![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.)
![Lisa Byington](/sites/default/files/2021-09/210921_Byington_2H2_2.png)
Title IX at 50: Portage Northern Star Byington Becomes Play-by-Play Pioneer
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
September 21, 2021
From Portage Northern, to Northwestern University, to the smallest of TV markets in the United States to the sidelines of the most recognized sports networks in the world, Lisa Byington has blazed trails all over the Midwest and beyond.
Beginning this October, she will take another historic step for women in sportscasting.
Byington will take the microphone as Bally Sports Wisconsin’s play-by-play announcer for the Milwaukee Bucks – becoming the first female full-time TV play-by-play announcer for a men’s “major” professional team in the NBA, MLB, NFL or NHL.
This will be just the latest accomplishment for the former Huskies basketball and soccer all-stater, who went on to play four seasons of basketball and two of soccer at Northwestern. Byington began her broadcast career at WBKB in Alpena – currently the third-smallest TV market in the nation – and then moved on to become a beloved fixture at WLNS in Lansing for nearly a decade. Her next moves took her into regional and then national spotlights, from broadcasting games with FOX Sports and the Big Ten Network, among a number of major entities, to working as a sideline reporter from 2017-19 at the NCAA men’s basketball tournament for CBS and Turner Sports. She also was FOX’s play-by-play voice for the 2019 Women’s World Cup and for women’s and men’s soccer coverage on NBC Sports during this summer’s Olympics. She has done play-by-play for WNBA and NBA games, and in March, Byington also became the first female play-by-play voice at the NCAA men’s basketball tournament when she called games for CBS and Turner.
Byington was a finalist for the Miss Basketball Award as a Portage Northern senior in 1993, and according to the Detroit Free Press’ “All-State Basketball Team” report was set to graduate the following spring with 28 school records in hoops, including for 1,392 career points, 384 career assists and 379 career steals. She also made the Class A all-state girls soccer team as a senior after earning honorable mention as a junior. At Northwestern, she was a three-time Big Ten all-academic selection in basketball and two-time academic all-Big Ten pick in soccer.
Second Half's weekly Title IX Celebration posts are sponsored by Michigan Army National Guard.
Previous Title IX at 50 Spotlights
Sept. 14: Guerra/Groat Legacy Continues to Serve St. Philip Well - Read
Sept. 7: Best-Ever Conversation Must Include Leland's Glass - Read
Aug. 31: We Will Celebrate Many Who Paved the Way - Read
PHOTOS courtesy of Lisa Byington and Portage Northern’s athletic department.