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.)
TC West Standout Renews Ties to Titans, Cheers Past Teammates' Gold Pursuit
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
July 16, 2021
Savanna Wojtanowski was made here. She played here. She stayed here — except for stints in Washington, D.C., where international soccer players joined her.
Now she’s back as a high school soccer coach.
While lots of faces familiar to United States and Canadian television viewers and soccer fans are expected at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, some of those players will be personally familiar to Wojtanowski.
Wojtanowski played alongside a handful of current and recent players on the U.S. and Canadian women’s teams after serving as four-year starting goalie for Traverse City West and during a college career that began with two seasons at Ferris State and concluded with her final two at Michigan State in 2016 and 2017. During her time with the Spartans, Wojtanowski spent two offseasons with the reserve team for the Washington Spirit, one of the original eight teams when the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) was formed in 2012.
At West, Wojtanowski was named second team all-conference as a junior and senior, as well as first team all-district, first team all-region and all-state honorable mention her senior season in 2013. West winning the Big North Conference title that spring remains her favorite memory from high school soccer – and she quickly has matched that achievement as a coach, leading West to the BNC championship this past spring in her first season after taking over the program.
Wojtanowski is looking for the U.S. national team to come out with a vengeance after the disappointment of the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil. There the U.S. fell to Sweden in a semifinal shootout, which meant failing to reach the gold medal match for the first time since women’s soccer was introduced to the Olympics in 1996 in Atlanta.
Sweden is the U.S.’s opening-game opponent July 21 in Tokyo.
“I believe there is a lot of revenge being chased after the Rio Olympics,” the 25-year-old former keeper said. “I was with the Spirit during Rio, and when the team returned from the Olympics, the sense of disappointment was felt for a long time.
“I believe going into this year's Olympics, we will see a different type of fire displayed from the USWNT.”
Wojtanowski won’t see former Washington Spirit teammate Diana Matheson of Canadian fame and Estelle Johnson of Cameroon playing in Tokyo. Matheson recently announced her retirement after 18 years representing Canada’s national team. Johnson and her teammates lost a playoff with Chile for the last of 16 slots in the Olympics.
Wojtanowski feels fortunate that she had the chance to compete with and against the women trying to claim gold at Tokyo.
“During college I was able to play two years on the Washington Spirit reserves, which opened the door to the pro side of the game,” she said. “I was fortunate enough to be one of two college players training full-time with the pro squad for those two summers.
“Having the opportunity to play alongside some USWNT women and the Canada women was such a great experience.”
Wojtanowski played with current U.S. roster players Crystal Dunn and Kristie Mewis. The current Canadians she played with are Stephanie Labbe and Shelina Zadorsky. Labbe was Canada’s starting goalkeeper in Rio.
Dunn, though, stands out most to Wojtanowski. Dunn was with the Spirit but now plays for Portland. She has 24 goals and 19 assists in 116 appearances for the USWNT as primarily a defender.
“(Dunn) was such a treat to play with …. her humor, attitude, and training mentality is something I will forever remember,” Wojtanowski said. “She was constantly dancing, laughing, and having a great time at training, but when it was time to get serious she would get the job done.”
Wojtanowski also had the tough job of trying to stop U.S. standout Rose Lavelle during Lavelle’s time starring for Wisconsin. The past Badgers standout and now-Washington Spirit midfielder has 14 goals and nine assists in 56 appearances for the U.S.
Wojtanowski began her collegiate career with two seasons at Ferris State University. After transferring to MSU, she played two more seasons and as a junior in 2016 tied the MSU single-game record with 14 saves against then-No. 16 Penn State. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business with a focus on administration and management and a master’s certificate in supply chain management and procurement. She returned home to start the next chapters of life, and she works as a supply chain buyer fulltime along with her guidance of the Titans.
She’s thrilled to be back at her high school alma mater, which she guided to an overall 10-4-1 record this spring, with the Titans eventually falling to Midland Dow in a Division 1 District Final.
“I wanted to give back to the community,” said Wojtanowski, who previously had coached at the club level in Lansing. “West has always had a very special place in my heart ever since graduation.
“When this opportunity presented itself, I knew I had to take the opportunity to be a Titan again,” she continued. “It has been a special experience to coach the program that I grew up with.”
Wojtanowski wants to instill a family-based culture in the Titans program, something she came to know and love while at Michigan State.
“The biggest thing for me is growing them as individuals both on and off the soccer field,” she said.
Wojtanowski believes girls high school and women’s soccer in this country have changed for the better since she played. And, she’s not the least bit surprised by the consistent success of the USWNT.
“The women's game in the US has grown significantly since I started playing soccer in 2000,” Wojtanowski noted. “Our farm systems here in the U.S. along with club, college, and other programs feed a constantly-elite level of players through the USWNT system.”
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PHOTOS: (Top) Savanna Wojtanowski leads a halftime discussion this spring with her Traverse City West varsity. (Middle) Wojtanowski, second row standing far right in group photo, trained two seasons with the Washington Spirit’s reserves; the Spirit first team included U.S. national teamer Crystal Dunn (left in second photo) and Cameroon national teamer Estelle Johnson (far right). (Below) Wojtanowski makes a save for West against Traverse City Central in 2012. (Top photo by Daisy Kinney, middle courtesy of Savanna Wojtanowski and below courtesy of the Traverse City Record-Eagle.)