Top-Ranked Rangers Finish Run to #1
June 17, 2017
By Keith Dunlap
Special for Second Half
WILLIAMSTON – Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central girls soccer coach Jeremy Stacy technically had an MHSAA championship on his coaching resume before Saturday, but he wasn’t there that day to experience it.
In his first year leading the Rangers’ program back in 2008, Stacy got married on the same day they won the Division 2 title.
On Saturday though, no wedding vows or cake cutting prevented him from experiencing what it was like to win the ultimate prize.
Behind second-half goals from senior Bailey Korhorn and sophomore Ashley Ward, Forest Hills Central won its first-ever Division 1 championship with a 2-0 win over Grand Blanc.
Forest Hills Central had previously won Division 2 championships in 2005, 2007 and 2008.
Adding to the title for Stacy was that the victory came on his wife’s birthday, three days after his wedding anniversary and a day before he planned on celebrating Father’s Day with his four children.
“It feels really good,” Stacy said. “It was cool to see the atmosphere here. Regardless of the result, it is fun to be in a state final. But it is much cooler to be on the winning end, that’s for sure.”
The championship also capped off a season where Forest Hills Central had to carry the target of being the state’s No. 1-ranked team for a majority of it.
“It was kind of a struggle sometimes,” Stacy said. “We had so much pressure that we weren’t having as much fun as we needed to have to get better. We had a little talk about that midseason. We had more fun and got better in the process.”
After a first half that featured few scoring chances, Forest Hills Central opened the scoring 10 minutes into the second on a goal by Korhorn, who has signed to continue her career at University of Cincinnati.
Korhorn got the ball at the top of the box, turned and fired a laser into the left corner of the net to make it 1-0 Rangers.
“I took a touch and shot it top-left,” Korhorn said. “As soon as I saw it hit the back of the net, it was unreal. It was the best feeling of my life.
“What a great four years I’ve had here at Central. I’ll miss it so much.”
Forest Hills Central (21-0-4) then added an insurance goal with 5:48 remaining when Ward headed in a chance in front of the goal after a prior opportunity hit the crossbar.
“It was a great game and great opponent,” Grand Blanc coach Greg Kehler said. “They finished their chances, and we didn’t. It’s not like we didn’t have good opportunities. Hats off to them.”
Grand Blanc was attempting to win its first MHSAA title following losses in the 2015 and 2004 title games, and saw its season end with a 22-3-4 record.
“I’m the Bud Grant and Marv Levy of high school soccer,” Kehler joked, referring to former NFL coaches who lost a combined eight Super Bowls. “They lost four and I’ve lost (three). But it’s a battle to get here, and we’ll keep battling to get back. It will turn over one day.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Forest Hills Central’s Stephanie Curry (14) maintains possession while Grand Blanc’s Samantha Lewis defends. (Middle) Grand Blanc’s Lara Wheeler (5) and the Rangers’ Madison Donley battle for control of the ball.
'Where is Spring Lake?' They'll Know Now as Lakers Begin Reign Atop D2
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
June 15, 2024
EAST LANSING – Ella Andree and Clara Saunders started recording a three-part Tik Tok on the opening day of Spring Lake’s girls soccer season, knowing that in order to film Parts 2 and 3 they would need to advance to, and win, the MHSAA Division 2 Final.
On Saturday, they finished the video.
Spring Lake defeated Bloomfield Hills Marian 1-0 at DeMartin Stadium to avenge a 2021 championship match loss to the Mustangs and claim the first Finals title in school history.
“If we won, we had it ready,” Andree said. “We did win, so I hope it looks good.
“The start of our season was a little rough, we had a lot of ties, and we didn’t really know where we were going to end up. But we pulled it together and figured out what players needed to do what, and to be here is super crazy.”
Andree assisted Aveya Patino on the game’s lone goal, and goalkeeper Jessica Stewart made four saves behind a stout Spring Lake defense to give coach Becky May her first title in her eighth season coaching at her alma mater. That it came on the campus where May played collegiately only made it more sweet.
“Extremely proud of my girls, but just proud of West Michigan, our community and how we’ve been able to step up and really make a name for ourselves in the soccer world,” May said. “I played on this field in college, so as a homecoming for me, here’s why it’s important: When I got announced the first time I started at Michigan State, they announced me from Spring Lake, Michigan, and the girl next to me said, ‘Where in the world is Spring Lake?’ No one heard of anyone outside the sub(urb)s of Detroit. Well, they’ve heard of us now. So I’m very proud.”
The 2021 championship match appearance was Spring Lake’s first, and that ended with a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Marian. Andree, Saunders and Stewart were among the players on the field Saturday who had played in that game as freshmen, and getting another shot at the Mustangs certainly added motivation.
“I feel like to replay the team that you originally lost to is always a great feeling,” Saunders said. “It’s just like a second chance. We have gotten a lot better, and I’m just glad that we made it back here. Especially for my senior year. We came out and did what every team wishes to do, is go all the way, and then we won it. I couldn’t be happier or more proud of this team.”
Saturday’s match was tightly contested, with both teams having long stretches of possession but not creating many big scoring chances.
The one that hit the back of the net started when Andree won a ball in the corner and played it across the goal. Marian keeper Dani Mertz was able to get a hand on it, but not all of it, and Patino was there to clean it up, scoring the 29th goal of her freshman season. It was also the first goal Marian (15-4-3) had allowed during the postseason.
“You can’t coach speed, (Patino and Andree are) born with those wheels, and all you have to do as a coach is just put them in the right spot, get them to work together, and they’re just going to be destructive from beginning to end,” May said. “So even when they don’t find the back of the net, they’re putting defenses on their heels and they have to respond to them and react to them. As a result of that, that gives us much more opportunity to possess in the middle of the field. So we put them up top, let them run havoc and then enjoy the benefits of that.”
From there, Spring Lake (17-2-5) stood tall defensively, not allowing the Mustangs to get a great chance to tie the game. With a back three of seniors Ella Rabideau and Brooke Bolthouse and junior Lauren Nicles playing in front of the experienced Stewart, May felt comfortable. Marian, meanwhile, was left frustrated as plenty of second-half possession failed to result in many opportunities.
“They defended with five,” Marian coach Danny Price said. “I watched the Midland game where they played them in the Regional Final, and both of their outside backs were flying forward and they gave us a ton of space. In the first half, they did the same thing. After they scored their goal, they dropped their outside backs really deep and defended with five, which is what we’ve done in the postseason as well. I’ve got to give them props for that, they defended quite resolutely.”
Price was in his first season at Marian, and took over a young squad, as the Mustangs graduate a strong, but small (four) senior class.
“We’ll be back,” he said. “We’ve got a young squad, and we’ve got tons of freshmen coming in; we’ll just reload. We’ll be back here again.”
PHOTOS (Top) Spring Lake keeper Jessica Stewart, in green, goes high to get a hand on the ball Saturday at DeMartin Stadium. (Middle) Bloomfield Hills Marian’s Clair Dauer (16) and Spring Lake’s Elaina Furton work for possession. (Below) Spring Lake players begin their celebration.