Mona Shores Sails Through Historic Run
June 7, 2017
By Tom Kendra
Special for Second Half
PORTAGE – The end is never easy, especially when it’s a team’s first taste of defeat – and especially when it appeared, for almost three quarters of the game, that a monumental upset was in the works.
There were plenty of tears Tuesday as Muskegon Mona Shores saw its 1-0 lead, and its perfect season, come unraveled as No. 1-ranked Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central scored three goals over an 8-minute stretch midway through the second half of a 4-1 victory in the Division 1 Regional Semifinals at Portage Central.
“We just ran out of gas,” explained first-year Mona Shores coach Dylan Darga, whose team finished 21-1. “We took the top-ranked team in the state deep into the second half. You always want one more win, but what we accomplished this season was pretty incredible.”
Top-ranked Forest Hills Central advanced to Friday’s 6 p.m. Regional championship game at Portage Central against No. 2 Brighton, which downed host Portage Central 3-1 in Tuesday’s first Semifinal game.
And perhaps Mona Shores’ dream season ended at the appropriate time.
For one thing, Darga can now focus 100 percent on his wedding this weekend.
Darga, a 3rd-grade teacher at Marquette Elementary School in the Muskegon Public School District, is getting married Saturday and his rehearsal dinner is Friday night – which would have been in direct conflict with the Regional championship game.
When Darga made his wedding plans last summer, he had no idea he would be coaching varsity soccer. Darga previously coached the junior varsity girls team at Muskegon Reeths-Puffer before taking the Mona Shores varsity job in February.
“We had some plans in place for Friday night if it came to that,” said Darga, who is assisted on the varsity by Scott White and also junior varsity coach Ashley Moblo. “I have a couple of very good assistant coaches, and they would have done a great job. It would have been strange for me not to be there with them.”
The timing of the loss provided the Shores players, coaches and fans with several nice trophies, as champions of the Ottawa-Kent Conference Black and their Division 1 District, while also whetting their appetites for next season. Mona Shores, which graduates just three seniors, should now have plenty of motivation heading into the 2018 season – which was the year everyone was targeting as the Sailors’ breakout year on the statewide stage, anyway.
Mona Shores just decided to get the party started one year early, putting together the first undefeated regular season in school history and their first District championship since 2007 with a 3-1 win over rival Grand Haven on Saturday.
Along the way, there were individual school records falling left and right – all by underclassmen.
Sarah Mikesell, a junior forward, already has the school record with 73 career goals (including 40 goals this season) with her senior season still to come. Sophomore Raegan Cox, a dynamic playmaker who has already verbally committed to sign with the University of Arkansas, set another school record with 31 assists. In goal, junior Megan Swanker recorded a school-best 15 shutouts – and did not allow a single goal in May until the opening game of the District tournament.
While those three have garnered the lion’s share of headlines this season, sophomore Nora Brown and junior Peyton Erndteman also were key cogs in the offensive attack.
But Darga singled out the play of his four starting defenders as a key reason Shores was able to rise to No. 3 in the final state rankings entering tournament play. Junior stopper Mal Meston was the ringleader of that defense, which also included senior Isabel Grace (the team’s lone senior starter), sophomore Erin Powers and freshman Alexa Musk.
“Those four are really the unsung heroes of our whole operation,” said Darga, a 2004 Fruitport High School graduate and soccer standout. “As a former defenseman myself, I tell them all the time how important they are. If you never allow a goal, you will never lose a soccer game.”
In addition to Grace, the other seniors on the roster were McKenna Matthews and Haley Gartland.
Even after taking the Mona Shores varsity job in February, Darga had little reason to believe there was going to be a potential conflict between his wedding and Regional tournament games.
Mona Shores had not won a District title in 10 years, and with just three seniors, it appeared the program’s breakthrough season would be another year away.
“Honestly, when I looked at the first six games of our season, I could see a scenario where we would be 4-2 or even 3-3 coming out of those games,” said Darga, pointing out early games against Holland West Ottawa, Grand Haven and Spring Lake. “So when we were 6-0, I knew we had something special going.”
Tom Kendra worked 23 years at The Muskegon Chronicle, including five as assistant sports editor and the final six as sports editor through 2011. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Muskegon, Oceana, Mason, Lake, Oceola, Mecosta and Newaygo counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Muskegon Mona Shores junior forward Sarah Mikesell, right, battles for possession of the ball during the Sailors' 3-1 victory over Grand Haven in the Division 1 District Final on June 3. Mikesell scored 40 goals this season and has 73 goals for her career. (Middle) First-year Muskegon Mona Shores soccer coach Dylan Darga reacts to the play during the Sailors' win over Grand Haven. Darga led Mona Shores to a 21-1 record in his first season as coach. (Photos by Tim Reilly.)
Cadillac Star Stays on Pitch as Rising Referee
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
September 14, 2020
There are very few female referees available to officiate high school soccer in northern Michigan.
But for Bill Anderson, a registered assignor who schedules officials out of the Cadillac area, there has been Little.
Alexus Little that is. And he’s darn glad he’s had her for 15 to 20 games each boys fall and girls spring seasons the past four years.
“I think her greatest asset is a natural ability to stay calm and see the entire field,” Anderson said. “She has repeatedly demonstrated an ability to take a moment and see how things play out before blowing the whistle or raising the flag.
“It has been a pleasure to work with Lexi from the beginning and watch her develop, and gain confidence in her ability.”
Little, a former four-year player at Cadillac High School who graduated in 2017, loves officiating the game she has played since she was an 8-year- old. She started officiating with the Michigan State Youth Soccer Association. Anderson assigned her those matches as well.
“It is the most fun job I’ve ever had, and it is super convenient for varying schedules,” she said. “You get to learn more about the game of soccer, watch plenty of games, stay active, and meet a ton of referees that share the love of the game and may have even officiated your own games.”
Little, a big challenge for high school defenses as a striker, sees herself in almost every girls soccer player she refs.
“When I played I was a center striker so my playing style was pretty scrappy and aggressive, yet still heavily based on footwork and constant runs with my teammates,” she said. “I see players like me all the time during the girls season.”
Anderson recalls her playing days similarly.
“She was a no-nonsense, hold-her-ground type of player who wasn't afraid to play with her back to goal and challenge defenders to come get her,” Anderson recalled. “More than once I blew the whistle and received a little dirty look from her, because she felt she could have kept going despite being fouled.”
As a senior, Little earned Division 2 all-state honorable mention. She now attends the University of Michigan. COVID-19 is allowing her to stay home, go to school and earn money refereeing fall soccer. She also refereed in the Ann Arbor area during her freshman year of college.
“I love to stay involved with soccer,” she said. “I’ve been doing it since middle school, and it's a fun and active way to earn some money.
“Being a referee also allows me to pick up games that fit my schedule.”
Little is among a just a handful of female soccer referees in the northern Lower Peninsula, that group also including Grand Traverse Area Soccer Association members Josephine Arrowood and Amanda Field.
“It can be a bit intimidating at times,” she said. “Most referees are men, so I feel like I lack authority in the eyes of the players/coaches/parents as a young woman, and even more so during boys games where most of the players are much taller than me.
“But, there have been several instances where I have received compliments from coaches or spectators passing by after a game related to being a young female officiating because they claim to not see that very often and would like to see more of it.”
Anderson agrees.
“When doing a boys game, I think there is still a general tendency to see if the female is up to the challenge,” he said. “However, she doesn't let that bother her and it doesn't take long for others to realize she is more than capable.”
Little gets a lot of satisfaction out of the game of soccer and recommends others get involved in officiating.
“The types of games where I am very glad I’m a referee are the ones where I get to watch crazy talent and skill from players I never would have seen play otherwise,” she noted.
Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Alexus Miller inspects the nets with officiating partner Jeremy Barrett before a game this season. (Middle) Miller checks her watch during a break in the action. (Photos courtesy of Tom Spencer.)