Team of the Month: Plainwell Girls Soccer
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
May 12, 2022
The Plainwell girls soccer team has given up one more goal this season than the number of seniors on the varsity roster.
That total of one goal is especially impressive given the team’s zero seniors as it continues to stand among the state’s elite in Division 2 with District play set to begin in two weeks.
The MHSAA/Applebee’s “Team of the Month” for April opened the season with seven straight shutouts during that month and extended the streak to 10 into the first week of May before finally surrendering a goal Monday against Dowagiac. But the Trojans came back with another shutout of Edwardsburg on Wednesday, bringing the total to 11 scoreless results during a 12-0 start for a team with seven juniors, eight sophomores, three freshmen and no one graduating this spring.
The majority of the lineup returned from last season’s 13-3-1 team that reached the District Final before falling in overtime. But factor this as well into the impressive start: The first six shutouts came with junior starting keeper Eliza Harris out and sophomore Evelyn Alward taking her place as the last line of defense.
This year’s team passed last year’s shutout total of eight nearly two weeks ago.
“We lost three seniors last year, but the girls stepped up in those spots,” Plainwell coach Garry Snyder said. “I think it’s the combination of a little bit more maturity, playing together, better team chemistry this year than last year. It’s something we’ve been working on and still continue to work on.”
Harris has been back in net since the last game in April, and a strong group in front of her limits opponents’ opportunities with junior Renae Jaeger at center back and juniors Gaby Zugel and Berlynn Conley flanking her. Junior Catey Engel and sophomore Brooklyn Timpe also are significant contributors from the defensive midfield spots, and sophomore Kailah Newcomb dips back to help as well.
Newcomb, a midfielder who Snyder notes for her exceptional vision on the field, leads the team with 14 goals and is tied with a team-best six assists. Sophomore forward Kayla Baar joined her as a standout freshman in 2021 and has 12 goals and five assists utilizing speed Snyder said is unmatched.
Zugel, who can play all over the pitch, has added nine goals, with Timpe and junior forward Nikki Faupel sending in six apiece. Faupel, who moved up front from outside mid this season, also shares the team lead with six assists.
Among Plainwell’s wins was a 1-0 shutout of Grand Rapids South Christian (13-2), which is ranked No. 3 in Division 3. The Trojans also have wins over three Division 1 opponents, and with one more victory can guarantee a share of a repeat Wolverine Conference title.
Then comes the postseason. Plainwell today would be the top seed of a daunting District that includes three one-loss teams. District pairings will be posted Sunday morning.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do,” Snyder said. “(We need to) make sure we take care of business and stay healthy. That’s the key; we’ve had a number of health issues, banged up here and there. (But) someone else is always willing to step up and get the job done.”
Past Teams of the Month, 2021-22
March: West Bloomfield girls basketball - Read
February: Cadillac girls skiing - Read
January: Hartland hockey - Read
December: Midland Dow girls basketball - Read
November: Reese girls volleyball - Read
October: Birmingham Groves boys tennis - Read
Team of the Month: Grosse Pointe North Girls Soccer
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
June 28, 2023
The Grosse Pointe North girls soccer team won the Division 2 title this month after entering the postseason with just four wins. The Norsemen then became the first eventual champion to advance to a Final with single-digit victories – reaching 10 with a 3-2 shootout clincher over East Grand Rapids at Michigan State’s DeMartin Stadium.
There wasn’t a lot about GPN’s awe-inspiring run that fit the usual template – and no defining “aha” moment when coach Olivia Dallaire knew she had a champion in the making. Instead, the whole season was a building process – but with a clear turning point in the Regional Semifinal.
Coming out of a strong Macomb Area Conference Red, GPN had entered its District the second seed despite its overall record, and with confidence it could win that bracket. But now the Norsemen were facing No. 2-ranked Bloomfield Hills Marian (15-1-2), a nine-time Finals champion, and trailed 2-0 at halftime.
“That (second) half of that game is the turning point the girls still now talk about,” Dallaire said. “We were challenging them that winning the District was not enough; we have more that we can give. I think we came out in the first game of the region satisfied with getting that District title. We were hard on them at halftime. I think they were shell-shocked by Marian, a very good program, and just a little nervous and complacent.”
But Grosse Pointe North – the MHSAA/Applebee’s “Team of the Month” for June – came back to take Marian to a shootout in an eventual 3-2 win, then defeated No. 6 Trenton in the Regional Final and No. 10 Linden in the Semifinal before edging the No. 4 Pioneers at MSU.
A GPN championship run had a built-in storyline already with Dallaire, who as a junior played on the 2008 Norsemen team that finished Division 1 runner-up before playing her college soccer on the field at MSU where she coached this year’s team to the school’s first championship in the sport.
But of course the uncharted path made for even more. The Norsemen were outscored by a combined 21-16 during the regular season, but outscored six playoff opponents by a combined 11-5 (counting two goals that came with winning those shootouts.)
“I don’t know if I had one defining moment where I felt like we could go all the way and win the whole thing, just because we were challenged every step of the way,” Dallaire said. “Our game against Marian in the Regional Semifinal definitely was a big win and confidence booster for the girls and the coaches. Other than that, just when we got to the state Semifinal game, once we got that win (we) felt anything could happen in the final game. We really had to take one at a time.”
Dallaire also had played on North’s 2008 Class A girls basketball championship team and had plenty of experience with the specialness that goes with reaching a season’s final week. Senior Mia Stephanoff had just come off helping the girls basketball team to the Division 1 Quarterfinals this winter and could echo those sentiments. Stephanoff, by the way, scored the championship-clinching shootout goal against EGR.
GPN entered May with a 3-4-2 record, and after another loss ran off five straight draws. But throughout those ups, downs and lateral advances, Dallaire reminded her team their goal was to peak at the end of month – even if no one would have anticipated the team would climb that high.
“The girls were getting frustrated not seeing the success with the wins, and it was a constant weekly thing we had to remind them that as long as we were improving we were not as a coaching staff concerned about the wins and losses,” she said. “I think at some point they started to believe in that towards the end of our regular season, and when we got results against (Division 1 No. 12) Eisenhower and Anchor Bay and those types of teams … that was a good start to that playoff run.”
Past Teams of the Month, 2022-23
May: Gaylord softball - Report
April: Saugatuck girls soccer - Report
March: Croswell-Lexington competitive cheer - Report
February: Hart girls & boys basketball - Report
January: Taylor Trillium Academy girls bowling - Report
December: Byron Center hockey - Report
November: Martin football - Report
October: Gladwin volleyball - Report
September: Negaunee girls tennis - Report