Northville's Weber Stands Tall in a Crowd
April 25, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Mallory Weber has seen plenty of creative defenses during her four seasons on Northville’s varsity soccer team.
Most of the time, she’s shadowed by two defenders. Sometimes, she’ll draw three. But the most memorable effort came from just one defender last season against rival Novi.
“She followed me everywhere. I went out of bounds, she followed me out of bounds,” Weber remembered Wednesday. “It was pretty quick. I’d stop. She’d stop. She was like on a leash with me.”
Welcome to life as a two-time all-state forward who next season will play for the reigning Big Ten regular-season champion, and this week receives a Second Half High 5 for helping key her team's outstanding start.
Northville is 5-0-2 coming off Tuesday’s 8-0 win over South Lyon, in which Weber scored two goals and had an assist to push her season totals to nine and five, respectively.
She didn’t score in last week’s win over Novi – the Mustangs' first over the Wildcats since 2009 – but that hardly means she didn’t factor in what might be considered the team’s best victory of the last two seasons. Novi had won 40 straight games, including last season’s MHSAA Division 1 Final.
“Novi had her double-teamed at all times and sometimes triple-teamed. This obviously opens up the field for others to execute,” Northville coach Eric Brucker said. “Mallory is the workhorse and on-field leader. Other coaches within our league have pulled Mallory aside after postgame handshakes to voice their admiration for her on-the-field direction.
“She is a great example of trying to do the most for her team – every game, all 80 minutes. The players around her feed off her energy.”
Extra attention from opponents became noticeable to her last season, but didn’t slow Weber as she earned a second-straight all-state first-team selection. She’s picked up some moves to create her own space – usually, she’ll play the ball back, spin off and try to come back to the ball in an effort to gain a few steps.
But she also realizes how much opponents are changing their defenses to account for her – and how much that can benefit a Mustangs team that returned nearly intact from a year ago.
With little opportunity to look up when she got the ball against Novi, Weber was able to one-touch pass to teammates because they’ve grown accustomed to where each other will be positioned.
Among those getting plenty of great looks up front is sophomore Jamie Cheslik, who has six goals and seven assists and scored the game-winner against Novi. Brucker called her the “catalyst,” another who creates plenty of havoc and scoring opportunities.
Weber was not considered that player yet when she got serious about soccer at age 10. She’d played in recreational leagues, but didn’t make the top team in her club that first season – which paid off in the long run because of how hard she worked to become better. But the middle of the next season, she was promoted. And she joined the Mustangs' top team in her first season of high school.
Although Northville has two MHSAA championship game appearances since 2004, all three of Weber’s seasons have ended with losses in arguably the toughest District in the state (which this season includes three teams currently ranked among the top seven in Division 1).
But the Novi win could be the spark for a run Weber has been waiting to lead.
“It’s what I’ve been waiting for each year. We’re on the same page, and it would be great to go out like that on a good note, and good for the program,” Weber said. “We’ve finally come together, and that (win) gave us the confidence we’ll need in the playoffs.”
Click for more about Weber and this week's other High 5s.
PHOTO: Northville's Mallory Weber (14) works the ball upfield while being shadowed by a defender. (Photo courtesy of Shelly Bush Photography.)
Northern Fueled for Another Title Drive
March 27, 2019
By Dean Holzwarth
Special for Second Half
GRAND RAPIDS – The Forest Hills Northern girls soccer team made a surprising run to another MHSAA Finals last season with a roster filled with 18 underclassmen.
A large majority are back, and it’s created similar aspirations for a program that has blossomed into a formidable state contender in Division 2.
“I like this team because they have a lot of experience,” sixth-year Huskies coach Dan Siminski said. “It’s always a new challenge every year, and this year is no different from that standpoint with the departures and you have to fill some holes and move people around.
“One of the things I like about this team is they are very versatile, so we are converting some people from old positions to new ones and trying some things out. So far, it’s looked pretty good and they are quick to pick up concepts.”
The Huskies have appeared in three consecutive Finals, but come up short each time.
In 2016, they lost in a shootout to Pontiac Notre Dame Prep. The past two years, state powerhouse Bloomfield Hills Marian has spoiled their title hopes.
The season-ending losses haven’t defined their seasons, but have instilled an inner determination to keep striving toward the championship.
“We’ve come close, really close one year, but it keeps them hungry for sure,” Siminski said. “Runner-up or not, it’s not taking away from their accomplishments and I feel like everybody has been really happy with what we’ve done even though we didn’t win them all.”
Senior captain and four-year standout Carlye Fatum said the team hasn’t been discouraged by the setbacks. Instead, she and her teammates learned valuable lessons through each experience.
“Each year we’ve gotten so close, and every year we come back just as strong or even stronger and wanting to put in just as much work just to get there again,” Fatum said. “It’s tough getting there so many times and having it right there and being just short, but as a team I think we’ve handled it well and learned from it each year to improve.”
The Huskies have reached the Finals the past two years with different makeups.
In 2017, a senior-heavy squad carried the load, while last season a youthful bunch matured throughout the season en route to another lengthy postseason run.
Last year’s journey included a shootout win over Spring Lake in the Regional Final and an overtime victory against Richland Gull Lake in the Semifinal.
“It’s definitely a talented and close-knit group, and with the success these girls have had they kind of find ways to win even though it hasn’t been easy,” Siminski said. “Success tends to breed success, I guess, but all of them are very coachable and buy into team soccer and team concepts.”
Sammi Blair, another senior captain and four-year performer, is thrilled to have everyone back in the fold in pursuit of another successful campaign.
“I’m super excited about everyone coming back and how well we have started with our team chemistry because of last year,” Blair said. “That will help going into the season, and I think we want to show that we can keep this success up no matter what is thrown at us. We’ve lost players to DA (U.S. Developmental Academy), and we just want to prove that we can be just as good with players that come in and step up right away.”
One key attribute that hasn’t wavered in the Huskies’ incredible three-year span is their belief in themselves.
“One thing passed on from team to team is they are just a bunch of winners,” Siminski said. “They find a way, and you can’t teach that. It’s an intangible, and hard to put your finger on, but every time there has been a close game we just feel like it’s going to be all right, and it has been.
“You don’t know what the future will hold, but everybody believes and that’s the hardest part. They always feel like they have a good chance to win on any given day. Of course, you don’t win them all, but they always feel like they are going to win and that’s a great place to start.”
Fatum said that belief comes from trusting one’s teammates.
“We all trust each other, and we all go into it knowing we have each other’s back,” she said. “We know if we make a mistake that it’s OK, and we are strong enough to come back from it.”
Key returnees include keeper Parker Hutchinson, as well as Elyse DeSchryver, Jenna Mustapha, Sophie Renucci, Grace Sayers, Paige Myers, Kali Mochel and Alyssa Greshak. DeSchryver made the all-state third team last season and was the team’s leading scorer.
All of the girls play club soccer outside of the high school season. It’s allowed them to keep their individual skills sharp.
“We are blessed to have good clubs here, and they train from a young age,” Siminski said. “It keeps them constantly developing.”
Siminski said complacency hasn’t been a factor. His team knows to compete at the state level they have to endure the rigors of getting there.
“I haven’t seen a dip in their want to win conference and Districts or anything else,” he said. “A lot of that comes from senior leadership and captains pushing the kids and keeping them focused. I’m very excited and proud of the kids for what they’ve done so far, but we have more to come.”
Dean Holzwarth covered primarily high school sports for the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years and more recently served as sports editor of the Ionia Sentinel and as a sports photojournalist for WZZM. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Forest Hills Northern’s Elyse DeSchryver (6) pushes past a defender during last season’s Division 2 Final against Bloomfield Hills Marian. (Middle) Carlye Fatum directs the offense.