Performance: Lansing Christian's Kasey Jamieson
June 21, 2018
Kasey Jamieson
Lansing Christian senior – Soccer
The four-time all-state forward capped her career Friday with the lone goal of a 1-0 Division 4 championship game victory over Kalamazoo Christian, earning the final Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week” for 2017-18. Her final high school goal secured a second straight Division 4 title for the Pilgrims and gave her 197 goals for her career – the second most in MHSAA history.
Jamieson had 54 goals – tied for 10th most for one season – and 71 total points this spring in helping Lansing Christian to a 19-3-2 record. For the second straight year, she was considered the best player in all of Division 4 as the lone selection from that division to the all-state Dream Team. In addition to her 197 career goals, she’ll make the record book career assists list with 72 – and her 268 career points (over 101 games) rank third all-time. Jamieson also returned to her school’s basketball program this past winter, playing that sport for the first time since freshman year and contributing significantly to the Pilgrims’ 15-7 finish.
Her class valedictorian with a 4.0 grade-point average, Jamieson is drawn to biology and similar sciences and aspires to become a physical therapist. She will study kinesiology and continue her soccer career at Division I Liberty University in Virginia this fall after she joins other college players this summer as part of local United Women’s Soccer League team Lansing United.
Coach Joel Vande Kopple said: “The most visible aspect of Kasey’s impact had obviously been her production on the field, where both the number of goals and assists she had are records at LCS since I've been there. Something that often goes overlooked is her availability to play. She didn't miss any games in her four years, and knowing that she was going to be out there every game really boosted our girls. Her personality is what I've appreciated most about her. Despite all her accolades, she always wanted what was best for the team and to see her teammates succeed.”
Performance Point: “What I'm missing most is just the team,” Jamieson said, recalling her final game with the Pilgrims. “I've been with this team the past five months. Basically every day we see each other, so I guess it's just different not having practice to go to, just not talking to them about the games or what's going to happen, or cheering them on or encouraging them. ... I definitely didn't know going into the (championship) game if I'd be the winning goal, or if I would assist it, or if one of my other teammates would have it. But whatever it was, we would've done whatever we could have to have that goal, no matter who put it in or not. It was so awesome to finish my year off like that. Obviously, I couldn't have done it without any of the girls on the team, so all credit to them. It was just a fun year, a fun way to go out. … Obviously, we worked really hard for it, so I'm so proud of the girls.”
Pilgrim pride: (High school soccer) is so much different because it's more of a team mindset, while club becomes a personal mindset because you're trying to get noticed by colleges, by coaches. High school, we're not doing it for coaches. We're not doing it for scouts. We're doing it because we love this sport and we love each other, and we love to push each other and work together. That's what's different about high school – it's not the personal game, it's all team. And that's what I love about it – especially since our school is K-12, all these girls I've been playing with since I was little.”
Showing the way: “Our school, since we're so small, we get to hang out with the elementary students, which is so fun. You get a kindergarten buddy every year, so most of our kindergarten buddies were at the state championship game. It was so cool. And we all have little siblings that are younger students, so all the siblings brought their friends. So it's not just the high school supporting you, but the entire school. It's a cool environment, and it encourages you to do better. (Coach) talks about how there are these little girls that are looking up to you constantly, and how you act, they're going to notice it.”
Back on the break: “I played basketball all the way up to freshman year, and then I just stopped and I wanted to focus on soccer. I went into senior year like, I missed the sport and I wanted to try it out. It was fun. It definitely was different. It was cool using different workouts because I wanted to use different muscles and work different areas so I could be an overall (well-rounded) player. I shared the position as a point guard and a shooting guard. I played most of the entire game. We did well. ... The coach (Jason Salsbury) is super supportive, and the cool thing about our basketball coach is he was at all of our soccer games cheering us on. And he has two little girls and a little boy who are looking up to us so much, which is just so fun because some of us get to babysit them. So it's just a cool environment. We're just like a family.”
Faith and family: My faith is the most important thing to me. … A cool thing about Liberty that I like, every time before games they prayed, and they prayed for other people. It was even a bigger family than at Lansing Christian, which I loved and that's what I wanted. I went to one of their games – they were playing somewhere in Tennessee, I believe – and a girl on the other team got injured, we we're sitting there watching and then girls that were on the field and off the field starting praying. That right there, I was like ‘OK, I want to go here.’”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2017-18 school year, Second Half and the Michigan Army 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 protect lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2017-18 honorees:
June 14: Erik Fahlen Jr., Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian golf - Read
June 7: Paxton Johnson, Escanaba golf - Read
May 31: Lydia Goble, Schoolcraft softball - Read
May 24: Corinne Jemison, East Kentwood track & field - Read
May 17: Reagan Wisser, Richland Gull Lake soccer - Read
May 10: Clayton Sayen, Houghton track & field - Read
May 3: Autumn Roberts, Traverse City Central tennis - Read
April 26: Thomas Robinson, Wyoming Lee track & field - Read
March 29: Carlos Johnson, Benton Harbor basketball - Read
March 22: Shine Strickland-Gills, Saginaw Heritage basketball - Read
March 15: Skyler Cook-Weeks, Holland Christian swimming - Read
March 8: Dakota Greer, Howard City Tri-County wrestling - Read
March 1: Camree' Clegg, Wayne Memorial basketball - Read
February 23: Aliah Robertson, Sault Ste. Marie swimming - Read
February 16: Austin O'Hearon, Eaton Rapids wrestling - Read
February 9: Sophia Wiard, Muskegon Oakridge basketball - Read
February 2: Brenden Tulpa, Hartland hockey - Read
January 25: Brandon Whitman, Dundee wrestling - Read
January 18: Derek Maas, Holland West Ottawa swimming - Read
January 11: Lexi Niepoth, Bellaire basketball - Read
November 30: La'Darius Jefferson, Muskegon football - Read
November 23: Ashley Turak, Farmington Hills Harrison swimming - Read
November 16: Bryce Veasley, West Bloomfield football - Read
November 9: Jose Penaloza, Holland soccer - Read
November 2: Karenna Duffey, Macomb L'Anse Creuse North cross country - Read
October 26: Anika Dy, Traverse City West golf - Read
October 19: Andrew Zhang, Bloomfield Hills tennis - Read
October 12: Nolan Fugate, Grand Rapids Catholic Central football - Read
October 5: Marissa Ackerman, Munising tennis - Read
September 28: Minh Le, Portage Central soccer - Read
September 21: Olivia Theis, Lansing Catholic cross country - Read
September 14: Maddy Chinn, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep volleyball - Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Lansing Christian's Kasey Jamieson surveys the field during Friday's Division 4 championship game win over Kalamazoo Christian. (Middle) Jamieson pushes the ball ahead; she scored the game's lone goal.
Sailors Ride Scoreless Streak to 2nd Title
June 14, 2019
By Keith Dunlap
Special for Second Half
EAST LANSING – Grand Rapids South Christian senior goalkeeper Annika Zuverink said that throughout this spring, head coach Brian Broekhuizen brought the team bagels every time she and the Sailors shut out an opponent.
But toward the end of the season, Zuverink said Broekhuizen started bringing something else to reward a scoreless performance.
“He’s upgraded to cheeseburgers now,” Zuverink said.
Whatever the choice of food, it was bagels and cheeseburgers for all on South Christian’s squad again Saturday following the Division 3 Final at Michigan State University’s DeMartin Field.
The Sailors recorded their 20th shutout of the season and had plenty of offense to flank their stout defense, scoring twice in the first half en route to a 3-0 victory over Essexville Garber.
It was the second title in school history for the Sailors, who also won it all in 2013.
South Christian didn’t allow a single goal over its seven playoff games.
“I think that’s really impressive,” Zuverink said. “I can’t believe we successfully did that. It’s unbelievable.”
The victory also served as a milestone win for Broekhuizen, who won his 100th game as head coach of the South Christian program.
“That is so special, especially with this group,” Broekhuizen said. “I don’t know what to say about that. It’s just so fitting for me to celebrate that with these girls.”
South Christian opened the scoring with 23:25 left in the first half on a goal by senior Joz VanTol, who headed home a service into the box by senior Sydney Cleary on a free kick from roughly 30 yards out taken near the right sideline.
The Sailors then scored a back-breaking goal off a corner kick right before halftime. Junior Audrey Batts served the ball into the box, and senior Elise Van Sparrentek chipped the ball through defenders and beyond the goal line to give South Christian a two-goal cushion.
The Sailors didn’t let up to start the second half, tilting the field in their favor and then finally cashing on another opportunity.
VanTol dribbled into the right side of the box and fed a pass into the middle to junior Emma DeVries, who buried the point-blank chance with 33:18 left in the game to make it 3-0.
That offense was more than enough for South Christian’s brick wall of a defense.
“At the beginning of the season, I tricked them a little bit and said, ‘Defenders, raise your hand,’” Broekhuizen said. “By now, most of them know that everyone should raise their hand. We work on defending from the front to the back. Forwards cut the field in half, midfielders pressuring and covering, and the back covering, tackling and winning headers. It’s a defensive effort, and now they know defense really wins championships.”
South Christian carried the play throughout, outshooting Garber 15-8 and earning all nine of the game’s corner kicks.
Garber head coach Troy Stewart said the physicality of South Christian was something his team hadn’t seen all year.
“We don’t play the teams they do,” Stewart said. “We didn’t know the physicality was going to be like that and we weren’t prepared, and that’s on us as coaches. We probably should’ve come over here and seen a few games. We learned a lesson.”
While it was a disappointing Final for Garber (22-1-2), in time the Dukes will look back favorably on their first championship game in school history.
They finished with nearly three times as many wins as in 2016 – when they won just eight games –claimed their first Regional title, and upset No. 2-ranked Warren Regina in a Semifinal.
But after building the program to this point, Stewart said after 16 seasons he is stepping down as head coach to spend more time with his three granddaughters who are getting into soccer.
Given it was the program’s first appearance in a Final, Stewart said the team didn’t know there would be a runner-up trophy and medals presented to his players afterward. Finding out that news was a pleasant surprise, even in defeat.
“We just didn’t know,” Stewart said. “Every time we were going, it was day-at-a-time and we are going to play whoever is on that field. We didn’t know there was a trophy and medals.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Grand Rapids South Christian hoists a Finals championship trophy Saturday for the first time since 2013. (Middle) The Sailors’ Sarah Possett works to nudge the ball away from Garber’s Isabel Baranski (4).