Shrine Back to Best in D4 Thanks to Clutch Goal, Stellar Defense

By Perry A. Farrell
Special for MHSAA.com

June 17, 2022

EAST LANSING – For Royal Oak Shrine Catholic, the disappointment of last year’s 5-0 Division 4 Soccer Final loss to North Muskegon now can be replaced with Friday’s impressive 1-0 shutout of Kalamazoo Christian at DeMartin Field on the campus of Michigan State.

After a scoreless first half, junior Norah Tisko scored 25 seconds into the second on a header to give the Knights (16-4-2) a 1-0 lead. It was her seventh goal of the season, with the assist going to Bridgette Drouillard.

“Yes, I had the finish, but it was our defense,’’ said Tisko. “Ava Gappy working it up the midfield and giving the ball to Julia (Bock), and Bridgette just giving me the most beautiful ball to execute. I really can’t take credit for it. We came into this year a little shaky. We lost some important seniors, but we had a great group of freshmen come in and step up. We were motivated to continue our run. Knowing we were coming back here was a little nervous, but we had confidence.’’

With nine shutouts coming into the Final, paced by sophomore goalkeeper Elena Gallagher, the Knights were used to shutting down opposing offenses. 

“It starts with our defensive line and our goalie,” said Tisko. “Last year (Gallagher’s) appendix ruptured. We had a great second goalie, but she came back this year and our defensive line of seniors was so solid for us.”

It was a great 50th birthday present for coach Mark Soma.

Shrine/Kalamazoo Christian soccer“Very nice, can’t beat the party,” said Soma. “We were good last year, but we lost to a better team in North Muskegon. They were a talented group, and they deserved to win. The girls that came back wanted another taste of what it felt like.” 

Shrine had allowed just one goal during the playoffs, during a 9-1 victory over St. Joseph Our Lady of the Lake in the Regional Final. Friday saw the Knights’ sixth shutout of the tournament.

“It’s not just our D; it’s our team,’’ said Soma. “Sixteen girls worked hard today. That’s what we have done all season. We kind of caught them off guard on the goal.’’ 

Shrine was making their third straight appearance in the Final. Kalamazoo Christian, a four-time Finals champion, also previously finished runner-up in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Gallagher finished the year with a goals-against average under 0.95.

“I totally rely on my defense; they are incredible,’’ said Gallagher. “I’m really close to all of them, so it’s like a bond on and off the field. There’s a lot of trust, so that works well for us. We are really great at communicating. We locked down as a team after the goal.’’

Drouillard, Jackie Lapoint and Claire Plaskey also were on the 2019 championship team. 

The Comets (19-6) were on the attack most of the first half but couldn’t register a goal. Defense dominated the first 40 minutes as both sides had few scoring chances.

Annika Sytsma found one for Kalamazoo Christian with 1:13 to play in the half, but her shot went across the goal mouth and missed by inches.

“We were coming in with injuries, so we were trying to create different things,’’ said Comets coach Jay Allen. “It wasn’t meant to be today. We held (Tisko) for most of the game. She got loose once, and that was the difference. We were struggling to get that last step in there, but that’s soccer.

“We just couldn’t get a goal early, and this game is like that.”

Click for the full box score.

PHOTOS (Top) Royal Oak Shrine Catholic celebrates its Division 4 championship win Friday at DeMartin Stadium. (Middle) Shrine keeper Elena Gallagher makes a stop.

McBain NMC Continues Rise as Coach VanNoord's Leadership Takes Root

By Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com

May 6, 2022

COVID-19 prevented Jen VanNoord from receiving a proper soccer sendoff as her time guiding Cadillac’s girls program came to a close.

Her McBain Northern Michigan Christian soccer players certainly have given her a proper welcome.

And, Northern Michigan Soccer League opponents should be cautioned, if they haven’t been already.

We’re not talking about soccer’s red card sendoffs and yellow card cautions. VanNoord, who took the helm at Cadillac High School in 2003, built a strong youth program and took the Vikings from near the bottom to always near, if not at, the top of the Big North Conference going head-to-head with Petoskey, Gaylord, Alpena, Traverse City Central and Traverse City West.

At NMC, VanNoord took over for longtime Comets coach Dave VanHaitsma, who had the program heading the right direction. The Comets have very high expectations this season.

“I knew that in order to build a high school program I had to build the youth program and the love for soccer first – and that's what I did – with the help of so many amazing people,” VanNoord enthusiastically recalled of her time at Cadillac. “Building a program definitely didn't happen overnight, but as the love for soccer grew in the community so did our success as a high school program, and that success continues and our girls youth program is strong.”

Cadillac is off to a 6-1-4 start this season. COVID-19 erased what was supposed to be VanNoord’s final season guiding the Vikings. Cadillac knew VanNoord would step down when her daughter, Jada, entered high school and started playing soccer for NMC.

But with the pandemic starting to impact high school sports in the spring of 2020, Cadillac athletic director Fred Bryant was left regretting that the Vikings didn’t get the chance for a proper sendoff. That entire spring season was canceled after just a few weeks of practice because of the coronavirus.

"Coach VanNoord was an outstanding role model and coach for the girls soccer program as well as the entire soccer community here in Cadillac years before my arrival as athletic director in the fall of 2017,” Bryant said. “My short time with her proved to be nothing different than the previous years, as her experience and professionalism were apparent from the time I first met her. 

“Unfortunately, we knew in advance that the 2020 season would be her last, but COVID abruptly ended her last season here in Cadillac and we did not get the opportunity to give her the true recognition she deserved,” he continued. “I for one am not surprised at all by the immediate impact that she has had on their program."

McBain Northern Michigan Christian soccerThe Comets, with VanNoord at the helm, are off to a 9-0 start and 8-0 in league play. They’ll take on Midland Calvary Baptist this afternoon fresh from a 6-0 win earlier this week over Buckley.

Jada VanNoord had three goals and Paige Ebels scored twice against the Bears. Aria Cucinella also scored.

The Comets were 10-2-1 last year, reaching the league title game and advancing to Regionals. They’re hoping to capture the league title again and make a deeper postseason run.

VanNoord focuses on teaching fundamentals daily, constantly giving encouragement and providing an environment allowing players to thrive no matter the circumstance.

“In my opinion the key to success is to get the most out of each player every day and make them into the best player they can be that day,” she said. “This is going to be different for every girl, and it's probably going to be different every day too.

“Then, I take all the individuals and make them into one cohesive group,” she went on. “Soccer is a physically demanding sport especially in the spring, and it's easy to get discouraged and fatigued. And putting players in the right positions to create that cohesive group makes all the difference in winning and losing a game.”

The Comets are led by high-scoring sophomore Jada VanNoord. Onlookers believe she has already set the school’s single-season record for goals.

You won’t get Coach VanNoord to acknowledge stats, or specifics on the job Mabel Yount, Alaina Rozeveld, Maggie Yount and Sol Pacheco have done shutting down opponents' passing lanes this season.

“I am not one to focus on individual stats,” the coach said.  “Our success comes from putting each other first.

“Our goal is to make each other great.”

And the Comets don’t rely on one player, Jen VanNoord noted.

“If each member on the team focuses on the other members of the team more than themselves, we can build from there and find success,” she said.  “We are successful because we fight for each other, we are relentless for each other, and we constantly build each other up.

“This season we have many tremendous athletes who are fast and physical and strong with a wide variety of soccer specific abilities,” she continued. “No one player can win on their own – it takes every player for us to win.”

She does have to admit it is a dream come true to coach Jada. And she’s coaching the right team despite a continued support for the Vikings.

McBain Northern Michigan Christian soccer“Jada plays with so much joy and confidence that it spills over to her teammates and makes us better as a team,” Jen VanNoord said. “As much as I love the players and the program at Cadillac, I didn't want to miss her high school games to keep coaching there.

“The success NMC had last season and so far this season just solidifies the fact that I'm in the right spot at the right time in my coaching career,” she continued. “I have found a new joy for coaching because of my daughter and her NMC teammates.”

Coach VanNoord grew up in Southern California and fell in love with the game of soccer at a young age.

“I played it as often as I could, and in California you can play soccer every day,” she said.

Her family moved to Grand Rapids when she was in high school. She played for Grand Rapids Christian High School and longtime coach Larry Klaasen, who VanNoord describes as “an incredible teacher of the game.”

Klaasen, who also taught history for 21 years at Grand Rapids Christian before retiring, guided the boys soccer program for 32 seasons and the girls for 23. He stepped down as the girls coach after the 2011 season.

VanNoord started her coaching career as the junior varsity coach under Klaasen. She went on to play collegiate soccer at Calvin College.

“I found a lot of success on the field as a player but also had some amazing coaches that continued to make me into a coach that loves to play the game, loves my players and loves teaching the game,” VanNoord said.

Bill Anderson, a longtime youth and high school soccer official and referee assignor, first met VanNoord at a pick-up soccer game shortly after she took the Cadillac job.

“While she is always respectful, she certainly has a way of speaking that gets your attention when she wants to,” Anderson said. “Her players clearly love and respect her.

“Apart from that, the record speaks for itself.”

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) McBain Northern Michigan Christian’s Jada VanNoord (20) clears the ball against Big Rapids Crossroads backed by defenders Mabel Yount (18), Alaina Rozeveld, Maggie Yount (26) and Sol Pacheco (8). (Middle) NMC coach Jen VanNoord directs her team during the eventual win. (Below) Sofia Rubio (14) controls the ball while Crossroads’ Jackie Cole attempts to gain possession. (Photos by Mike Dunn/Missaukee Sentinel.)