Calvin Christian Wins Rematch of Titans
June 15, 2013
By Chip Mundy
Special to Second Half
MASON – Midway through the first half of Saturday’s Division 4 Final, the Grandville Calvin Christian girls soccer team was behind for the first time in 17 games.
Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes/Clarkston Everest had a one-goal lead and was undefeated and ranked No. 1 in Division 4.
Something had to give.
Calvin Christian wiped out that early one-goal deficit with a goal in the first half and a tie-breaker in the second to post a 2-1 victory over the Lakers and repeat as champion in a rematch of the 2012 title game. Last year, Calvin Christian defeated the Lakers 6-0 in the Final.
“We knew that they had everybody coming back, and they were hungry,” Calvin Christian coach Tim TerHaar said. “The score last year didn’t really represent the fact that it was two quality teams, and we knew that they would be ready to play, and they played a whale of a game.
“We played a good game and worked really hard, and to be honest, I feel fortunate to win this game because they played a great game.”
For the second year in a row, the Lakers entered the MHSAA championship game undefeated, only to return home with the runner-up trophy.
“It’s definitely frustrating,” Lakers coach Katie Hearn said. “I don’t know, I think we just didn’t click (Saturday). We picked a bad day to have a bad game, that’s all.”
Senior Brianna Topolewski opened the scoring for the Lakers with an assist from Shelby Mann in the 19th minute. Mann sent the ball across the crease, and Topolewski kicked the ball in past the goalkeeper on the short side.
TerHaar said his team didn’t panic facing a deficit for the first time in weeks.
“I know that we’re a focused team, and we have confidence in our ability to fight back,” he said. “I was really pleased with our response to giving up a goal, that we came and kept pressuring.”
Ten minutes after Topolewski scored, sophomore Hilary Curry answered for the Squires. Curry took a pass from Whitney Koets and beat the goalkeeper on the short side, much like Topolewski did on her goal.
“That was a very important goal that we scored in the first half to be at level footing at halftime,” TerHaar said.
It didn’t take long in the second half for Calvin Christian to gain the advantage. Curry found sophomore Emily Van Vliet ahead of her racing toward the goal on the left side and sent her a perfect pass. Van Vliet then beat the goalkeeper on the far side, and she did it right-footed, even though the left-footed shot would have been easier.
“I’m not a strong left-footed kicker, so I decided to kick it with the outside of my right foot,” Van Vliet said. “I just knew that Hilary would get me the ball. I trust her, and we work really well together, and when she passed the ball to me, I just put it in the net.”
TerHaar praised both players for their part in the game-winning goal.
“It was a beautiful play,” he said. “Hilary Curry isn’t the biggest or the strongest or the fastest player, but she’s a technical genius. She had great vision there and picked out a slot to get the ball to Emily Van Vliet, who finished calmly with a beautiful goal.”
Curry finished with a goal and an assist and took pride in both.
“It’s always fun scoring, but putting us ahead was fun, too,” she said. “It was a closer game (than last year’s title game), which made it more fun and more intense. But it’s always fun to come out and be the champion.”
Calvin Christian (18-2-4) came into the game ranked No. 2 behind the Lakers despite a streak of 11 consecutive shutouts and 15 in their last 16 games. The Lakers likely were ranked No. 1 because they were undefeated and because Calvin Christian lost nine seniors from last year – a fact that rankled the players.
“It feels great for these five seniors,” TerHaar said. “We had read in lots of newspaper stories about how we lost nine seniors from last year. Our team took a little bit of offense to that. But that’s a fact, and we are still a very, very good team, and we’re proud to be state champs.”
The Lakers (20-1 and 38-2-2 over the last two seasons) had a chance to tie the game in the 75th minute when Megan Luttinen’s shot hit the crossbar and bounced over the net.
“It was close to bouncing in, too, so the margin between winning and losing when you have two really good teams is very, very small,” TerHaar said. “We feel very fortunate.”
Calvin Christian held a 9-4 edge in shots on goal as freshman goalkeeper Jordyn Postema made three saves but was denied her 20th shutout.
Calvin Christian is the first repeat champion in Division 4 since Kalamazoo Christian won back-to-back titles in 2007-08. Saturday also marked the first time the Division 4 Final featured a rematch.
“We squandered some chances, and they had some chances as well, with all due credit there. But we did have a couple of chances that probably should have been goals that could have changed the stressful last minutes a little bit,” TerHaar said, “but they played a great game.
“It was a great final.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Calvin Christian senior Carley Sikkema (4) works to control the ball against Waterford Our Lady/Clarkston Everest on Saturday. (Middle) The Squires’ Stephanie Thomasma (3) tries to take the ball from Lakers freshman Allison Maiorana. (Click to see more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
TC West Standout Renews Ties to Titans, Cheers Past Teammates' Gold Pursuit
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
July 16, 2021
Savanna Wojtanowski was made here. She played here. She stayed here — except for stints in Washington, D.C., where international soccer players joined her.
Now she’s back as a high school soccer coach.
While lots of faces familiar to United States and Canadian television viewers and soccer fans are expected at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, some of those players will be personally familiar to Wojtanowski.
Wojtanowski played alongside a handful of current and recent players on the U.S. and Canadian women’s teams after serving as four-year starting goalie for Traverse City West and during a college career that began with two seasons at Ferris State and concluded with her final two at Michigan State in 2016 and 2017. During her time with the Spartans, Wojtanowski spent two offseasons with the reserve team for the Washington Spirit, one of the original eight teams when the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) was formed in 2012.
At West, Wojtanowski was named second team all-conference as a junior and senior, as well as first team all-district, first team all-region and all-state honorable mention her senior season in 2013. West winning the Big North Conference title that spring remains her favorite memory from high school soccer – and she quickly has matched that achievement as a coach, leading West to the BNC championship this past spring in her first season after taking over the program.
Wojtanowski is looking for the U.S. national team to come out with a vengeance after the disappointment of the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil. There the U.S. fell to Sweden in a semifinal shootout, which meant failing to reach the gold medal match for the first time since women’s soccer was introduced to the Olympics in 1996 in Atlanta.
Sweden is the U.S.’s opening-game opponent July 21 in Tokyo.
“I believe there is a lot of revenge being chased after the Rio Olympics,” the 25-year-old former keeper said. “I was with the Spirit during Rio, and when the team returned from the Olympics, the sense of disappointment was felt for a long time.
“I believe going into this year's Olympics, we will see a different type of fire displayed from the USWNT.”
Wojtanowski won’t see former Washington Spirit teammate Diana Matheson of Canadian fame and Estelle Johnson of Cameroon playing in Tokyo. Matheson recently announced her retirement after 18 years representing Canada’s national team. Johnson and her teammates lost a playoff with Chile for the last of 16 slots in the Olympics.
Wojtanowski feels fortunate that she had the chance to compete with and against the women trying to claim gold at Tokyo.
“During college I was able to play two years on the Washington Spirit reserves, which opened the door to the pro side of the game,” she said. “I was fortunate enough to be one of two college players training full-time with the pro squad for those two summers.
“Having the opportunity to play alongside some USWNT women and the Canada women was such a great experience.”
Wojtanowski played with current U.S. roster players Crystal Dunn and Kristie Mewis. The current Canadians she played with are Stephanie Labbe and Shelina Zadorsky. Labbe was Canada’s starting goalkeeper in Rio.
Dunn, though, stands out most to Wojtanowski. Dunn was with the Spirit but now plays for Portland. She has 24 goals and 19 assists in 116 appearances for the USWNT as primarily a defender.
“(Dunn) was such a treat to play with …. her humor, attitude, and training mentality is something I will forever remember,” Wojtanowski said. “She was constantly dancing, laughing, and having a great time at training, but when it was time to get serious she would get the job done.”
Wojtanowski also had the tough job of trying to stop U.S. standout Rose Lavelle during Lavelle’s time starring for Wisconsin. The past Badgers standout and now-Washington Spirit midfielder has 14 goals and nine assists in 56 appearances for the U.S.
Wojtanowski began her collegiate career with two seasons at Ferris State University. After transferring to MSU, she played two more seasons and as a junior in 2016 tied the MSU single-game record with 14 saves against then-No. 16 Penn State. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business with a focus on administration and management and a master’s certificate in supply chain management and procurement. She returned home to start the next chapters of life, and she works as a supply chain buyer fulltime along with her guidance of the Titans.
She’s thrilled to be back at her high school alma mater, which she guided to an overall 10-4-1 record this spring, with the Titans eventually falling to Midland Dow in a Division 1 District Final.
“I wanted to give back to the community,” said Wojtanowski, who previously had coached at the club level in Lansing. “West has always had a very special place in my heart ever since graduation.
“When this opportunity presented itself, I knew I had to take the opportunity to be a Titan again,” she continued. “It has been a special experience to coach the program that I grew up with.”
Wojtanowski wants to instill a family-based culture in the Titans program, something she came to know and love while at Michigan State.
“The biggest thing for me is growing them as individuals both on and off the soccer field,” she said.
Wojtanowski believes girls high school and women’s soccer in this country have changed for the better since she played. And, she’s not the least bit surprised by the consistent success of the USWNT.
“The women's game in the US has grown significantly since I started playing soccer in 2000,” Wojtanowski noted. “Our farm systems here in the U.S. along with club, college, and other programs feed a constantly-elite level of players through the USWNT system.”
2020-21 Made in Michigan
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PHOTOS: (Top) Savanna Wojtanowski leads a halftime discussion this spring with her Traverse City West varsity. (Middle) Wojtanowski, second row standing far right in group photo, trained two seasons with the Washington Spirit’s reserves; the Spirit first team included U.S. national teamer Crystal Dunn (left in second photo) and Cameroon national teamer Estelle Johnson (far right). (Below) Wojtanowski makes a save for West against Traverse City Central in 2012. (Top photo by Daisy Kinney, middle courtesy of Savanna Wojtanowski and below courtesy of the Traverse City Record-Eagle.)