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.)

Title IX at 50: Anticipation High as 45,000 Girls Return to Spring Sports

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

April 12, 2022

Nearly 45,000 Michigan female high school athletes are expected to participate in sports across both peninsulas this spring to cap off the 2021-22 school year.

During the 2020-21 school year, track & field was the most popular girls spring sport – and third most popular girls sport overall – with 12,739 participants. Both girls soccer and softball in Spring 2021 drew more than 11,000 athletes, with girls lacrosse just under 3,000, Lower Peninsula girls tennis at nearly 7,000 and Upper Peninsula girls golf at just more than 100.

The first girls spring MHSAA Finals championships were earned in 1973 in track & field, with Lincoln Park and Marquette winning Open Class titles in their respective peninsulas. The first Upper Peninsula Girls Golf Finals actually had been played in Fall 1972, but that sport moved to spring for the 1973-74 school year. Softball became an MHSAA-sponsored tournament sport in 1975.

Lower Peninsula girls golf also was played during the spring from its MHSAA tournament start in 1973 until the court-ordered move to fall beginning in 2007 – which saw girls tennis in the Lower Peninsula switch to the spring in its place.

Girls soccer was added to the MHSAA girls spring tournament lineup in 1983. Girls lacrosse (and boys lacrosse) were added to the MHSAA series of sponsored tournament sports in 2005.

This season’s Finals for girls sports begin with U.P. golf, which can play its championship tournaments as early as June 1, and will conclude with softball and soccer title games June 18.

Second Half's weekly Title IX Celebration posts are sponsored by Michigan Army National Guard.

Previous Title IX at 50 Spotlights

April 5: Regina's Laffey Retiring as Definition of Legendary - Read
March 29: 
Edison's Whitehorn named 2022 Miss Basketball - Read
March 22: 
Carney-Nadeau Sets Girls Hoops Standard with 78-Win Streak - Read
March 15: 
Binder Among Voices Telling Our Story on MHSAA Network - Read
March 8: 
28 Years, Thousands of Cheers - Read
March 1: 
Kearsley Rolls On Among Girls Bowling's Early Successes - Read
Feb. 22: Marquette Ties Record for Swim & Dive Finals Success - Read
Feb. 15: Jaeger's 2004 Winter Run Created Lasting Connection - Read
Feb. 8: Marian's Cicerone to Finish Among All-Time Elite - Read
Feb. 1: WISL Award Honors Builders of State's Girls Sports Tradition - Read
Jan. 25: Decades Later, Edwards' Legend Continues to Grow - Read
Jan. 18: Iron Mountain Completes Championship Climb - Read
Jan. 11: Harrold's Achievement Heralds Growth of Girls Wrestling - Read
Dec. 20: Competitive Cheer Gives Michigan Plenty to Cheer About - Read
Dec. 14: 
Evelyn's Game Had Plenty of Magic - Read
Dec. 7: 
Council Term Ends, But Leinaar Leaves Lasting Impact - Read
Nov. 30: 
Basketball Season Ready to Add to Rich Tradition - Read
Nov. 23: 
Marysville Builds Winning Streak Yet to be Challenged - Read
Nov. 16: Wroubel Has Championed Girls School Sports from Their Start - Read
Nov. 9: Pioneer's Joyce Legendary in Michigan, National Swim History - Read
Nov. 2: Royal Oak's Finch Leading Way on Football Field - Read
Oct. 26: Coach Clegg Sets Championship Standard at Grand Blanc - Read
Oct. 19: Rockford Girls Set Pace, Hundreds After Have Continued to Chase - Read
Oct. 12: 
Bedford Volleyball Pioneer Continues Blazing Record-Setting Trail - Read
Oct. 5: 
Warner Paved Way to Legend Status with Record Rounds - Read
Sept. 28: Taylor Kennedy Gymnasts Earn Fame as 1st Champions - Read
Sept. 21: 
Portage Northern Star Byington Becomes Play-by-Play Pioneer - Read
Sept. 14: 
Guerra/Groat Legacy Continues to Serve St. Philip Well - Read
Sept. 7: 
Best-Ever Conversation Must Include Leland's Glass - Read
Aug. 31: We Will Celebrate Many Who Paved the Way - Read

PHOTOS Spring Sports (MHSAA file photo)