Preview: Miss Soccer, Unforgettable Playoff Runs Headline Finals Lineup
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
June 15, 2023
The reigning Miss Soccer will play at Michigan State’s DeMartin Stadium this weekend, as will several more returning all-staters, three teams seeking first Finals championships and the second-winningest title winner in state girls soccer history.
And then there are a pair of programs enjoying two of the most incredible tournament runs from the sport’s four decades of MHSAA history.
Dating back to at least 1991 (when team records were first included on MHSAA Finals summaries currently published), no team had reached an MHSAA championship match with fewer than 10 wins – until Grosse Pointe North and Clarkston Everest Collegiate did so this week. North will play for the Division 2 title, and Everest for the championship in Division 4.
Following is this weekend’s schedule:
Division 1 - Saturday - 4 p.m.
Hudsonville vs. Rochester Hills Stoney Creek
Division 2 - Friday - 4 p.m.
East Grand Rapids vs. Grosse Pointe North
Division 3 - Friday - 1 p.m.
Hudsonville Unity Christian vs. Grosse Ile
Division 4 - Saturday - 1 p.m.
Kalamazoo Christian vs. Clarkston Everest Collegiate
Tickets cost $11 and may be purchased online only at GoFan. One ticket is good for all soccer, softball and baseball games at MSU’s Old College Field that day. All four Finals will be broadcast and available with subscription from MHSAA.tv, with free audio broadcasts on the MHSAA Network.
Below is a glance at all eight teams taking the field, with statistics through Regionals:
Division 1
HUDSONVILLE
Record/rank: 19-2-2, No. 4
League finish: First in Ottawa-Kent Conference Red
Coach: Holly VanNoord, sixth season (69-19-14)
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Players to watch: Samantha Sokolove, sr. D (4 goals, 8 assists); Kendall Aikens, jr. M (19 goals, 14 assists); Maislin Joldersma, jr. F (16 goals, 1 assist); Raeleigh Woodwyk, sr. F (7 goals, 2 assists).
Outlook: Hudsonville has turned its first Regional title into its first championship match appearance, thanks to a 2-0 win over No. 2 Northville in Wednesday’s Semifinal. The Eagles have not allowed a goal in five postseason games, including a 1-0 win over No. 7 Portage Central in the Regional Final. It all adds up; VanNoord was one of the most accomplished keepers in MHSAA history and still holds single-season and career shutouts records from her four seasons at Unity Christian from 2009-12. Senior Clara Feenstra made the all-state first team last season and has shared duties with junior Reid DeGoede – together they’ve played all but 12 minutes in net this spring, allowing a combined 10 goals with a combined 15 shutouts. Aikens made the all-state third team last season, and Sokolove and Woodwyk earned honorable mentions.
ROCHESTER HILLS STONEY CREEK
Record/rank: 25-1-1, No. 3
League finish: Second in Oakland Activities Association Red
Coach: Bryan Mittelstadt, 13th season (191-39-19)
Championship history: Division 1 champion 2016, Division 2 runner-up 2005.
Players to watch: Lilley Bosley, sr. M/F (40 goals, 11 assists); Sarina Shaw, jr. M (6 goals, 7 assists); Kaeli Butcher, sr. M (4 goals, 15 assists); Madeline McGinlay, sr. M/F (12 goals, 7 assists).
Outlook: Paced by returning Miss Soccer Award honoree Bosley, Stoney Creek has navigated two overtime games including one decided by shootout against No. 12 Utica Eisenhower, plus downed top-ranked Rochester and No. 15 Saline on the way to East Lansing. Bosley had scored 40 of the team’s 79 goals through the Regional Final and has signed with Michigan. McGinlay earned an all-state honorable mention last season. Keepers Merrick Schwalbach, a sophomore, and freshman Jessica Kennedy have combined to give up only 10 goals with 19 shutouts. The Cougars had drawn with Rochester during the regular season, with their lone loss to No. 9 Rochester Adams.
Division 2
EAST GRAND RAPIDS
Record/rank: 18-2-3, No. 4
League finish: Third in O-K White
Coach: Fabian Rodriguez, sixth season (46-32-9)
Championship history: Three MHSAA titles (most recent 2002), two runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Makenna Gessner, sr. GK; Gracie Lynn, fr. M; Reese Lynn, fr. M; Margaret Periard, sr. M. (Statistics not submitted.)
Outlook: East Grand Rapids will play in its first Final since 2009 after navigating a path that included wins over top-ranked Spring Lake, No. 11 Plainwell and No. 12 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central. The team’s only losses were both to No. 3 Forest Hills Northern. The surge could continue into next season and beyond – only three seniors start, with Caitlin Brown joining the Reese sisters as freshmen among the top 11.
GROSSE POINTE NORTH
Record/rank: 9-7-7, unranked
League finish: Fifth in Macomb Area Conference Red
Coach: Olivia Dallaire, ninth season (78-60-20)
Championship history: Division 1 runner-up 2008.
Players to watch: Grace McCormick, sr. G (1.09 goals-against average, 8 shutouts); Megan Robert, sr. D (2 goals, 8 assists); Amelia Streberger, jr. M (16 goals, 5 assists); Ava Mattaliano, sr. G/D.
Outlook: Dallaire, a junior on GPN’s 2008 runner-up team who went on to play at Michigan State, has led the Norsemen past No. 2 Bloomfield Hills Marian in a Regional Semifinal shootout and also to wins over No. 6 Trenton and No. 10 Linden during this unforgettable run. North had closed the regular season 1-2-5 over its final eight games and had scored 16 goals total over 18 games heading into the postseason, but has outscored its five playoff opponents by a combined 7-3 margin.
Division 3
GROSSE ILE
Record/rank: 17-2-4, No. 10
League finish: Second in Huron League
Coach: Kyle Lesperance, fifth season (63-14-9)
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Players to watch: Cailey O’Farrell, sr. GK (0.70 goals-against average, 10 shutouts); Cassidy Eblin, jr. M (7 goals, 13 assists); Natalee Kirk, sr. F (35 goals, 7 assists); Aubree Korody, soph. F (14 goals, 4 assists).
Outlook: Grosse Ile won its second Regional title, adding to its championship in 2016, and advanced to this weekend with a shootout win over No. 6 Flint Powers Catholic. The Red Devils also earned postseason wins over No. 5 Williamston and No. 11 Milan and are 8-1-3 since losing their first of three meetings with Milan this spring; the other loss came to Division 1 No. 5 Troy Athens. Kirk earned an all-state honorable mention last season, and Grosse Ile also gets a scoring boost from senior Mia Pascuzzi, who had eight goals and eight assists entering this week.
HUDSONVILLE UNITY CHRISTIAN
Record/rank: 20-1-2, No. 1
League finish: First in O-K Blue
Coach: Randy Heethuis, 34th (619-104-41)
Championship history: Ten MHSAA titles (most recent 2016), four runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Morgan Scholten, sr. GK (0.37 goals-against average, 11 shutouts); Brianna Rose, sr. D (1 goal, 2 assists); Jessie Postma, sr. M (3 goals, 10 assists); Ava Lutke, soph. F (25 goals, 15 assists).
Outlook: A team that returned to the championship game last season featuring several juniors is back and a year older, with Rose coming off her second all-state first-team selection and Lutke also making the first team last year. Scholten made the all-state second team a year ago, Postma made the third and senior Olivia Bosworth (8 goals, 8 assists) earned an honorable mention. She’s one of seven players who entered this week with at least eight goals; other top scorers this spring are senior Jenna Schreiber (13/10), junior Stella DeSmit (11/8) and senior Jordan Steen (11/5). Unity’s only loss was to Division 2 No. 9 Richland Gull Lake, and it downed No. 3 Elk Rapids, No. 12 Allegan and No. 14 Holland Christian during this tournament run.
Division 4
CLARKSTON EVEREST COLLEGIATE
Record/rank: 8-7-1, unranked
League finish: Seventh in Detroit Catholic League AA
Coach: Richard Cross, seventh season (59-48-10)
Championship history: Division 4 champion (as part of a co-operative with Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes) in 2010, three runner-up finishes with Our Lady.
Players to watch: Kathleen Thibodeau, jr. F (8 goals); Maria Saad, soph. D/M (4 goals, 7 assists); Erica Walker, soph. F (7 goals, 8 assists); Morgan McNally, jr. M (9 goals, 11 assists).
Outlook: After starting 2-0-1, Everest didn’t win again until its regular-season finale – a stretch of seven games that included three against top-nine teams in Division 4 and the No. 7 team in Division 2. Switch to the postseason, and the Mountaineers opened with a shootout win over Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest and then shut out its next four opponents including No. 6 Saginaw Nouvel and top-ranked Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett – the latter avenging a 5-1 loss a little more than a month earlier. There are only three senior starters, with Caroline Cross – an all-state honorable mention last season – out with an injury. Everest co-ops with Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart.
KALAMAZOO CHRISTIAN
Record/rank: 18-6, No. 7
League finish: First in Southwestern Athletic Conference Valley
Coach: Jay Allen, 10th season (162-31-6)
Championship history: Four MHSAA titles (most recent 2008), four runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Taylor Leonard, sr. F (39 goals, 12 assists); Jordyn Bonnema, soph. M (15 goals, 20 assists); Rylan Smith, sr. F; Elizabeth Netz, jr. GK.
Outlook: Kalamazoo Christian has finished runner-up four of the last five seasons, last year falling only 1-0 to Royal Oak Shrine Catholic. Leonard made the all-state first team and Netz made the third team last spring, and for the second-straight year the Comets have given up only one goal during the postseason heading into the championship game. Those four shutouts were the latest of 14 total this year. This season’s playoff run has included victories over No. 2 North Muskegon and No. 13 Grandville Calvin Christian. Only one loss this spring came to a Division 4 team, No. 15 Lansing Christian.
PHOTO Grosse Pointe North’s Megan Robert steps into a kick against Romeo this spring. (Photo by Chris Mudd/National Photo Scout.)
Glen Lake Aims to Transform League Dominance Into Postseason Potential
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
May 20, 2022
Meeting and exceeding expectations of the Northwest Conference has been little challenge lately for the Glen Lake girls soccer team.
The Lakers haven’t lost a conference match since 2019, also the last time they failed to win the conference championship.
On Monday, the Lakers have a chance to finish a second-straight undefeated league season when they take on Buckley, coming in at 4-5-4. The Lakers already have defeated the Bears this season, and no league opponent has come within six goals of catching them.
Glen Lake has scored 72 goals in league play and allowed just one.
But while the Lakers have fared very well against league competition over the last many years, they are eager to match that success in the MHSAA Tournament.
Fifth-year coach Eric Luthardt and the Lakers hope to get back to the deep postseason runs made under former coaches Andy Smith and Meg Murphy.
“Glen Lake girls have won quite a few conference titles in the years prior to me,” he said. “It is almost expected, kind of like Leland winning the boys.
“People just assume — and there are teams that assume — we’ll win the conference. But the big one that has been missing for a while has been a District championship,” he continued. “So that’s the next step for us.”
As the second seed in their District, the Lakers will open tournament play May 31 against the winner of Charlevoix and Leland. Top-seeded Harbor Springs is on the other side of the bracket, awaiting the winner of Grayling and Suttons Bay.
If the Lakers secure the District title, they will take on the winner of the McBain District. Host McBain Northern Michigan Christian has the number one seed there. The Lakers and the Comets have not met this season, and neither has faced Harbor Springs this spring.
“As far as accomplishments, we definitely want to win Districts, and I think we have a really strong chance at Regionals,” said Luthardt, who also serves as assistant coach on the Lakers boys team. “Harbor Springs will be challenging.
“McBain (NMC) has a really good soccer program – the boys are really good and the girls are really good,” he continued. “Plus, it is playoff time.”
Buckley, which went undefeated in league play last fall and advanced to the boys Regional, is coached by John Vermilya on both the boys and girls sides. He’s been very impressed by the Lakers this spring.
“This year, the Lakers are untouchable for the rest of us in the Northwest Conference,” he said. “They have two or three girls that are good enough to have been starters on our boys championship team.”
Glen Lake has only 14 players on the roster. The Lakers have been forced to play considerable minutes with just 10 on the field due to injuries and illnesses.
They have been led by junior center mid Ruby Hogan and senior forward Jess Robbins. Both have 25 goals; Hogan adds 16 assists and Robbins 11. One of Robbins’ goals was scored on a free kick from the midfield stripe.
The Lakers also have benefited from sophomore Paige Steffke’s 15 goals and 14 assists and junior Gemma Lerchen’s 13 goals and 10 assists.
Sophomore goalkeeper Natalie Bailey has gained tremendous experience and confidence, Luthardt pointed out. She has 37 saves on the season and has allowed only 16 goals – nine of which came during the Lakers’ first three games of the season.
A field player last year, Bailey recently has benefitted from the special coaching of Becca Nowicki, a former Lakers goal standout. Nowicki is back in the area after playing soccer in England last fall for the Macclesfield FC International Academy. Macclesfield bills itself as the United Kingdom’s leading private development academy.
“We want the goals, but the girls really want shutouts,” Luthardt noted.
The Lakers are 12-3 overall headed into the final regular-season game, and Luthardt is confident they have learned from their mistakes this season. Glen Lake’s defeats came to Division 1 Traverse City Central, the Traverse City West junior varsity and Division 3 No. 6 Elk Rapids.
“We had a couple of losses early in the season, which is a reminder of how far we’ve come,” he said. “We played panic ball.
“If we’re doing to go far, we’re going to have to correct that.”
Luthardt is enjoying the moment and taking things one day at a time. He anticipates much stronger conference opponents in the upcoming seasons resulting from developing community youth soccer programs.
Like Nowicki, other former players have shown a great interest in the Lakers’ efforts this year.
“It’s seeing the past Lakers players come to games and seeing how much they miss soccer,” Luthardt said. “Conference titles and these things are of course great, but it is the other stuff too that is really fun to see.”
Time will tell how far the Lakers go this tournament run.
“We want to try to get far as we can,” Luthardt said. “Obviously we have our eyes on the prize, you know, the one little thing, the Finals.”
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) Glen Lake’s Gemma Lerchen (10) works to gain possession against Elk Rapids as referee Kevin Avery monitors the action. (Middle) Jess Robbins is tied for the Lakers’ team lead with 25 goals this spring. (Below) Ruby Hogan also has scored 25 goals, with a team-high 16 assists. (Photos by Jennifer Nowicki.)