Undefeated Saline Claims 1st Finals Win
June 13, 2015
By Dan Stickradt
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING — Saline helped redefine the term “team soccer” this season.
The Hornets put together one of the most impressive seasons in Class A/Division 1 history, cultivated by a 4-0 blanking of Grand Blanc in the Division 1 Final on Saturday at Michigan State University’s DeMartin Stadium.
Saline finished this spring with a brilliant 0.16 goals-against-average over 25 games with 22 shutouts, the most in Class A/Division 1 history and third-most overall on the MHSAA record list. Hudsonville Unity Christian’s 24 shutouts in 27 games during 2011 is the all-time best.
“Our chemistry is amazing,” said Saline senior goalkeeper Sophia Sweier, a second-team all-state keeper last season and one of Michigan’s top net minders this season. “A lot of us have been playing together for years with (club and high school) and that makes a difference. We are so close.”
The championship was Saline’s first in girls soccer.
“I think it was really at the end of last season when we thought that this could be a special season for us,” said Saline coach Dana Restrick, whose team broke several team and individual school records this spring. “Last year we lost to a nearly-unbeatable team in Northville (in the Regional Final). We played really well in that loss. We had a lot of players coming back this season, and I think that we really got a taste of what it takes to get to that next level.
“A lot of my seniors have played together since they were 7 or something,” continued Restrick. “The chemistry is definitely there. We coach them very specifically on what to do at all times. These girls are so coachable. They take everything that we say and do what we coach them to do in different scenarios. This is something that we have been building for the last couple of years. That we came together and played as a team is what helped us achieve the goal of being state champions.”
Unbeaten Saline, which finished the campaign 22-0-3 and entered the postseason ranked sixth, opened the scoring with 32:41 left in the first half. Senior Danielle Rathfon’s shot rang off the crossbar and goal post and senior Molly O’Sullivan was there to pounce on the rebound from close range.
The Hornets, making their first-ever appearance in an MHSAA Final, pushed the advantage to 2-0 with 30:18 still left in the opening half when junior Allison Luurtsema’s long shot from near the touch line sailed above traffic and deflected off the fingertips of Grand Blanc goalkeeper Amy Puidokas and into the far corner of the goal.
Saline, which outshot Grand Blanc 8-5 over the first 40 minutes, cashed in again with 23:22 remaining in the first half when senior Taylor Mulder redirected a cross from senior Amanda Zylsra and tucked the ball home from three yards out.
Grand Blanc put plenty of pressure on Saline’s bend-but-don’t-break defense in the second half, posting a 6-4 shots edge. But to no avail.
Saline capped the scoring late in the contest when Mulder scored her 43rd goal of the season, a single-season school record, with 1:28 remaining in the contest.
Saline closed its run with nine straight shutouts, including seven during the postseason. The last team to score on the Hornets was Ann Arbor Skyline (in a 5-1 win) in the third-to-last game of the regular season. Saline also gave up a goal to Skyline in mid-April and two goals to Brighton in early April.
“To go down 2-0 was tough. I think the third goal was what really broke our back,” conceded veteran Grand Blanc coach Greg Kehler. “That team gave up only four goals all season, so that was a tough wall to climb. I thought we could put pressure on them and possibly score. But they are a great defensive team. Dana Restrick’s team is great — they are as good as advertised. They are very good in the back, very organized, they possess well and they have a lot of players who can finish.
“Saline defines the principals of defending,” noted Kehler. “They got it all. If they weren’t pressuring the ball, they had someone nearby, a cover defender back there to balance the field for them. That’s an experienced team, very well coached. They are very good. No shame losing to that team.”
The Hornets outscored the opposition 104-4 this season, and the four goals against is tied for third fewest allowed in a single season in MHSAA history. Record-holder Livonia Stevenson gave up one goal during the 1997 campaign en route to the Class A championship.
Defensively, Saline held Grand Blanc’s Annie Walker, one of the frontrunners for Miss Soccer, in check. The Hornets’ organized defensive schemes didn’t allow the Bobcats much breathing room all afternoon, constantly covering to quickly plug holes and frustrate Grand Blanc’s attack.
Saline outshot Grand Blanc 12-10 and was opportunistic by finishing four of the six shots on target.
“Annie Walker is an amazing player, and we knew we had to keep someone near her at all times,” Restrick said. “She’s extremely dangerous. And I think that goes back to our defense, always covering for one another. We always make sure that we don’t give the opposing team much space. And it’s not like we outshot them by much. We were fortunate enough to be able to finish (our chances). We have a lot of girls that can score.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Saline players rush the field to celebrate with teammates their first MHSAA girls soccer title. (Middle) Saline’s Taylor Mulder (1) works to stay ahead of Grand Blanc’s Alexiss Trudeau.
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."
The 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.
“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.)