Preview: Ramping Up for Rematches
June 14, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
This weekend will feature a first-time scenario in MHSAA girls soccer, and one certainly rare in any sport at any level:
The Division 2, 3 and 4 championships games Friday or Saturday at Williamston High School will be rematches of the same Finals from 2017. Grand Blanc is back in Division 1 and has a rematch ahead as well – against Novi, which followed the Bobcats in league play earlier this spring.
Following is this weekend’s schedule:
Division 1 - Friday - 4 p.m.
Grand Blanc vs. Novi
Division 2 - Saturday - 4 p.m.
Bloomfield Hills Marian vs. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern
Division 3 - Saturday - 1 p.m.
Flint Powers Catholic vs. Freeland
Division 4 - Friday - 1 p.m.
Kalamazoo Christian vs. Lansing Christian
Tickets cost $8. 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 Regionals. (Click for links to brackets and scores.)
Division 1
GRAND BLANC
Record/rank: 27-1, No. 4
Coach: Greg Kehler, 20th season (326-88-57)
League finish: Second in Kensington Lakes Activities Association Gold
Championship history: Three runner-up finishes (most recent 2017).
Players to watch: Paige Webber, jr. F (33 goals, 15 assists); Faith Webber, soph. F (25 goals, 17 assists); Madison McKay, jr. GK (0.38 goals-against average, 18 shutouts); Ashton Cassell, sr. M (15 goals, 8 assists).
Outlook: Grand Blanc will play in its second championship game in three seasons, its only defeat this spring coming early to No. 2 Brighton. The Bobcats have yet to give up a postseason goal after six games including wins over No. 8 Midland and No. 18 Rochester Adams. Cassell and Paige Webber have been named to the all-state first team, Faith Webber made the second, McKay, senior mid Morgan Metzger (8 goals/15 assists) and junior mid Allyson Childers (2/8) made the third and senior defenders Morgan Jewell and Lara Wheeler earned honorable mentions. Sophomore forward Jenna Blackburn added another 16 goals and 10 assists heading into the week.
NOVI
Record/rank: 18-5-1, No. 6
Coach: Todd Pheiffer, fourth season (56-17-4)
League finish: Third in KLAA Gold
Championship history: Five MHSAA titles (most recent 2011).
Players to watch: Avery Fenchel, soph. F (20 goals, 9 assists); Jessie Bandyk, jr. M (12 goals/10 assists); Callie Rich, sr. GK (0.98 GAA, 11 shutouts); Emmie Takada, sr. M (4 goals, 1 assist).
Outlook: After finishing third in the same league as Grand Blanc, Novi went on to win its second Regional in three seasons. The Wildcats eliminated No. 14 Northville, No. 15 Saline and No. 20 Canton on the way to this championship game. Bandyk, Fenchel and Rich all have been named to the all-state first team, while Takada, junior defender Lauren Calhoun and freshman defender Eva Burns earned honorable mentions. Junior forward Julia Stadtherr is another valuable scorer, tallying 14 goals heading into this week.
Division 2
BLOOMFIELD HILLS MARIAN
Record/rank: 21-0-1, No. 1
Coach: Barry Brodsky, 17th season (317-26-36)
League finish: First in Detroit Catholic League Central.
Championship history: Six MHSAA titles (most recent 2017), three runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Jansen Eichenlaub, jr. F (31 goals, 10 assists); Annie Bruce, sr. M (15 goals, 8 assists); Claudia Schilling, sr. M (9 goals, 21 assists); Sara Stroud, jr. M (3 goals, 11 assists).
Outlook: Marian earned its first championship since 2012 last season to move into third alone for most titles in MHSAA girls soccer history. The Mustangs have given up only nine goals and just one over six postseason games while facing No. 4 DeWitt and No. 9 Trenton among others. Bruce, Eichenlaub and Schilling have been named to the all-state first team, while Stroud made the second, junior defender Neve Badalow the third and sophomore forward Chloe Aberlarde (14 goals, 10 assists) and senior defender Emme DeConinck earned honorable mentions. Freshman Maria Askounis added 10 goals and nine assists entering the week.
GRAND RAPIDS FOREST HILLS NORTHERN
Record/rank: 19-5, No. 3
Coach: Daniel Siminski, fifth season (87-16-10)
League finish: Second in Ottawa-Kent Conference White.
Championship history: Three runner-up finishes (most recent 2017).
Players to watch: Elyse DeSchryver, soph. M/F (17 goals, 3 assists); Addie Brown, soph. M (13 goals, 19 assists); Credence White, sr. M (9 goals, 2 assists); Sophia Terzes, sr. M (4 goals, 5 assists).
Outlook: Forest Hills Northern is aiming for its first championship after finishing runner-up the last two years, and with a few of last season’s standouts setting the pace again. Brown led the team in goals in 2017 and has been named to the all-state second team this season, while DeSchryver made the third team. Terzes also is a past all-stater. After winning the Regional Final in a shootout against Spring Lake, FHN downed No. 2 Richland Gull Lake in overtime in the Semifinal. The Rangers also eliminated No. 7 Lowell, No. 8 Ada Forest Hills Eastern and No. 18 Middleville Thornapple Kellogg during this run.
Division 3
FLINT POWERS CATHOLIC
Record/rank: 22-1-3, No. 1
Coach: Art Moody, 11th season (207-41-20)
League finish: First in Saginaw Valley League.
Championship history: Two MHSAA titles (most recent 2017), six runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Sophie Bubnar, sr. F (23 goals, 31 assists); Rachel Rasins, jr. F (35 goals, 16 assists), Madeline Cardinal, sr. M (11 goals, 20 assists); Natalie Deitering, soph. GK (0.79 GAA, 15 shutouts).
Outlook: Powers will play in its third straight championship game after winning its first title last season since 2011. The Chargers have 19 shutouts and haven’t given up a goal during the postseason while averaging more than six goals per playoff game. They’ve defeated No. 6 Warren Regina, No. 9 Montrose, No. 10 Birch Run and No. 11 Williamston along the way. Bubnar, Cardinal and Raisins made the all-state first team, while Deitering and freshman defender Kate Cardinal made the second team, junior midfielder Camryn Murlick (7 goals, 7 assists) made the third and junior Dominique Amato (17 goals, 12 assists) earned an honorable mention. Junior forward Kennedy Myers added 13 goals and 10 assists heading into the week; she and Amato are high-scoring subs.
FREELAND
Record/rank: 22-4, No. 18
Coach: Lauren Kemerer, fifth season (103-12-4)
League finish: First in Tri-Valley Conference Central.
Championship history: Division 3 runner-up 2017.
Players to watch: Mackenzie Stroebel, sr. F (30 goals, 10 assists); Autumn Kloha, jr. F (26 goals, 13 assists); Kayler Radaz, sr. M (11 goals, 7 assists); Erin Tyson, jr. M (15 goals, 14 assists).
Outlook: Freeland cruised through most of its first five postseason games without giving up a goal, then allowed one in upsetting No. 4 Grand Rapids Catholic Central in the Semifinal. A number of this season’s top contributors helped the Falcons to their first MHSAA championship game a year ago. Kloha and Stroebel have been named all-state first team, while Radaz and Tyson earned honorable mentions. Junior Madeline Boyes (16 goals, 3 assists) fills out a group of talented forwards, while junior Emerson Lynch (11 goals, 10 assists) comes off the bench to supply the midfield.
Division 4
KALAMAZOO CHRISTIAN
Record/rank: 18-2-5, No. 3
Coach: Jay Allen, fourth season (91-15-11)
League finish: Tied for first in Southwestern Athletic Conference
Championship history: Four MHSAA titles (most recent 2008), Division 4 runner-up 2017.
Players to watch: Kayla Beebe, jr. F; Lauryn Mohney, soph. M; Elise VanSparrentak, jr. D; Emma Bertrand, jr. M. (Statistics not submitted).
Outlook: Kalamazoo Christian returned to the championship round last season for the first time since winning Division 4 in 2008, and Beebe is back after also helping that team to the season’s final day. She made the all-state first team this spring, while Mohney made the second, VanSparrentak the third and Bertrand and sophomore keeper Jenna Blackwell earned honorable mentions. Kalamazoo Christian was one of the few to score this season on top-ranked North Muskegon, going on to win a Semifinal shootout to advance, and the Comets also beat No. 6 Kalamazoo Hackett during this tournament run.
LANSING CHRISTIAN
Record/rank: 18-3-2, No. 2
Coach: Joel Vande Kopple, 12th season (189-49-15)
League finish: First in Greater Lansing Activities Conference.
Championship history: Division 4 champion 2017, two runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Kasey Jamieson, jr. F (53 goals, 18 assists); Jenna Li, sr. M (17 goals, 21 assists); Kealeigh Usiak, jr. D (3 goals, 1 assist); Lynn Cullens, sr. GK (0.73 GAA, 15 shutouts).
Outlook: The Pilgrims broke through for their first championship last season and have made at least the Semifinals five straight seasons. Jamieson will finish among the leading scorers in MHSAA history and made the all-state first team with Li and Cullens. Usiak made the second team, and junior midfielder Eliza Lewis earned an honorable mention. Lansing Christian shut out No. 7 Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett in a Semifinal, its fifth shutout in five tournament games while also defeating No. 5 Manchester and No. 18 Dansville among others.
PHOTO: Lansing Christian’s Kasey Jamieson (11) moves the ball upfield during last season’s Division 4 Final against Kalamazoo Christian.
US District Court Approves Realignment of UP Teams to Statewide MHSAA Soccer Tournament
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
August 18, 2023
Upper Peninsula teams playing boys and girls soccer will have the opportunity to participate in a statewide Michigan High School Athletic Association Tournament beginning with the 2023-24 school year after the U.S. federal court in the Western District of Michigan granted on Wednesday, Aug. 16, a joint petition to adjust that portion of the 2000s seasons litigation compliance plan that had required Upper Peninsula boys and girls soccer teams to play in opposite seasons from their Lower Peninsula counterparts.
The petition, filed together by the MHSAA and Communities for Equity, requested that Upper Peninsula soccer teams’ postseason tournaments be realigned with those of the Lower Peninsula soccer teams, such that boys teams be allowed to play with Lower Peninsula teams in a fall statewide MHSAA Boys Soccer Tournament and Upper Peninsula girls teams be allowed to play with Lower Peninsula teams in a spring statewide MHSAA Girls Soccer Tournament.
Almost 20 years ago, the federal court had assigned a separate Upper Peninsula boys tournament for the spring and a separate Upper Peninsula girls tournament for the fall as part of the compliance plan emerging from litigation in a lawsuit filed by Communities for Equity in 1998. The resulting compliance plan, with Lower Peninsula boys soccer season in fall and girls soccer in spring and Upper Peninsula girls soccer season in fall and boys soccer in spring, was put into place beginning with the 2007-08 school year.
However, the different seasons for Upper Peninsula and Lower Peninsula soccer proved unworkable. To realize a full regular season, both boys and girls Upper Peninsula soccer teams at that time instead chose to play during the same regular seasons as their Lower Peninsula counterparts, forgoing participation in an Upper Peninsula-only MHSAA Tournament that was offered consistent with the original compliance plan.
Totals of 13,221 boys and 11,921 girls played on MHSAA member high school soccer teams statewide during the 2022-23 school year. This decision means that hundreds of Upper Peninsula girls and boys soccer players will have the opportunity to have a meaningful regular season and play in a statewide postseason soccer tournament.
“This is great news for our member schools, especially those soccer programs in our Upper Peninsula. We appreciate the partnership on this issue with Communities for Equity, in particular President Diane Madsen, working together in a spirit of cooperation and common sense in making this positive change for soccer players in our state” said MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl.
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,500 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract more than 1.3 million spectators each year.