Performance: Cadillac's Abby Divozzo
April 21, 2016
Abby Divozzo
Cadillac senior – Soccer
Divozzo was regarded last spring as a top goalkeeper in the northern Lower Peninsula after helping the Vikings to a Big North Conference title with 10 shutouts while giving up only 0.86 goals per game. But an incredible start this spring should put the entire state on notice. The third-year varsity starter has shutouts in all of her team’s first six games and blanked three opponents to lead Cadillac to the Holland Invitational championship Saturday and earn the Michigan National Guard Performance of the Week.
The Vikings beat Holland Black River 2-0, tied Grand Rapids Northview 0-0 and then defeated Holland 2-0, and have increased their start this season to 4-0-2. Divozzo, who has signed to continue her career at Saginaw Valley State University, wasn’t tested much against Black River, but made a key save diving into the top right corner to stop a shot from the 18-yard line and preserve the tie against Northview.
Cadillac graduated only three seniors from last season’s team that finished 14-6-1, so the start this spring hasn’t come as too much of a surprise to the senior keeper. She also was a key contributor to Cadillac’s girls ski team that placed sixth at the MHSAA Division 2 Final this winter, finishing 20th in both the slalom and giant slalom to earn all-state second-team honors in that sport. She’s a strong student sporting a 3.53 grade-point average but is undecided on what she’ll study at SVSU, although she said she enjoys math and science classes and might consider something in the medical field.
Coach Jen VanNoord said: “I feel so fortunate to have a player like Abby as my goalkeeper. Just knowing she's in net gives me the freedom and the confidence to play a high-pressure formation. She is intense and crazy and calm all at the same time. Abby has the ability to elevate her game when matches are tight … the tougher the match the better she plays. She's also my player that can make a stressed out teammate laugh and relax with her silly sense of humor. Abby is a powerful role model to the young players and a leader in our soccer community. Her confidence and continued growth as a goalkeeper have made an exceptional impact on me over the last three seasons."
Performance Point: “We have a lot of returning players, and we’ve all been playing with each other since we were 8-year-olds. We know how each other plays, know how to work together to keep other teams from scoring.”
Net minder: (I’m strong at) communication, making sure everyone knows what’s going on. I can see the whole field; they might not be able to see the whole thing. … I like that (keeper) is so different from any other position, and so important also. Most people think you’re the goalie, you just stand there. ... When you make a save, and everyone cheers, that’s pretty cool."
Refuse to lose: “I hate losing. I’m going to do anything to make sure that we don’t lose. Making sure people are dropping (into formation), making sure people aren’t left open, just making sure we don’t get scored on. In practice, I’m known as the silly one. But when it’s game time, a little switch goes on, and I’m serious.”
Goalkeeper’s goal: “I want to win a District. Our school hasn’t won a District in girls soccer ever, so obviously that’s the main goal. That would be pretty crazy, just my senior year to finally have that little extra part.”
SVSU, here I come: “The campus is awesome, the staff is awesome. I don’t really know what I want to do, and they’ve got any field of study that I’d want, so it’s a win-win – I get to play soccer and figure out what I want to do at the same place.”
– Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2015-16 school year, Second Half and the Michigan National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom, or protecting lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2015-16 honorees
March 30: Cassius Winston, Detroit U-D Jesuit boys basketball - Read
March 23: Kierra Fletcher, Warren Cousino girls basketball - Read
March 16: Jacob Montague, Grosse Pointe South swimming & diving - Read
March 9: Kyle Tuttle, St. Charles boys bowling - Read
March 2: Brittney Schnicke, Caledonia girls bowling - Read
Feb. 24: Kamari Newman, Detroit East English boys basketball - Read
Feb. 17: Jason Whitens, Powers North Central boys basketball - Read
Feb. 10: Rachel Hogan, Grand Ledge gymnastics - Read
Feb. 3: Nehemiah Mork, Midland Dow swimming & diving - Read
Jan. 27: Mardrekia Cook, Muskegon girls basketball - Read
Jan. 20: Sage Castillo, Hartland wrestling - Read
Jan. 13: Rob Zofchak, Dexter swimming & diving - Read
Jan. 6: Tyler Deming, Caro wrestling – Read
Dec. 15: Jordan Weber, East Jordan boys basketball – Read
Dec. 8: Kaitlyn Geers, Kent City girls basketball – Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Abby Divozzo (11) surveys the field during Cadillac's game Saturday against Grand Rapids Northview. (Middle) Divozzo launches the ball downfield. (Photos courtesy of Cadillac girls soccer program.)
Powers Learns, Returns, Wins D3 Title
June 16, 2017
By Keith Dunlap
Special for Second Half
WILLIAMSTON – Kennedy Myers didn’t want to forget the images, even if they were still like piercing wounds.
A sophomore forward for the Flint Powers Catholic girls soccer team, Myers had flashbacks of last year’s Division 3 title game loss to Hudsonville Unity Christian when Powers took the field to face Freeland in this year’s Final on Friday.
“Right before this game started, I remembered last year and how the seniors felt getting their medals for second place,” Myers said. “Seeing their faces and how disappointed they were. I knew I had to use that to motivate me today.”
Thanks to two early goals from Myers, Powers made good of another title chance and had a much happier disposition during the medal ceremony this time following a 4-0 defeat of Freeland.
The championship was the second in school history for Powers (26-1-2), which also won it all in 2011.
“You look back knowing we were a better team last year,” Powers coach Art Moody said. “Nothing against Unity because they did what they needed to. We just outshot them last year and learned from that. We came in here saying these were the things we needed to do better. It meant so much to have that negative to look back on to kind of say, ‘Hey, this is how we are going to turn it into a positive.’”
Powers took a 1-0 lead with 30:18 remaining in the first half on a goal by Myers, who found herself with the ball right in front of the goal following a series of deflections off a free kick.
Powers then scored two goals over a span of 1:34, the first by Myers with 19:05 left in the first half.
Dribbling toward the goal from the right side of the net, she had a shot blocked by Freeland junior goalkeeper Alexa Walker.
But the ball bounced back toward the middle of the box, Myers won the race to the ball and fired into an open net to make it 2-0 Powers.
With 17:31 left in the first half, senior Emilie Pechette then drilled home a shot from 18 yards out to give the Chargers a 3-0 lead.
“I definitely think it shot our confidence down,” Freeland coach Lauren Kemerer said. “I just tried to explain to the girls that if something like that happens, you have to pick yourselves up.”
Powers made it 4-0 with 20:25 left in the game when senior Gabrielle Amato headed home a ball in the box off a corner kick by senior Sophia Dubiel that deflected off of a Freeland defender and went in.
“(Last year) definitely carried with us,” Powers senior sweeper Rachel Phillpotts said. “It definitely made an impact on how we came out here and how we did our season this year. We needed to come out and really show people that last year was not a fluke.”
Freeland (23-2) entered with a lot of momentum following a 3-2 Semifinal win Tuesday over three-time reigning champion Unity Christian.
The downside from that win for Freeland was that it lost one of its best players, senior midfielder Jessica Piper, late in the game to a knee injury.
Piper didn’t play in the title game against Powers.
“She’s a phenomenal player,” Kemerer said. “Defensively and offensively she’s a leader on our team, and it was definitely detrimental to our team to not have her.”
Still, Freeland did make the MHSAA championship game for the first time in school history.
“Our goal this year was getting past Unity,” Kemerer said. “We wanted it and worked towards it. We hit our goals. We expected to make it here. It’s unfortunate we lost, but it is what it is. It’s a learning experience for all of us.”
Click for the full scoring summary.
PHOTOS: (Top) Flint Powers Catholic players celebrate during Saturday's Division 3 Final at Williamston High School. (Middle) Freeland's Erin Tyson (2) works to gain possession against Powers' Dominique Amato (19).