Marian Rallies, Achieves Perfection

June 16, 2017

By Keith Dunlap
Special for Second Half

WILLIAMSTON – Ellie Deconinck couldn’t have seen her high school career come more full circle Friday at Williamston High School.

The last time Bloomfield Hills Marian was in the Division 2 girls soccer championship game in 2014, Deconinck as a freshman scored its lone goal in a 2-1 loss to Richland Gull Lake.

Now a senior who made a return trip with Marian to Williamston for the 2017 title game, Deconinck heard Marian coach Barry Brodsky remind her of that goal as Marian trailed Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern 1-0 at halftime.

“We both said, ‘That’s your goal down there,’” Brodsky said.

In her last high school game, it certainly was Deconinck’s goal, as she scored twice during the second half to lift Marian to a 2-1 win and its sixth MHSAA championship since 2003.

This title actually ended a five-year drought that was long by Marian’s standards.

Brodsky also said of those six championships, this was the first time a team of his had rallied in the title game.

“People think that just because you have a lot of talent that you are automatically going to win,” Brodsky said. “It doesn’t work that way. The teams we play have a lot of talent. You have to have some luck with you.”

After Marian dominated the scoring chances and play for most of the half, Forest Hills Northern stunned the Mustangs by taking a 1-0 lead with 15:59 left in the first half on a goal by freshman Addie Brown. She got loose just outside the box and fired a perfect shot that hit the bottom of the crossbar and went in.

Marian finally capitalized on a chance 1:15 into the second half, tying the game on Deconinck’s first goal, blasted home from point-blank range after another scoring chance hit the crossbar.

Deconinck struck again with 20:07 remaining, taking a pass in the middle of the box from freshman teammate Anna Leonard and fighting off a couple of defenders to chip a shot into the net and give Marian a 2-1 lead.

“I thought the first half of the game was some of the best soccer our team played all season,” said Deconinck, one of just six seniors on Marian’s roster. “Going into halftime, the seniors and captains were trying to keep everyone’s heads up. We were really proud of how we were playing. We were a touch off. To come back in the second half and play so well to get our team this victory is unbelievable.”

Marian, which hadn’t given up a goal in the MHSAA Tournament before Brown’s first-half tally for Forest Hills Northern, didn’t allow a serious scoring chance the rest of the way.

The Mustangs finished 24-0, their second unbeaten season in school history. The 2004 championship team went 25-0.

“They are very deep, and with a lot of bodies they can rotate,” Forest Hills Northern coach Daniel Siminski said. “They kind of wore us down a bit, and gaps opened up.”

It was the second straight Finals loss for Forest Hills Northern (20-1-4), which fell in last year’s to Pontiac Notre Dame Prep in a shootout (2-1).

“You can’t get too upset when you go undefeated and your first loss is in the state finals,” Siminski said. “That was a helluva game. They kind of wore us down in the second half. If you are going to lose, you lose to the best team. They played better than us today, and they earned it. They deserve it.”

Click for the full scoring summary

PHOTOS: (Top) Forest Hills Northern’s Lauren Kozal tries to outrun a Marian player to the ball during Friday’s Division 2 Final. (Middle) Marian keeper Isabel Hayes gathers a shot. 

Preview: Final 8 Filled with Ranked Contenders, Familiar Champs

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

June 16, 2022

This weekend’s Girls Soccer Finals field includes two of the winningest champions in MHSAA history, and two teams hoping to celebrate the ultimate prize for the first time.

Hudsonville Unity Christian with 10 Finals titles and Marian with nine trail only Madison Heights Bishop Foley’s 12 on the list of most MHSAA girls soccer championships.

Unity’s opponent in the Division 3 Final – two-time runner-up Williamston – is joined by Division 1 Bloomfield Hills as contenders seeking that first title. The other four finalists have a combined 12 championships between them.

Following is this weekend’s schedule:

Division 1 - Friday - 4 p.m.
Bloomfield Hills vs Northville

Division 2 - Saturday - 4 p.m.
Bloomfield Hills Marian vs Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central

Division 3 - Saturday - 1 p.m.
Williamston vs Hudsonville Unity Christian

Division 4 - Friday - 1 p.m.
Royal Oak Shrine vs Kalamazoo Christian

Tickets cost $11 and may be purchased online only at GoFan. One ticket is good for all soccer, softball and baseball games at MSU’s Old College Field that day. All four Finals will be broadcast and available with subscription from MHSAA.tv, with free audio broadcasts on the MHSAA Network.

Below is a glance at all eight teams taking the field, with statistics through Regionals:

Division 1

BLOOMFIELD HILLS
Record/rank: 14-2-3, No. 12
League finish: Third in Oakland Activities Association Red
Coach: Alan Zakaria, ninth season (77-30-19)
Championship history: Will be playing in first MHSAA Final.
Players to watch: Drew Martin, sr. M (16 goals, 8 assists); Esther Rosett, sr. F (15 goals, three assists); Ava Badallo, sr. F (15 goals, eight assists); Jenica Opdahl, soph. GK (1.10 goals-against average, 10 shutouts).
Outlook: Bloomfield Hills clinched its first Regional title with a 2-1 win over 2021 champion and No. 3-ranked Hartland, and then reached the championship game with a 1-0 Quarterfinal win over No. 9 Portage Central. The Black Hawks are on an 11-0-3 streak over the last two months. Martin made the all-state third team and Rosett earned an honorable mention last season. Senior Alice Spiegel also is among team leaders with seven assists from the midfield.

NORTHVILLE
Record/rank:
18-0-5, No. 1
League finish: First in Kensington Lakes Activities Association West
Coach: Jeannine Reddy, first season (18-0-5)
Championship history: Third MHSAA title (most recent 2014), two runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Lauren Moraitis, sr. D (9 goals, 23 assists), Sylvia Bohlen, sr. F (9 goals, 4 assists), Caroline Meloche, soph. D (13 goals, 2 assists); Simran Magnan, fr. GK (0.13 goals-against average).
Outlook: The top-ranked Mustangs have given up seven goals total this season and only one over five playoff games – the 2-1 Semifinal win over No. 5 Rochester. Northville also defeated No. 14 Salem in the District Final after tying Salem in both regular-season meetings. Nine senior starters have helped Northville improve from 12-9 a year ago and win its first Regional title since that most recent championship season. Reddy previously led Canton to a Division 1 runner-up finish in 2016.

Division 2

BLOOMFIELD HILLS MARIAN
Record/rank:
17-1, No. 2
League finish: First in Detroit Catholic League Central
Coach: Reid Friedrichs, first season (17-1)
Championship history: Nine MHSAA titles (most recent 2021), three runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Elle Ervin, soph. F (18 goals, 17 assists); Isa Agrusso, sr. M (19 goals, 9 assists); Abby Lucchesi, sr. M (5 goals, 16 assists); Angelina Briggs, sr. M (18 goals, 9 assists).
Outlook: Marian is seeking a fifth-straight Division 2 title and sits third in MHSAA history with nine total. All nine were won with retired coach Barry Brodsky, but Friedrichs brings a significant resume as a former all-stater at Ann Arbor Pioneer, Big Ten Player of the Year at Michigan State and coach at a variety of stops including Alma College and highly-regarded school and club programs. He inherited a roster and returned an all-state first teamer in Ervin, second teamer in Briggs and third teamer in Lucchesi. This tournament run has included a District Final win over No. 8 Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood and Semifinal win over No. 7 Haslett.

GRAND RAPIDS FOREST HILLS CENTRAL
Record/rank:
19-2-1, No. 4
League finish: First in Ottawa-Kent Conference White
Coach: Ashley Ludtke, fifth season (75-11-2)
Championship history: Four MHSAA titles (most recent 2017), one runner-up finish.
Players to watch: Theryn Hallock, sr. F (32 goals, 14 assists); Lauren Koczenasz, sr. D (14 goals, 4 assists), Ruthie VanSkiver, sr. M (13 goals, 5 assists), Dailey Tucker, jr. F (9 goals, 16 assists).
Outlook: Forest Hills Central reached the Semifinals for the third-straight season and pushed through to the weekend with a 3-1 Semifinal win over No. 6 Richland Gull Lake. FHC also defeated No. 3 Spring Lake in the Regional Final. Hallock, who will play basketball at Michigan State, returned to the soccer field this spring for the first time since middle school and paces the offense for a team that lost only to Gull Lake in its regular-season opener and Division 3 finalist Hudsonville Unity Christian. Senior Stella Sutton also is among team leaders in assists with 14 (and six goals) from the midfield.

Division 3

HUDSONVILLE UNITY CHRISTIAN
Record/rank:
21-1-1, No. 2
League finish: First in O-K Blue
Coach: Randy Heethuis, 33rd season (599-102-40)
Championship history: Ten MHSAA titles (most recent 2016), three runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Brianna Rose, jr. D (5 goals, 1 assist); Jessie Postma, jr. M (5 goals, 13 assists); Ava Lutke, fr. F (25 goals, 18 assists); Jenna Schreiber, jr. M (12 goals, 8 assists).
Outlook: After also reaching the Semifinals last season, Unity is back in the championship game to finish a run that’s included wins over No. 4 Grand Rapids South Christian, No. 5 Elk Rapids and No. 14 Holland Christian. Unity has given up only five goals over its last 16 games, a stretch that began with a shutout April 29 of Division 2 finalist Forest Hills Central. The only loss came in the season opener to Division 1 No. 2 Hudsonville. Rose made the all-state first team last season, and Postma earned an honorable mention. Juniors Jordan Steen (11 goals/4 assists) off the bench and Olivia Bosworth (8/12) also are among top contributors offensively.

WILLIAMSTON
Record/rank:
16-2-1, No. 1
League finish: First in Capital Area Activities Conference Red
Coach: Steve Horn, seventh season (80-24-5)
Championship history: Division 3 runner-up 2010 and 2008.
Players to watch: Ella Kleiver, jr. F (35 goals, 8 assists); Kaley Douglass, sr. F (11 goals, 9 assists); Liz Bellinger, sr. M (6 goals, 22 assists), Ellie Maxson, sr. D (3 goals, 2 assists).
Outlook: The Hornets won their second-straight Regional title and took the next step in the Semifinal, defeating No. 3 Pontiac Notre Dame Prep in a shootout to advance. Williamston also defeated No. 7 Essexville Garber and No. 13 Flint Powers Catholic during this tournament run, with its only losses this season to Division 1 No. 6 Midland Dow and Division 2 No. 7 Haslett. Bellinger, Kleiver and junior keeper Abby Pieper made the all-state first team last season, Douglass made the second team, Maxson made the third and senior Sophie Casey and junior Emma Gorsline earned honorable mentions. Pieper and junior Taylor Stenzel have combined this spring to give up 17 goals – or 0.94 per game. Junior Breyer Fenech had added seven goals and 10 assists entering the week.

Division 4

KALAMAZOO CHRISTIAN
Record/rank:
19-5, No. 7
League finish: First in Southwestern Athletic Conference
Coach: Jay Allen, seventh season (148-30-13)
Championship history: Four MHSAA titles (most recent 2008), three runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Ellie Batts, sr. M; Elizabeth Netz, soph. GK; Taylor Leonard, jr. M/F. (Statistics not submitted.)
Outlook: Kalamazoo Christian finished Division 4 runner-up three straight seasons from 2017-19, and is back this weekend after giving up only one goal over six playoff games. This tournament run has included wins over No. 3 Lansing Christian and No. 4 North Muskegon. The Comets have 15 shutouts total, with sophomores Sophia Nash and Phoebe Zeyl and senior Madison Triemstra lined up to provide defense in front of Netz. Leonard made the all-state second team last season, and Batts made the third.

ROYAL OAK SHRINE
Record/rank:
16-4-2, No. 10
League finish: Third in Detroit Catholic League AA
Coach: Mark Soma, 22nd season (record N/A)
Championship history: Division 4 champion 2019, runner-up 2021.
Players to watch: Elena Gallagher, soph. GK (0.95 goals-against average, 9 shutouts); Norah Tisko, jr. F (6 goals, 5 assists); Bridgette Drouillard, sr. M (14 goals, 16 assists); Julia Bock, soph. F (9 goals, 5 assists).
Outlook: Shrine is making a third-straight trip to the Division 4 Final, this time after an overtime Semifinal win over Bad Axe and with victories over No. 2 Madison Heights Bishop Foley, No. 5 Clarkston Everest Collegiate and No. 14 Plymouth Christian Academy also part of the run. The Everest win avenged a regular-season loss. Gallagher and Drouillard made the all-state first team last season, and Tisko earned an honorable mention. Senior Claire Plaskey (4 goals/8 assists) also is among key contributors in the midfield.

PHOTO Unity Christian’s Rachel Cremer (14) sends a shot toward the Otsego goal during their Division 3 Regional Final. (Photo by Gary Shook.)