![Jada VanNoord steps into a kick earlier this month against Clare.](/sites/default/files/2024-05/240514_soccer_2H.png)
McBain Northern Michigan Christian's VanNoord Building on Career Excellence
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
May 13, 2024
Jada VanNoord entered her senior season this spring on the MHSAA girls soccer career goal list with 108 over her first three seasons at McBain Northern Michigan Christian, and after scoring 40 with 63 total points in 2023.
She also was just shy of making the career points list after making the single-season list as a sophomore with 52 in 2022.
VanNoord has signed to continue her career at Cornerstone University.
See below for more recent additions to the girls soccer record book, and click the heading to see the record book in full.
Girls Soccer
Sophomore Macy Freeman became the first from Otisville LakeVille Memorial to be listed in the girls soccer record book when she scored all eight goals in her team’s win over Flint Carman-Ainsworth on April 29, 2022, and she was added for the second-highest scoring game in history with 10 goals last May 12 against Marlette. Freeman also was added for 43 goals total as a sophomore and 39 as a junior, and she entered this season on the career goals list as well with 81.
Brighton Charyl Stockwell’s Cassie Hall earned a pair of record book entries for her offensive performance as a junior in 2022. She made the single-season goals list with 55 and single-season points list with 60.
Although her 224 saves as a senior in 2022 fell just shy of making the single-season list, Parchment goalkeeper Gabrielle Novak finished her career with 713 over three seasons and 51 games – with 2020 canceled because of COVID-19. She was joined that spring by senior Kasey Leckie, who made the single-season goals list with 32.
Grace Hewitt became the first West Michigan Aviation Academy player to be listed for career goals, as she tallied 75 from 2019-22 (with 2020 canceled). She also was added for 32 as a senior.
Remus Chippewa Hills’ Karley Densmore made 36 saves against Big Rapids on April 25, 2022, tied for fifth-most in one match, and her 292 over 17 games for the season rank third. Additionally, teammate Hayley Gomber was added for five assists in a game against Mason County Central on April 7, 2022. Both were juniors.
Kelila Rustin made the single-season saves list in 2022 with 251 over 17 games. She was a sophomore at Ionia.
Allison Johnson earned Howard City Tri County’s first girls soccer record book entry in 2021, scoring 30 goals over 19 games. She graduated in 2023.
Schoolcraft’s Hannah Thompson totaled 18 record book entries over three varsity seasons, despite missing her sophomore year which was canceled due to COVID-19. The 2022 graduate five times had a single-game high of eight goals, and as a senior she bested her state record for points with 99 – despite falling just a few goals short of her state record in that category, with a second-place 83. She finished with 130 goals, second all-time, over a combined 54 games, and a fifth-highest 240 points. She’s playing at Eastern Michigan.
Sterling Heights 2023 graduate Mikalah Lewis earned a pair of record book entries over her final two seasons. The first was for 34 goals as a junior in 2022, and she tied for third-most assists in a game on April 10 of last season with six against Center Line.
Lily Usher capped her three-year varsity career at Owosso last spring with 60 more saves than anyone over a career in MHSAA history. She tops that list with 773 over 49 games, with her 268 as a junior in 2022 added as well – and that season she also tied her single-game high with 35.
Layne Palmer had one of the busiest goalkeeping nights in MHSAA history April 21, 2023, when she saved 43 shots from Utica Ford during a 6-0 loss. The Port Huron senior’s saves remain tied for third-most for one game.
Grace Graham capped her Laingsburg career in 2021 by leading the Wolfpack to its first Regional Final appearance – and made the record book for 39 goals and also 51 total points.
Cheboygan’s Kenzie Burt is playing college basketball at Aquinas College, but she left her mark on her high school soccer program as a senior in 2023. Burt made the record book with 33 goals and 53 points total.
Jessica Peters earned Dryden’s first girls soccer entry since 2012 with 48 goals as a senior in 2023, over 19 games. She’s continuing at St. Clair County Community College.
Lydia Kruis and Litzy Ramirez capped their three-season Comstock varsity careers last year with performances among the best all-time in the sport. Among 10 record book entries, Kruis was added for 74 goals (third all-time) and 83 points (sixth) as a senior and 158 goals for her career (ninth). Her eight goals last May 17 against Buchanan tied for fourth-most in one game. Ramirez graduated with seven record book listings, with her six assists against Buchanan that game tied for third-most with her 47 for the season setting the MHSAA record. Her 86 career assists tied for ninth.
Jaidyn Veldhouse led Grandville Calvin Christian to another successful run last spring. A senior now, she made record lists with 37 goals and 52 points as the Squires finished 17-1-3. She will continue at Saginaw Valley State.
Isabella Pool’s junior season last spring included a highlight against Marshall. Although her Coldwater team took a 5-0 loss, Pool saved 39 shots – fifth-most for one match in MHSAA history.
Lutheran Westland added its second athlete to this record book, and first since 2005, as Madilyn Webb finished her three-season varsity career with 48 goals and 53 points last spring and 105 goals over her three seasons. She also scored 33 goals as a junior and seven in one game against Brighton Charyl Stockwell Academy. She’s continuing at Concordia-Ann Arbor.
PHOTO McBain Northern Michigan Christian's Jada VanNoord (20) steps into a kick during a May 1 game against Clare. (Photo courtesy of the Cadillac News.)
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Powers Charges On After Milestone Win
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
May 25, 2018
Art Moody practices what he preaches.
His sermon often reiterates the common sports mantra of taking things one game at a time. So as he was about to finish off win No. 200 as girls soccer coach at Flint Powers Catholic last week, he saw it as it was, a regular-season victory against Flint Carman-Ainsworth.
“I didn’t have any idea,” said Moody, who earned that 200th win May 17. “I didn’t think I would (get to 200) this year. I kind of have a motto and we’ve been going by it for quite a while with the girls, and that’s to make sure they take it one game at a time, and I think that’s kind of how I went, too. We make sure to look at one game, and when the next games comes, if we learn from the game we just had, we can bring it to the next game and we’re going to be successful.”
Success has been a common theme during Moody’s 11-year run at Powers, as he’s compiled a 201-41-20 record in his 11 seasons, which includes a 16-1-3 mark this season for the reigning MHSAA Division 3 champions. The Chargers have won a pair of state titles under Moody (2011 and 2017) and have advanced to five Division 3 Finals.
“When we looked at this year coming up, the question everyone had on their mind was, ‘Can you repeat?’” Moody said. “We had the same thing happen when we won the state championship in 2011 and we came back in 2012 ranked No. 1. It’s kind of funny, because at that time, I got my 100th win, so it’s kind of ironic and history is almost repeating itself with my 200th win following a state championship year. We have little goals, and getting an amount of wins isn’t something I look at as a personal goal. It’s more of a team goal. So it was a surprise, but a good surprise.”
Moody is a New Jersey native who played collegiately at West Chester University in Pennsylvania. He coached at Lapeer West High School before taking over the Saginaw Valley State University men’s program in 2006. He’s also coached the Powers boys, and at the club level.
“Definitely my highlight is with my girls at Powers,” he said.
Powers has averaged 18 wins per season since Moody took over in 2008, reaching 20 or more wins on five occasions. Never in Moody’s 11 seasons have the Chargers had a losing record.
The Chargers have won 10 District titles, eight conference titles and seven Regional titles. A run at an 11th District title begins Tuesday at home against Corunna.
Moody took over a successful program that had reached the Finals three times between 2000 and 2007, including the year prior to Moody coming on board. But he’s taken the Chargers to new heights, as the 2011 title was their first.
“(Former coach Tom Anagnost) had those girls getting very competitive, and he had that program kind of getting up there,” Moody said. “Tom definitely introduced Powers soccer into a successful program, so when I got it it was good timing, and I’ve continued his legacy.”
Assistant coach Jeff Tippett, who has been on Moody’s staff all 11 years, said Powers has played mostly attacking soccer under Moody, but that his formations and strategies can change based on personnel, which has made him so successful.
“It’s just Art’s coaching style; he’s got a great coaching style,” Tippett said. “He relies a lot on his assistants. Between myself and Mike Korhonen, he’s very inclusive of us in his gameplan and his coaching philosophy, and I think that helps a lot. Art’s just a good strategist, he can see the game really well, he can read the players really well, and he can put together a lot of things out of what he has to work with.”
Moody also has had plenty of talent to work with, as any successful high school coach would need. One former player, Ally Haran, went to Wake Forest University and was drafted by the Seattle Reign of the National Women’s Soccer League this past January. She’s currently playing professionally in Iceland.
“Once in a while, we do get a couple very, very talented soccer players that can play at the next level, and it’s great to have them come out,” Moody said. “But we also get that other type, we get that great athlete who plays three sports, who plays basketball and then decides to play soccer. They’re not going to play college soccer, but we’re getting them to play at a high level and love the game. That’s more of a delight to me.”
Record-wise, this year’s team is one of Moody’s best, and while he wouldn’t flat out say it’s a team capable of repeating as Division 3 champion, he did say it’s capable of competing at a high level. The Chargers’ lone loss this season came against Grand Blanc, the No. 5 team in Division 1.
He said the team is playing with a target on its back, which is typical for Flint Powers teams in most every sport as the school’s history of athletic success is well known throughout the state. But for Moody’s soccer program, it’s become a little more pronounced, and he’s fine with that.
“They come in the first day of tryouts and that’s the first conversation we have is about expectations and how much heart and determination you have to have to get to that level,” Moody said. “Teams want us pretty bad, and they know if they can beat us, sometimes that’s a successful season for them. It’s something we’ve learned how to deal with. It’s definitely a challenge, and the girls have accepted it. It’s a double-edged sword, because that pressure is definitely something they do have to deal with. But it’s a good problem to have.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Flint Powers Catholic girls soccer coach Art Moody, far left, prepares to accept the Division 3 championship trophy last June. (Middle) Moody confers with one of his players during that title-clinching win over Freeland.