D3 Soccer Final: Title Crusade Compete
June 16, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
WILLIAMSTON – Flint Powers Catholic attacked Hudsonville Unity Christian’s defense Saturday with a physicality and aggression the Crusaders had not seen this spring in assembling one of the best defensive seasons in MHSAA history.
They’d given up only six goals before the Chargers’ McKenzie Speer put through a shot 2:20 into the first half of their Division 3 championship game at Williamston High. And the Crusaders didn’t respond through the rest of the first half.
“My team was just so excited. We played a little frantic,” Unity Christian senior goalkeeper Holly VanNoord said. “We had to collect ourselves.”
Winning in June has been Unity Christian’s way for more than a decade. And this rematch of the 2011 Final went along with that recent dominance.
The Crusaders scored twice in the second half and held off a number of late Powers runs to claim a 2-1 win and their seventh championship in eight seasons after falling to the Chargers in last year’s title game.
“We just kinda opened our eyes and realized something had to change,” VanNoord said. “Coach just talked to us (at halftime and said) we gotta play together. I guess that was the main key. Once we got our heads on straight, we said we aren’t going to play to lose. We’re going to play to win.”
Unity Christian finished this season without a loss, at 23-0-4. The Crusaders' seven goals against was good to tie for 13th in the MHSAA record book and second only to their 2011 team among those that played 27 games. VanNoord had 20 shutouts, tying her for fourth on that single-season list after she set the MHSAA record with 24 last season.
Powers’ goal also was the first Unity Christian had given up this postseason. But VanNoord’s defense wasn’t the only stellar one on the field. Powers (20-2-4) also hadn’t given up a goal in the postseason until Crusaders sophomore Aubrey Schierbeek tied up the score 9:43 into the second half.
The teams then traded excellent scoring opportunities. Unity Christian freshman Bethany Balcer pushed a roller under diving Powers keeper Heather Rolls with 22:05 to play. But Chargers senior Jessica Adams swooped into the box and stopped the shot.
At 16:27 to play, VanNoord turned away a run. Then Rolls did the same with 15:54 to go.
Powers senior Amanda Bubnar fired a shot hard at the goal with 7:20 left, but VanNoord deflected it over the bar. Three minutes later, Schierbeek deflected a shot to the right of the net.
Freshman Casandra Besteman made all the work pay off with 3:52 to go, taking a throw-in and with a high left leg booted the ball in for the go-ahead goal.
“We have our style. We definitely have our three up top. We didn’t get to play our possession as much as we like to. (But) congratulations to them; they really played a good game,” Powers coach Art Moody said. “It could’ve gone either way. We were just hoping it was our way.”
The teams combined for 22 shots; Rolls saved six and VanNoord saved five.
Rolls finished this season with 19 shutouts, good to tie for seventh in the MHSAA record book for one season.
PHOTO: Unity Christian goalkeeper Holly VanNoord (in orange) goes high to make a save during Saturday's Division 3 Final at Williamston High.
Performance of the Week: Trenton's Chloe Wishart
April 11, 2024
Chloe Wishart ♦ Trenton
Junior ♦ Soccer
Trenton is off to a 3-0 start this spring, and Wishart is playing a leading role. She scored four goals in a 6-0 opening win over Gibraltar Carlson, then two more in a 3-0 victory over Riverview that was a rematch of a Division 2 District Final from a year ago. She added another pair of goals in Monday’s 4-0 win over Allen Park. Wishart also had three assists through the team’s first three games.
After earning a Division 2 all-state honorable mention as a freshman, Wishart missed most of last spring with a knee injury and played only a few games at the end as the Trojans finished 15-3-2 and reached the Regional Finals. She’s providing a major boost back at full strength and with a bit of a positional switch into more of a scoring spot as she previously played near the back of the midfield. Trenton improved to 4-0 with a 3-0 win Wednesday over Brownstown Woodhaven and was ranked No. 4 in Division 2 in this season’s first coaches association state rankings posted this week.
@mhsaasports ⚽️POW: Chloe Wishart #soccer #trenton #letsgo #goal #part1 #highschoolsports #tiktalk #interview #performanceoftheweek #mistudentaid #fyp #MHSAA ♬ original sound - MHSAA
@mhsaasports ⚽️POW: Chloe Wishart #tiktalk #questiontime #part2 #tangled #chickfila #beyonce #vampirediaries #nighttime #performanceoftheweek #mistudentaid #fyp #MHSAA ♬ original sound - MHSAA
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Past 2023-24 Honorees
March 28: Jenna Maki, Ishpeming basketball - Report
March 22: Jaremiah Palmer, Niles Brandywine basketball - Report
March 15: Leah Hodge, North Farmington gymnastics - Report
March 8: Darius Marines, Detroit Catholic Central wrestling - Report
March 1: Rylee Smith, Zeeland West bowling - Report
Feb. 22: Caleb Lewandowski, Traverse City West skiing - Report
Feb. 15: Jadin Mix, Onaway basketball - Report
Feb. 8: Onalee Wallis, Cadillac skiing - Report
Feb. 1: Abbey DeGraw, Rochester Hills Stoney Creek competitive cheer - Report
Jan. 25: Ewan Todd, Riverview swimming - Report
Jan. 18: Ashley Weller, Jackson Northwest basketball - Report
Jan. 11: Michael Baldwin, Saginaw Arthur Hill wrestling - Report
Dec. 15: Jena Fijolek, Fenton bowling - Report
Dec. 8: Sophia Wagner, Escanaba gymnastics - Report
Dec. 1: Isaiah Marshall, Southfield Arts & Technology football - Report
Nov. 24: Sarah Bradley, Clarkston Everest Collegiate volleyball - Report
Nov. 17: Kalieb Osborne, Waterford Mott football - Report
Nov. 10: Tekalegn Vlasma, Muskegon Western Michigan Christian soccer - Report
Nov. 3: Colton Kinnie, Birmingham Seaholm football - Report
Oct. 27: Lauren Timpf, Macomb Lutheran North golf - Report
Oct. 20: Alena Li, Okemos golf - Report
Oct. 13: Seth Norder, Grand Haven cross country - Report
Oct. 5: Paige Anderson, Muskegon Reeths-Puffer golf - Report
Sept. 29: MacKenzie Bisballe, Lake City volleyball - Report
Sept. 22: Jhace Massey, Gladwin football - Report
Sept. 15: Kaylee Draper, Sturgis swimming - Report
Sept. 8: Owen Jackson, Traverse City St. Francis tennis - Report
Sept. 1: Rachel Forsyth, Ann Arbor Pioneer cross country - Report
(Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)