian, which I loved and that's what I wanted. I went to one of their games – they were playing somewhere in Tennessee, I believe – and a girl on the other team got injured, we we're sitting there watching and then girls that were on the field and off the field starting praying. That right there, I was like ‘OK, I want to go here.’”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2017-18 school year, Second Half and the Michigan Army National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom or protect lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2017-18 honorees:
June 14: Erik Fahlen Jr., Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian golf - Read
June 7: Paxton Johnson, Escanaba golf - Read
May 31: Lydia Goble, Schoolcraft softball - Read
May 24: Corinne Jemison, East Kentwood track & field - Read
May 17: Reagan Wisser, Richland Gull Lake soccer - Read
May 10: Clayton Sayen, Houghton track & field - Read
May 3: Autumn Roberts, Traverse City Central tennis - Read
April 26: Thomas Robinson, Wyoming Lee track & field - Read
March 29: Carlos Johnson, Benton Harbor basketball - Read
March 22: Shine Strickland-Gills, Saginaw Heritage basketball - Read
March 15: Skyler Cook-Weeks, Holland Christian swimming - Read
March 8: Dakota Greer, Howard City Tri-County wrestling - Read
March 1: Camree' Clegg, Wayne Memorial basketball - Read
February 23: Aliah Robertson, Sault Ste. Marie swimming - Read
February 16: Austin O'Hearon, Eaton Rapids wrestling - Read
February 9: Sophia Wiard, Muskegon Oakridge basketball - Read
February 2: Brenden Tulpa, Hartland hockey - Read
January 25: Brandon Whitman, Dundee wrestling - Read
January 18: Derek Maas, Holland West Ottawa swimming - Read
January 11: Lexi Niepoth, Bellaire basketball - Read
November 30: La'Darius Jefferson, Muskegon football - Read
November 23: Ashley Turak, Farmington Hills Harrison swimming - Read
November 16: Bryce Veasley, West Bloomfield football - Read
November 9: Jose Penaloza, Holland soccer - Read
November 2: Karenna Duffey, Macomb L'Anse Creuse North cross country - Read
October 26: Anika Dy, Traverse City West golf - Read
October 19: Andrew Zhang, Bloomfield Hills tennis - Read
October 12: Nolan Fugate, Grand Rapids Catholic Central football - Read
October 5: Marissa Ackerman, Munising tennis - Read
September 28: Minh Le, Portage Central soccer - Read
September 21: Olivia Theis, Lansing Catholic cross country - Read
September 14: Maddy Chinn, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep volleyball - Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Lansing Christian's Kasey Jamieson surveys the field during Friday's Division 4 championship game win over Kalamazoo Christian. (Middle) Jamieson pushes the ball ahead; she scored the game's lone goal.