D1 Soccer Final: Chieftains and Champions
June 16, 2012
EAST LANSING – Okemos’ multiple offensive standouts have made it one of the best teams in Michigan all spring and one of the highest ranked in Division 1, coming into the MHSAA tournament No. 2 in the state coaches poll.
But senior goalkeeper Molly O’Connor also had a big part to play in her final high school game.
O’Connor had given up only six goals in 23 games heading into this week. And she picked up her 19th shutout as the Chieftains beat No. 8 Troy 2-0 at Michigan State. She stopped nine shots on goal.
So did Troy junior Alison Holland, but Okemos still managed to push across a goal apiece in both the first and second halves – junior Emma Baker 27:56 into the game and senior Sarah Kovan 9:13 into the second half.
Okemos finished 24-1-1. The Final was the Chieftains’ third, and the title its second to go along with the championship won in 2006.
Troy (19-3-3) was playing in its sixth Final, and finished runner-up for the second straight season after falling to Novi 1-0 in 2011.
PHOTO: Okemos’ Emma Baker (23) celebrates as her first-half goal lands in the net during Saturday’s Division 1 Final.
Flashback 100: Tamer's History-Making Run Starts in Dexter, Continues to Paris
September 27, 2024
It's been a summer of firsts for Abby Tamer.
The 2021 Dexter graduate and current University of Michigan student-athlete became the first from her high school to qualify for the Olympics and the first Wolverines field hockey player to represent Team USA.
At the Paris Olympics, Tamer led Team USA in scoring, tallying two goals over five pool play matches. She started all five at forward.
In high school, Tamer led the Dexter club field hockey team to state titles in 2019 and 2020, scoring 117 career goals and earning numerous accolades. She was twice named the Michigan High School Field Hockey Association's Player of the Year (2019 and 2020) and was a 2019 National Field Hockey Coaches Association First Team All-American. Her mother, Keely (Libby) Tamer, had played field hockey at Michigan, and her father, Chris, had played ice hockey at Michigan and for 11 years in the NHL.
While at Dexter, Tamer also played soccer, helping the Dreadnaughts to MHSAA District titles in 2018 and 2019. (Her junior season was canceled due to COVID-19, and she graduated early as a senior and enrolled that spring at U-M.)
Girls Field Hockey will become an MHSAA-sponsored sport starting with the 2025-26 school year.
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Previous "Flashback 100" Features
Sept. 20: Todd Martin’s Road to Greatness Starts at East Lansing - Read
Sept. 13: James Earl Jones, Dickson High Hoops to Hollywood Legend - Read
Sept. 6: Pioneers' Unstoppable Streak Stretches 9 Seasons - Read
Aug. 30: Detroit dePorres Rushes to 1995 Class CC Football Championship - Read
PHOTOS At left, Abby Tamer plays field hockey for Dexter, and at right she takes the field for Dexter's girls soccer team. (Photos courtesy of Ryan Maki Photography.)