Undefeated, Motivated Linden Answers
May 4, 2016
By Bill Khan
Special for Second Half
LINDEN — All they could do was watch from afar and torture themselves with one nagging question: What if?
What if, Linden's girls' soccer players wondered, they had gotten past neighboring rival Fenton in the District championship game last season?
What if the Linden team that beat the Tigers by a 5-0 score 10 days earlier had shown up that day, instead of the one that lost, 3-1, with postseason survival at stake?
Would that have been Linden, not Fenton, playing for the MHSAA Division 2 championship on the final day of the season at Michigan State University?
Nobody knows for sure if Linden would've marched all the way to the final like Fenton did had the Eagles won that District championship game. Still, it didn't stop the players from wondering if the opportunity of a lifetime eluded them.
"We were all mad at ourselves," junior midfielder Alia Frederick said. "That's awesome they got that far. We want to get that far, because that would be amazing. I couldn't imagine playing in the state finals. That would be a once-in-a-lifetime thing. That feeling that it could've been us haunts us and pushes us. To lose to them in the (District) Finals, I give props to them for making it that far, but it could've been us; that's what's pushing us."
One year later, Linden may get the opportunity to experience an MHSAA championship game.
The Eagles, who were 15-4 last season, are 13-0-1 and ranked No. 4 in Division 2 by the Michigan High School Soccer Coaches Association. Linden has never been beyond the Regional phase of the MHSAA tournament, peaking with Regional Finals appearances in 1998 and 2011.
"You know what?" Linden coach Kevin Fiebernitz said. "I'd be satisfied being at 10 or out of the rankings and fly under the radar. We just don't talk about it. I don't ever bring it up with the kids. That's just the opinion of somebody else. The bottom line is you've got to come to play; the other teams don't really care. It puts a bull's-eye on your back, and you've got to come to play."
The Eagles have earned their high ranking, not only because they were competitive with Division 2 finalist Fenton last season, but because they've taken down some of the top programs in the state this spring.
Linden has been overshadowed over the years by Grand Blanc and Flint Powers Catholic, the two heavyweights in Genesee County. Both teams boast state rankings this season, making it even more impressive that the Eagles were able to beat both, winning 2-0 at Powers on April 12 and 2-0 over Grand Blanc on April 23 at the Saginaw Heritage Showcase.
Grand Blanc, a Division 1 finalist last season, is ranked No. 5. Powers is the top-ranked team in Division 3. Linden also owns a 2-1 victory over Fenton, which was ranked No. 15 last week before dropping from the Division 2 poll.
Another impressive result for the Eagles was a 0-0 tie in the Heritage Showcase against Troy Athens, the No. 12 team in Division 1.
The Eagles came away from Heritage with a 2-0-1 record against large Division 1 schools, outperforming the expectations of their nervous coach.
"At the time, I didn't know it was a Division 1 showcase," Fiebernitz said. "We're a small Division 2 school. We're probably one of the smaller teams in our division. We got thrown in less than a week before it happened, because they had an opening. They called Cathy (North, Linden's athletic director) and they filled it.
"Then when I saw the schedule, I thought, 'Oh, I don't know if this is a good idea.' The girls proved me wrong. They went up there and just rocked it."
The Eagles have been rocking it all season, staying undefeated by allowing only four goals in 14 games. They have posted seven consecutive shutouts, with senior Bridget Adams and junior Madison Paige splitting the goalkeeping duties. Paige has a 0.17 goals against average, while Adams has a 0.50 GAA.
"Did we see this start coming?" Adams said. "Honestly, not really, considering that tournament we went into was all D1 teams. The fact we came out with no losses was amazing. We only lost four people from last year. I expected to have a really good season, like we did last year. We're off to a really good start; hopefully, we finish the same way."
Like any team, health could play a major role in Linden's ultimate success this season.
The team's leading scorer, junior forward Maddie Zayan, stepped in a hole during a game against Holly on April 25 and suffered a severe ankle sprain. She isn't expected to return until late May, right around District time. Zayan has 16 goals and 13 assists in 13 games.
"So, basically, we've had to shift some things around," Fiebernitz said. "Other folks are going to have to step up and play a role now."
If Linden can duplicate Fenton's postseason run, it would be a historic achievement for the school. Linden has never reached an MHSAA championship game in a girls sport, with the 1981 volleyball and 2013 softball teams reaching the Semifinals. The 2004 baseball team is the only Linden team to play in a championship game. In a sport with a meet format, the 2008 boys cross country team won the school's only MHSAA championship.
Frederick has already competed on a team that broke new ground for Linden, leading the girls cross country team to fourth place in the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 2 meet in the fall. That surpassed the 2011 fifth-place finish in golf as the best finish in a meet format by a girls team at Linden.
Frederick was third individually with a time of 18:30.6, having set the school record of 18:10 three weeks earlier in the Portage Invitational. She has verbally committed to attend Eastern Michigan University on a soccer scholarship, and is unsure whether or not she'll run cross country in the fall.
"I kind of want to play volleyball," Frederick said. "I want to get the most out of my high school experience, because I don't want to do anything but play soccer when I'm out of high school."
To that end, Frederick doubles up in the spring as a member of the track and field team. She isn't a distance runner, however. Frederick qualified for the MHSAA LP Division 2 meet in both hurdles events last season, placing 10th in the 300-meter hurdles in 47.14 seconds and 21st in the 100 hurdles in 16.77.
"I didn't do as good as I wanted to, but hopefully I'll do better this year," Frederick said. "Soccer's definitely my main sport, but I like hurdles, so I do that."
With Zayan on the mend, Linden's leading active scorer is senior Katie Wilkowski with 10 goals and six assists in 14 games. Frederick has nine goals and five assists. Freshman Audrey Steiert has four goals and seven assists.
This is a team that also will be a force next season, with its core comprised of nine juniors.
"I think six of us are on the same club team," Zayan said. "We've played indoor together since we were in middle school. We're so close off the field, that on the field it just clicks."
If Linden is going to take off on a long tournament run, it will likely run into its arch rival, a team with the experience of playing in an MHSAA title game. What's more, a potential District matchup against Fenton will take place on the Tigers' home field.
Fiebernitz expects Fenton to be an even tougher challenge in late May than the Tigers were when they lost that 2-1 match to Linden on March 30.
"Matt (Sullivan, Fenton's coach) runs his team different," Fiebernitz said. "He subs a lot, gets a lot of kids actively playing. Then, at the end, they'll try to run you to death."
Bill Khan served as a sportswriter at The Flint Journal from 1981-2011 and currently contributes to the State Champs! Sports Network. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Alia Frederick (6) and Teresa Walterhouse (5) move the ball upfield for the Linden girls soccer team. (Middle) Frederick works to create space while a defender looks to gain possession. (Photos courtesy of the Linden athletic department.)
TC West Standout Renews Ties to Titans, Cheers Past Teammates' Gold Pursuit
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
July 16, 2021
Savanna Wojtanowski was made here. She played here. She stayed here — except for stints in Washington, D.C., where international soccer players joined her.
Now she’s back as a high school soccer coach.
While lots of faces familiar to United States and Canadian television viewers and soccer fans are expected at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, some of those players will be personally familiar to Wojtanowski.
Wojtanowski played alongside a handful of current and recent players on the U.S. and Canadian women’s teams after serving as four-year starting goalie for Traverse City West and during a college career that began with two seasons at Ferris State and concluded with her final two at Michigan State in 2016 and 2017. During her time with the Spartans, Wojtanowski spent two offseasons with the reserve team for the Washington Spirit, one of the original eight teams when the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) was formed in 2012.
At West, Wojtanowski was named second team all-conference as a junior and senior, as well as first team all-district, first team all-region and all-state honorable mention her senior season in 2013. West winning the Big North Conference title that spring remains her favorite memory from high school soccer – and she quickly has matched that achievement as a coach, leading West to the BNC championship this past spring in her first season after taking over the program.
Wojtanowski is looking for the U.S. national team to come out with a vengeance after the disappointment of the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil. There the U.S. fell to Sweden in a semifinal shootout, which meant failing to reach the gold medal match for the first time since women’s soccer was introduced to the Olympics in 1996 in Atlanta.
Sweden is the U.S.’s opening-game opponent July 21 in Tokyo.
“I believe there is a lot of revenge being chased after the Rio Olympics,” the 25-year-old former keeper said. “I was with the Spirit during Rio, and when the team returned from the Olympics, the sense of disappointment was felt for a long time.
“I believe going into this year's Olympics, we will see a different type of fire displayed from the USWNT.”
Wojtanowski won’t see former Washington Spirit teammate Diana Matheson of Canadian fame and Estelle Johnson of Cameroon playing in Tokyo. Matheson recently announced her retirement after 18 years representing Canada’s national team. Johnson and her teammates lost a playoff with Chile for the last of 16 slots in the Olympics.
Wojtanowski feels fortunate that she had the chance to compete with and against the women trying to claim gold at Tokyo.
“During college I was able to play two years on the Washington Spirit reserves, which opened the door to the pro side of the game,” she said. “I was fortunate enough to be one of two college players training full-time with the pro squad for those two summers.
“Having the opportunity to play alongside some USWNT women and the Canada women was such a great experience.”
Wojtanowski played with current U.S. roster players Crystal Dunn and Kristie Mewis. The current Canadians she played with are Stephanie Labbe and Shelina Zadorsky. Labbe was Canada’s starting goalkeeper in Rio.
Dunn, though, stands out most to Wojtanowski. Dunn was with the Spirit but now plays for Portland. She has 24 goals and 19 assists in 116 appearances for the USWNT as primarily a defender.
“(Dunn) was such a treat to play with …. her humor, attitude, and training mentality is something I will forever remember,” Wojtanowski said. “She was constantly dancing, laughing, and having a great time at training, but when it was time to get serious she would get the job done.”
Wojtanowski also had the tough job of trying to stop U.S. standout Rose Lavelle during Lavelle’s time starring for Wisconsin. The past Badgers standout and now-Washington Spirit midfielder has 14 goals and nine assists in 56 appearances for the U.S.
Wojtanowski began her collegiate career with two seasons at Ferris State University. After transferring to MSU, she played two more seasons and as a junior in 2016 tied the MSU single-game record with 14 saves against then-No. 16 Penn State. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business with a focus on administration and management and a master’s certificate in supply chain management and procurement. She returned home to start the next chapters of life, and she works as a supply chain buyer fulltime along with her guidance of the Titans.
She’s thrilled to be back at her high school alma mater, which she guided to an overall 10-4-1 record this spring, with the Titans eventually falling to Midland Dow in a Division 1 District Final.
“I wanted to give back to the community,” said Wojtanowski, who previously had coached at the club level in Lansing. “West has always had a very special place in my heart ever since graduation.
“When this opportunity presented itself, I knew I had to take the opportunity to be a Titan again,” she continued. “It has been a special experience to coach the program that I grew up with.”
Wojtanowski wants to instill a family-based culture in the Titans program, something she came to know and love while at Michigan State.
“The biggest thing for me is growing them as individuals both on and off the soccer field,” she said.
Wojtanowski believes girls high school and women’s soccer in this country have changed for the better since she played. And, she’s not the least bit surprised by the consistent success of the USWNT.
“The women's game in the US has grown significantly since I started playing soccer in 2000,” Wojtanowski noted. “Our farm systems here in the U.S. along with club, college, and other programs feed a constantly-elite level of players through the USWNT system.”
2020-21 Made in Michigan
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PHOTOS: (Top) Savanna Wojtanowski leads a halftime discussion this spring with her Traverse City West varsity. (Middle) Wojtanowski, second row standing far right in group photo, trained two seasons with the Washington Spirit’s reserves; the Spirit first team included U.S. national teamer Crystal Dunn (left in second photo) and Cameroon national teamer Estelle Johnson (far right). (Below) Wojtanowski makes a save for West against Traverse City Central in 2012. (Top photo by Daisy Kinney, middle courtesy of Savanna Wojtanowski and below courtesy of the Traverse City Record-Eagle.)