Preview: Champs Seek to Extend Streaks
June 11, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The setting is new – at least somewhat – as the MHSAA Girls Soccer Finals return to Michigan State University this spring for the first time since 2012. The format is new, as two Finals will be played Friday and Saturday.
But most of the favorites are familiar as three teams compete to repeat as champions.
Grandville Calvin Christian is playing for its fourth straight title in Division 4, while Richland Gull Lake is looking to make it three straight in Division 2 and Hudsonville Unity Christian is playing for its second straight title but ninth total overall.
The narrative is the opposite in Division 1, where both teams are playing for the first title in program history.
Below is this weekend’s schedule, followed by glances at all eight finalists.
Friday
Hudsonville Unity Christian vs. Detroit Country Day, 1 p.m.
Richland Gull Lake vs. Fenton, 4 p.m.
Saturday
Grandville Calvin Christian vs. Lansing Christian, 1 p.m.
Saline vs. Grand Blanc, 4 p.m.
Tickets cost $8 per day and include admission to baseball and softball games that day also at MSU’s Old College Field. Radio broadcasts of all games can be heard online at MHSAAnetwork.com. All games will be streamed live online at MHSAA.TV and viewable on subscription basis.
All statistics below are through at least the regular season, with most through teams' Regionals. (Click for links to brackets and scores.)
DIVISION 1
GRAND BLANC
Record/rank: 18-5-5, unranked
Coach: Greg Kehler, 17th season (260-80-47)
League finish: Third in Kensington Lakes Activities Association West.
Championship history: Division 1 runner-up 2004.
Players to watch: Annie Walker, sr. F (29 goals, 10 assists), Lara Wheeler, fr. F (17 goals, 5 assists); Amy Puidokas, jr. GK (0.60 goals-against average, 8 shutouts).
Outlook: Grand Blanc is on its best tournament run since making the Semifinals in 2005 after eliminating No. 1 Rochester Hills Stoney Creek, No. 10 Northville and then No. 5 Troy Athens in its last three games. Walker made the all-state first team last season and is again the scorer to stop, with 2014 all-state honorable mention Lexi Trudeau, a junior, among those moving the ball into striking position.
SALINE
Record/rank: 21-0-3, No. 6
Coach: Dana Restrick, sixth season (record at school N/A)
League finish: First in Southeastern Conference Red.
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Players to watch: Sofia Sweier, sr. GK (0.17 goals-against average, 20 shutouts); Taylor Mulder, sr. F (41 goals, 11 assists); Amanda Zylstra, sr. D (3 goals, 5 assists).
Outlook: Saline is 40-3-6 over the last two seasons and won its first Regional title last week. No. 3 East Kentwood in the Quarterfinal was the eighth straight opponent to be shut out by the Hornets, who have given up only four goals this season. Sweier and Zylstra made the all-state second team last season, and Mulder made the third.
DIVISION 2
FENTON
Record/rank: 15-4-3, honorable mention
Coach: Matt Sullivan, 11th season (record at school N/A)
League finish: Second in Flint Metro League.
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Players to watch: Brennan Sullivan, sr. M (1 goal, 3 assists); Brianna Costigan, jr. M (9 goals, 11 assists); Abigail Quesnelle, soph. GK (0.60 goals-against average, 14 shutouts).
Outlook: Fenton has reached the Semifinals three of the last seven seasons, but after two one-goal heartbreak losses that ended those first two trips, broke through by beating No. 6 Trenton this week. The Tigers also eliminated No. 4 Warren Regina and No. 8 Linden during the tournament and have won 11 of their last 12 games. Fenton scored 26 goals during the regular season, but has put 17 in the net in six tournament games. Costigan made the all-state second team last season, and Sullivan earned an honorable mention.
RICHLAND GULL LAKE
Record/rank: 24-1-1, No. 2
Coach: Jeff Corstange, fourth season (82-8-4)
League finish: First in Southwest Michigan Athletic Conference East.
Championship history: Three MHSAA titles (most recent 2014), four runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Hannah Phommavongsa, sr. F (16 goals, 8 assists); Amanda Pavletic, sr. M (14 goals, 8 assists); Olivia Sullivan, sr. D (1 goal, 4 assists); Kirsten Taylor, sr. F (24 goals, 11 assists).
Outlook: Gull Lake has won two straight MHSAA championships and is loaded with veterans as it goes for a third. Taylor made the all-state third team last season, and Phommavongsa, Sullivan and Pavletic earned honorable mentions. Gull Lake defeated No. 10 DeWitt and honorable mention Middleville Thornapple Kellogg during this run, with the lone loss by a goal midseason to Division 1 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central. Junior keeper Regan Troff took over in net this spring and has saved 96 percent of the shots against her.
DIVISION 3
DETROIT COUNTRY DAY
Record/rank: 18-3-2, No. 3
Coach: Bob Bukari, 29th season (record at school N/A)
League finish: Does not play in a conference.
Championship history: Five MHSAA titles (most recent 2004), four runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Isabel Nino, soph. D/GK; Jenna Staudt, sr. D/M; Dagny Hill, soph. M; Libby Ronchetto, sr. M/D (Statistics not submitted).
Outlook: Country Day has finished runner-up three times since its last title, but has plenty of key players who experienced last season’s run. Hill and Staudt made the all-state second team in 2014, Nino made the third and Ronchetto earned honorable mention. The Yellowjackets eliminated No. 6 Grosse Ile and then edged No. 2 Flint Powers Catholic in a shootout to advance to this weekend.
HUDSONVILLE UNITY CHRISTIAN
Record/rank: 23-1, No. 1
Coach: Randy Heethuis, 26th season (487-87-28)
League finish: First in Ottawa-Kent Conference Green.
Championship history: Eight MHSAA titles (most recent 2014), three runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Bethany Balcer, sr. M (38 goals, 13 assists); Maddy VanDyke, jr. D (5 goals, 2 assists); Casandra Besteman, sr. M (3 goals, 3 assists); Elly Brummel, sr. D (4 goals, 5 assists).
Outlook: Unity Christian bounced back from a rare Finals miss by winning its eighth title last spring and second in three seasons. Unity Christian downed the reigning champion, Grand Rapids South Christian, in the Regional Final and also eliminated No. 4 Grand Rapids Catholic Central. Balcer – one of five players with at least 10 goals – and VanDyke are returning all-state first-teamers, while Brummel made the second team and Besteman earned honorable mention.
DIVISION 4
GRANDVILLE CALVIN CHRISTIAN
Record/rank: 21-3, No. 2
Coach: Tim TerHaar, 15th season (255-64-20)
League finish: First in O-K Silver.
Championship history: Division 4 champion 2014, 2013 and 2012.
Players to watch: Allison Keizer, sr. GK (0.88 goals-against average, 14 shutouts); Morgan Buursma, sr. D (20 goals, 4 assists); Hilary Curry, sr. M (24 goals, 16 assists); Emily VanVliet, sr. M (11 goals, 26 assists).
Outlook: Calvin Christian can become just the second team in MHSAA history to win four straight girls soccer championships, following the Unity Christian teams of 2005-10. Keizer and Buursma made the all-state first team last season, while Curry made the third team and VanVliet earned honorable mention. Four Calvin Christian players have scored at least 20 goals this season – junior forwards Whitney Koets (28) and Natalie Honeycutt (22) are the other two.
LANSING CHRISTIAN
Record/rank: 20-4, honorable mention
Coach: Joel Vande Kopple, ninth season (129-41-9)
League finish: Tied for first in Greater Lansing Activities Conference.
Championship history: Division 4 runner-up 2011.
Players to watch: Kasey Jamieson, fr. F (47 goals, 15 assists); Emily Voss, sr. F (27 goals, 16 assists); Rachelle Trafford, sr. GK (0.74 goals-against average, 15 shutouts).
Outlook: Lansing Christian has reached at least the Semifinals four of the last five seasons, giving the Pilgrims as much late-round experience as most left this weekend. Voss made the all-state third team in 2014 and provides an excellent one-two scoring punch with Jamieson, who also had both goals in the Semifinal win over Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett to push her first-season total to 49.
PHOTO: Grandville Calvin Christian's Emily VanVliet controls possession during last season's Division 4 Final win.
Kalamazoo Christian Building on Lessons Learned during 2022 Finals Run
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
May 16, 2023
KALAMAZOO — During her freshman year, Elizabeth Netz was settling in on the Kalamazoo Christian junior varsity soccer team as a defender, gelling with her teammates with thoughts of one day playing on varsity.
Those days came sooner than the now-junior expected.
“When she was a freshman, we had no goalkeeper,” varsity head coach Jay Allen said. “JV had no goalkeeper either and would rotate kids in goal. One day I watched her in net and asked her if she would like to be the varsity goalkeeper.
“Elizabeth is very quiet and she probably, deep down inside, said ‘No.’ Since she didn’t outwardly say ‘No,’ I drafted her and she has been the varsity goalkeeper since her freshman year and has grown and kept us in games.”
Each game was a learning experience for Netz, who had no real experience in goal.
“I was very, very nervous,” she said of that first year. “I’m a very quiet, introverted person, but on the field I’m more confident to say ‘Hey, do this, do that’ and yell through the whole game.
“I definitely got better at yelling.”
After falling just short in the Division 4 championship game last season, a 1-0 heartbreaker to Royal Oak Shrine Catholic, Netz and her teammates are learning from that experience.
The Comets have allowed just 13 goals so far this year and take a 12-4 record into the final weeks of the regular season.
Senior Taylor Leonard, the team’s leading scorer with 25 goals, said a key is team cohesiveness.
“The team isn’t going to thrive off of one person,” she said. “Everybody has a super pivotal role, even if they don’t get in a lot, as long as they’re on the bench and encouraging.
“That’s huge for the overall success of the team.”
Allen said Leonard, who hopes to play soccer at Hope College, leads by example.
“When there’s an issue on or off the field, you see her leading the way,” he said. “She’s a little reserved, but for those of us who know her, she’s a go-getter.”
Sophomore Jordyn Bonnema sets up many of Leonard’s goals.
“Jordyn’s talent is she can see things happening before they even happen,” Allen said.
“When the ball’s played to her, Jordyn’s already seen where that ball’s going to be three plays later. She may get rid of the ball, but three plays later the ball’s back at her feet.”
Bonnema has come a long way from the days when her parents signed her up for youth soccer.
“I think I was really bad when I was young,” she said. “My parents said I usually just stood and watched the ball.”
She has blossomed since then, not only becoming a force in soccer, but earning first-team all-state honors this year in both golf and basketball.
One thing she said the team learned from last season’s run to the Final is “the work you put in at the beginning of the season is really something that really pays off at the end.
“We all push each other and have the integrity to hold each other accountable – to be able to know we’re all working toward the same goal. At the end of the day, you’re working for the people that are next to you.”
Netz said that encouragement is a big motivator.
“Letting people know it’s ok to make mistakes. We just need to turn around and give everything into it,” she said. “We play for the glory of the team and for the glory of God.”
Tough competition always pays off
Allen always sets a competitive schedule to get the players prepared for postseason play.
“We play a tough out-of-conference schedule,” he said. “We take (a few lumps). We’ve played against some stronger Division 3 teams that, although the score doesn’t reflect it, we played really well.
“Having a very young back line and lineup, it shows our weaknesses, which then we can then tweak.”
In spite of the “lumps,” Leonard said the team never gives up.
“In those games, we’re known to be relentless, even though we’re playing in these super competitive games with these strong teams,” she said.
“Everybody gives 110-percent effort. That also contributes at how well we do at the end of the season because we had to face many tough games throughout the season.”
The Comets have a three-pronged attack in Leonard, Bonnema and senior Chloe Lehman.
“When the three of them work together, it forces the rest of the team to fall into different spots,” Allen said. “We have some very good players like (senior) Annika Sytsma, (junior) Mackenzie Ling, (freshman) Izzy Suloff, (sophomore) Maysen Steensma, who all raise their level of play when the energy is high for the other three.
“This is truly a team. You can say Taylor, Jordyn and Chloe are the backbone, but the others are the muscle. They are what truly allows the other three to have the kind of success they have.”
Other seniors on the team are Maggie de Jong, Rylan Smith, Lillian Klooster and Halee Taylor.
Juniors are Sophia Nash, Phoebe Zeyl and Kate Watson.
The young team also includes sophomores Hannah Hoeksema, Annelise de Jong, Alaina Klooster, Rachel Miller and Kailey Triemstra plus freshmen Aubrie Lehman and Emilee Dyk.
Good fun, great lessons
All of Allen’s assistants are former K-Christian players and no doubt had a hand in some of the traditional pranks the girls play on him.
“It actually started with Jordyn’s mom (Candace Bonnema) when she Saran-wrapped my car and covered it in flour 28 years ago,” Allen laughed.
“She leads the school in yellow cards in a season with nine, and she started everything. Every year since, somebody has done something to me.”
The coach takes it all in good fun.
“Either they make a T-shirt of me with a funny face or they put raccoons in my car, and I’m deathly afraid of raccoons. I don’t know what they’re planning to do this year.”
Allen, who is a self-confessed Army brat, grew up in Madrid, Spain, and came to the United States when he was 18 to attend Western Michigan University.
He became an assistant to Comets coach Ron Smilanich 28 years ago, then took over the head coaching job 10 years ago.
He began coaching the boys team in 2010 and still keeps in touch with many former players.
“I average about three weddings and a baptism a year,” he said. “The impact I get to have on both the young ladies and men in this environment is fantastic.
Included in that group are current assistants Sarah Onderlinde, Emma Bertrand, Jenna Blackwell, Maegan Kilgus and Lauryn Mohney.
“One of the big things I like to do is teach them teamwork, teach them responsibility, being on time, working to those positions, how to deal with different personalities,” Allen said.
“One day, your boss is going to be ‘me,’ my generation, and you’re going to have to know how to deal with ‘me.’ How do you resolve a conflict on the team, how do you work together? We provide them with different tools.”
Pam Shebest served as a sportswriter at the Kalamazoo Gazette from 1985-2009 after 11 years part-time with the Gazette while teaching French and English at White Pigeon High School. She can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Kalamazoo Christian keeper Elizabeth Netz puts the ball back in play during a game against Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep. (2) Taylor Leonard leads the Comets’ charge upfield. (3) Kalamazoo Christian girls soccer coach Jay Allen. (4) Jordyn Bonnema (7) navigates among Hackett defenders. (Action photos by Dan Cooke; head shot by Pam Shebest.)