Streberger Steps Into Larger Leadership Role as GPN Seeks to Reign Again

By Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com

April 26, 2024

GROSSE POINTE — Amelia Streberger is already getting a sneak preview about what her future in soccer could look like one day. 

Greater DetroitA senior standout for reigning Division 2 champion Grosse Pointe North, Streberger said she has thought about getting into coaching one day, which is good because it seems like she’s gotten a head start on that type of leadership over the past year since the Norsemen claimed what some would argue was an unexpected Finals title last June.

Last year’s head coach, Olivia Dallaire, stepped down during the offseason and a large crop of seniors graduated, leaving a good portion of the roster to be comprised by 13 incoming freshmen. 

“I feel like I’ve had to step up as a leader on and off of the field,” Streberger said. “Especially since these freshmen coming in have never played (varsity) soccer before.”

But as far as finding a player to help guide younger ones and ease the program into a coaching transition, you’d be hard pressed to find a better person for the job than Streberger. 

After helping North win its first Finals title, Streberger, a midfielder, was named to the all-state Dream Team. She has a future in college soccer, as Streberger signed in November to play next for Detroit Mercy. 

Now, she’s back this spring to not only lead a young team that has a first-year coach in Thalu Masindi, but also try and show the state her team can be strong again after last year’s unanticipated run. North had finished fifth in the Macomb Area Conference Red during the regular season with only four wins entering the MHSAA Tournament. 

Streberger accepts her championship medal.Streberger admitted that even some in the Grosse Pointe community thought it was a “Cinderella” team that defied the odds, but said there was talent on the roster last year that is back for more this spring, including fellow captains Gabby Miller and Alyssa Burney. 

“It was through hard work and dedication,” Streberger said of the championship. “It was not through luck or anything.”

When he was interviewing for the vacant head coaching job after Dallaire stepped down, Masindi said one part of the interview process was interacting with the team –and he quickly found Streberger is just as “soccer crazy” as he is as the two got to know one another. 

As he has transitioned into the role, Masindi said Streberger has been a rock to rely on.

“She shows ownership with helping out with some of the practices,” he said. “To make sure the intensity is high and she’s demanding more of her players, and also showing the freshmen that this is what you need to do for your four years to show growth.”

While her leadership talents are obvious, Masindi said so is what she brings to the team technically.

“I know when she has the ball at her feet, she’s confident and calm,” he said. “She’s always going to be a threat. When she collects the ball, she knows she is going to be a difference.”

Streberger said she’s been playing soccer “since she could walk,” especially since she has three older siblings who played the game including older brother Jack, who played collegiately at Butler.

Amelia Streberger said there were constant battles among her siblings in the family’s basement, where they would try to score on mini-nets for hours.

“We had so many holes in the wall,” she said. “It was crazy.”

Given what she has accomplished for the North soccer community, all those holes obviously have been worth it. 

Streberger still has plenty of games ahead as a player, with more than a month left of her senior season and a college career upcoming. Beyond that she envisions staying involved in the game, and this spring has provided her some valuable insight if coaching is her next soccer calling.

“I’ve definitely thought about it with my club teammates,” she said. “We’ve definitely talked about it, because it’s something we love so much. We’d love to give off what we love and teach younger kids.”

Keith DunlapKeith Dunlap has served in Detroit-area sports media for more than two decades, including as a sportswriter at the Oakland Press from 2001-16 primarily covering high school sports but also college and professional teams. His bylines also have appeared in USA Today, the Washington Post, the Detroit Free Press, the Houston Chronicle and the Boston Globe. He served as the administrator for the Oakland Activities Association’s website from 2017-2020. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.

PHOTOS (Top) Grosse Pointe North's Amelia Streberger (7) works for possession during last season's Division 2 Final. (Middle) Streberger accepts her championship medal.

Moment: Foley Title Count Reaches Dozen

May 5, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Madison Heights Bishop Foley owns MHSAA girls soccer records with 17 Finals appearances and 12 championships.

The Ventures’ most recent in both categories came down to the final minutes and a memorable “moment” supplied by their skillful star forward.

Today’s recalls Erin Weide’s game-winning goal to get Foley past previously-undefeated Lansing Christian 2-1 in the 2011 Division 4 Final. Weide beat two defenders and fired a shot hard enough to be deflected and still find its way into the net with a little more than two minutes to play. She also had assisted on her team’s first goal of the contest.

Bishop Foley significantly outshot the Pilgrims on the day, 22-6, and Lansing Christian keeper Kayleigh Bytwerk remains tied for eighth-most saves in Finals history after making 13 that afternoon.

Weide went on to star at Adrian College, while Bytwerk played basketball and then switched to volleyball at Spring Arbor, becoming a standout in the latter.

Click for coverage of Bishop Foley’s 2011 championship win from the Oakland Press and watch Weide’s winner below from the MHSAA Network.