Finals Preview: 2012 Best Back for More
June 14, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
A number of players taking the field at MHSAA Girls Soccer Finals on Saturday should be plenty familiar with the awe that accompanies competing in a championship game.
The Division 4 Final is a rematch of last season's Grandville Calvin Christian win over Waterford Our Lady/Clarkston Everest Collegiate. Reigning Division 2 champion Birmingham Marian is back, as is Troy – the runner-up the last two seasons in Division 1.
The one game without a familiar team is in Division 3. Although Grand Rapids South Christian and Pontiac Notre Dame Prep entered the postseason ranked Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, neither has played in an MHSAA Final.
Below is Saturday's schedule, followed by a look at each team that will be playing.
Division 1 at Williamston, Noon
Grandville (14-7-1) vs Troy (14-6-3)
Division 2 at Williamston, 3 p.m.
Richland Gull Lake (20-1-1) vs Bloomfield Hills Marian (17-2-4)
Division 3 at Mason, Noon
Grand Rapids South Christian (21-1-3) vs Pontiac Notre Dame Prep (21-2-2)
Division 4 at Mason, 3 p.m.
Grandville Calvin Christian (17-2-4) vs Waterford Our Lady/Clarkston Everest (20-0)
Tickets cost $7. All Finals will be streamed live online at MHSAA.tv, with radio broadcasts available on MHSAAnetwork.com.
All statistics below are through at least the regular season, with most through teams' Regionals or Semifinals. (Click for links to brackets and scores.)
Division 1
GRANDVILLE
Record/rank: 14-7-1, unranked
Coach: Lewis Robinson, third season (45-16-4)
League finish: Third in Ottawa-Kent Conference Red
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Players to watch: Rachael Braginton, soph. F; Delanie Bosworth, sr. D; Sydney Blitchok, fr. F. (Statistics not submitted.)
Outlook: Grandville has improved its win total all three seasons under Robinson, with three District titles, but is finishing off an unprecedented playoff run this weekend. The Bulldogs advanced in part by beating honorable mention Caledonia in the Regional Final and No. 3 Novi in Wednesday’s Semifinal. Grandville shut out three of those six postseason opponents after navigating a league that included No. 6 East Kentwood and No. 8 Rockford.
TROY
Record/rank: 14-6-3, unranked
Coach: Brian Zawislak, fifth season (80-22-18)
League finish: Fourth in Oakland Activities Association Red
Championship history: Two MHSAA titles (most recent 2003), four runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Sarah Troccoli, soph. M (12 goals, 8 assists); Alison Holland, sr. GK (0.69 GAA, 7 shutouts); Madison Hirsch, sr. F (5 goals, 4 assists).
Outlook: Troy has been on the cusp of the last two titles, falling in Finals to Novi and Okemos, respectively, the last two seasons. The Colts are on an 11-0-1 run after a bit of a slow start that did include 1-0 losses to three teams ranked among the top three in their respective divisions at the end of the regular season. Troy beat honorable mention Anchor Bay in the Regional Final and then No. 10 Rochester in a shootout in Wednesday’s Semifinal.
Division 2
BIRMINGHAM MARIAN
Record/rank: 17-2-4, No. 2
Coach: Barry Brodsky, 12th season (222-21-28)
League finish: Second in Detroit Catholic High School League Division 1
Championship history: Five MHSAA titles (most recent 2012), one runner-up finish.
Players to watch: Kelly Sweeney, sr. M (10 goals, 5 assists); Catherine Anger, sr. F (11 goals, 12 assists); Kaitlin Patouhas, fr. GK.
Outlook: All five of Marian’s titles have come over the last decade, including three over the last four seasons. Both losses and a tie this season came against top-ranked Livonia Ladywood, and the Mustangs beat honorable mention Avondale in the District Final and No. 6 Fenton in the Semifinal on the way to this weekend. Patouhas and senior Allison Conway have combined to allow only 12 goals.
RICHLAND GULL LAKE
Record/rank: 20-1-1, No. 3
Coach: Jeff Corstange, second season (33-7-2)
League finish: First in Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference East
Championship history: Class B champion 1992, four runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Carley Rice, sr. M (17 goals, 18 assists); Rachel Fouts, jr. M (17 goals, 16 assists); Megan Harma, jr. GK (0.40 GAA, 15 shutouts).
Outlook: Gull Lake was a regular finalist during the 1990s and is back in a championship game for the first time since finishing runner-up in 1999. Junior Tabitha Boze and sophomore Amanda Pavletic each add 13 more goals to the team total, and junior Sydney Nikitas has scored 10. Gull Lake opened this season with nine shutouts in 10 games giving up a one goal only, in a 2-1 win over No. 8 Plainwell. The lone loss was 2-1 to honorable mention Stevensville Lakeshore in the regular-season finale.
Division 3
GRAND RAPIDS SOUTH CHRISTIAN
Record/rank: 21-1-3, No. 1
Coach: Jason Boersma, sixth season (91-30-12)
League finish: First in Ottawa-Kent Conference Gold
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Players to watch: Jessica Owen, soph. F (15 goals, 12 assists); Kendra Haan, sr. F (13 goals, 11 assists); Emily Blankespoor, jr. GK (0.45 GAA, 14 shutouts).
Outlook: South Christian has been building toward this run, winning four straight District championships before then claiming its first Regional title last week. The Sailors eliminated reigning champion and No. 4-ranked Hudsonville Unity Christian in the Regional and also honorable mentions Delton Kellogg and Paw Paw during the tournament. Senior Kayla Diemer adds another 11 goals and seven assists splitting time in the midfield and on defense.
PONTIAC NOTRE DAME PREP
Record/rank: 21-2-2, No. 2
Coach: Jim Stachura, fourth season (59-24-4)
League finish: First in Detroit Catholic High School League AA
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Players to watch: Taylor Timko, jr. M (39 goals, 12 assists); Lindsey Klei, jr. F (12 goals, 11 assists); Alexandra Arnoldy, sr. GK (0.73 GAA, 12 shutouts).
Outlook: After making just its second Semifinal ever in 2012, Notre Dame has taken a first-time step into the season's final game. Notre Dame eliminated No. 3 Detroit Country Day, No. 9 Jackson Lumen Christi, honorable mention Grosse Ile and No. 8 Flint Powers Catholic along the way – and also beat Division 1 finalist Troy 3-0 during the regular season. Stachura was an assistant when Troy won the boys Division 1 title in 2003.
Division 4
GRANDVILLE CALVIN CHRISTIAN
Record/rank: 17-2-4, No. 2
Coach: Tim TerHaar, 13th season (209-60-20)
League finish: First in Ottawa-Kent Conference Silver
Championship history: Division 4 champion 2012.
Players to watch: Camie Rietberg, jr. M (23 goals, 4 assists); Hilary Curry, soph. F (14 goals, 17 assists); Emily VanVliet, soph. F (13 goals, 17 assists), Natalie Curry, sr. M (14 goals, 10 assists)
Outlook: Calvin Christian has kept on cruising after winning its first championship a year ago, with losses this season only to Division 3 No. 4 Unity Christian and Division 2 No. 5 Grand Rapids Christian. The Squires beat No. 3 Kalamazoo Christian in the Semifinal to advance. Although they’ve scored 127 goals (5.5 per game), the defense has been just as impressive with freshman keeper Jordyn Postema posting 19 shutouts and giving up 0.43 goals per game.
WATERFORD OUR LADY/CLARKSTON EVEREST COLLEGIATE
Record/rank: 20-0, No. 1
Coach: Katie Hearn, second season (38-1-2)
League finish: First in Detroit Catholic High School League Intersectional
Championship history: Division 4 champion 2010, runner-up 2012.
Players to watch: Anna Robb, jr. F (29 goals, 9 assists), Alex Troy, fr. M (12 goals, 14 assists); Ava Doetsch, sr. F (14 goals, 12 assists); Jessica Parry, sr. M (14 goals, 12 assists); Lindsay Straw, jr. M (13 goals, 8 assists).
Outlook: The Lakers are loaded with skilled scorers despite only three seniors on the team. Like with Calvin Christian, the defense has been incredibly steady as well – junior Megan Luttinen and her defenders didn’t give up more than one goal in a game this season until No. 4 Lansing Christian scored two in the Semifinal. Luttinen has 12 shutouts.
PHOTO: Troy's Madison Hirsch (22), here moving the ball ahead against Okemos in last season's Division 1 Final, hopes to help her team to its first championship since 2003. (Click to see more at HighSchoolsSportsScene.com.)
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.)