Unexpected Becomes Elite As Hartland Makes History
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
June 19, 2021
EAST LANSING – Hartland wasn’t supposed to be in the Division 1 championship game.
And Julia Pietila wasn’t supposed to play.
So, naturally, it was Pietila – hobbling on a severely sprained left ankle which almost kept her out of the game altogether – who scored two goals as Hartland blanked Troy Athens, 4-0, in Saturday’s MHSAA Division 1 Girls Soccer Final.
“It was hurting, but it’s the state championship game,” explained Pietila, who scored the Eagles’ first and last goals in the weekend’s final game in calm, dry conditions at Michigan State University’s DeMartin Soccer Complex.
“It was now or never, so I just went with it. Once I got into the swing of things, I forgot about it.”
Hartland (20-4-1) had entered the postseason off a third-place league finish and ranked 23rd in Division 1 based on the Michigan Power Rating used to seed the top two teams at the District level.
But the Eagles seemingly forgot about all of that and the fact that it had never played in a girls soccer Finals game before, shutting out six of its seven postseason opponents.
The Eagles capped it Saturday by making Athens – No. 2 in final regular-season MPR – pay for its aggressiveness with an impressive counterattack, then cashing in on their opportunities.
It was an emotional win for veteran Hartland coach Andrew Kartsounes – who has been teaching at Hartland for 30 years and coaching soccer for 27, including the past 16 as the girls head coach – in his first appearance in a championship game.
“I was wondering if I was ever going to get here, and then to play the kind of game we did today was just amazing,” said Kartsounes, who is assisted by Wade Foster and Eric Anderson. “We just kept plugging away and created chances and, today, we finished a lot of our chances.”
Hartland grabbed a 1-0 halftime lead after junior Hannah Kastamo broke through the Athens defense and put a shot on goal, which Pietila booted in off the rebound at the 16:56 mark.
The key portion of the game was the first 10 minutes of the second half. During that period, the Red Hawks controlled play and had two excellent scoring chances – a header off a free kick that missed wide right and a nifty boot by junior Abby Mayne which just missed wide left.
But just as Athens was feeling good about things and the crowd of red was coming alive in the stands, Hartland responded with its aforementioned counterattack.
Senior Maria Storm was able to break away and send a perfectly angled kick into the top-right corner of the net with 31:32 remaining to make it 2-0 – a goal which seemed to demoralize Athens. Just two minutes later, Hartland made it 3-0 on another goal by Kastamo.
“We haven’t seen that kind of counterattack in a while,” said 10th-year Athens coach Todd Heugh. “We generated corner kicks, and they generated goals. Soccer is a game of chances. They made good on theirs, and we did not on ours.”
Athens (17-2-4) has won four girls soccer championships, but its last title came 21 years ago in 2000. The Red Hawks, who had posted eight consecutive shutouts coming into Saturday’s Final, now have three runner-up finishes.
Kartsounes agreed the key to the victory was weathering the storm early in the second half.
“They started the second half and were really taking it to us,” said Kartsounes, who received tremendous on-field leadership from captains Kamryn Gereck, Justina L’Esperance and Storm. “I told my assistants that we can’t survive like this for 40 minutes, then we finally started possessing the ball.”
Pietila completed the scoring with her second goal of the day at the 18:21 mark. Alyse Daavettila and L’Esperance added assists for the Eagles.
Athens actually held the edge in total shots (16-14) and corner kicks (6-3), but Hartland held a 9-7 advantage in shots on goal. Athens senior keeper Nitya Balusu made five saves.
Hartland junior keeper Morgan Seog was outstanding in goal, finishing with six saves. The Eagles produced shutouts in the first five playoff games and final game.
The only postseason game in which Hartland allowed a goal was Wednesday’s Semifinal, a narrow 3-2 win over Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central. It was also seven minutes into that game when Pietila sprained her ankle on a sprinkler.
“On Wednesday night, there was no way she was going to play, Thursday was a little better and it wasn’t until after warmups today that we knew she was going to play for sure,” said Kartsounes. “Then she goes out there and scores the game-winning goal of the state finals on one leg.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Hartland players celebrate during their Division 1 Final win Saturday. (Middle) The Eagles’ Maria Storm (13) and Athens’ Meagan Lindgren (15) battle for possession.
Bloomfield Hills' Persistence Pays Off with Dream Finish, 1st Championship
By
Perry A. Farrell
Special for MHSAA.com
June 17, 2022
EAST LANSING – Ava Badallo momentarily made her dream come true by scoring in the first half of Friday's Division 1 soccer championship game at Michigan State’s DeMartin Stadium.
But an offsides penalty nullified what would have been a rare goal against one of the state's stingiest defenses.
Undaunted, the Bloomfield Hills senior forward scored again off a great assist from Brooke Green at 5 minutes, 44 seconds into the second half – just the eighth goal Northville had given up all season. The Black Hawks could sense the upset against the unbeaten Mustangs.
Ultimately the game went to a shootout, and it was one more Badallo goal that put Bloomfield Hills up 4-1 and clinched an overall 2-1 victory over the previously-unbeaten Mustangs – earning the Black Hawks' their first Finals championship in girls soccer.
“I think the goal they disallowed was an indirect kick,’’ said Badallo. “We finally got it going and … it was kind of a letdown, but we knew this game was going to be a struggle.
“We finally got those goals. We ended up finishing up in the PK. I don’t even know how to explain the feeling. I’m so just happy Jenica (Opdahl) came up with those big saves. I was able to go in there with a lot of confidence.’’
Opdahl, Bloomfield Hills’ sophomore keeper, said she used a ploy to confuse the Northville shooters.
“I stood to one side leaving one side of the net wide open,’’ she said. “So, I knew they were going to shoot it that way. It worked.’’
Drew Martin, Esther Rosett and Emma Merchant scored during the shootout before Badallo’s clincher. Caroline Meloche scored Northville’s shootout goal.
“I can’t even believe it,’’ said Merchant, whose goal made it 3-1. “We practice penalty kicks every single day, 15 minutes every practice. To see all our hard work pay off is indescribable.’’
It was a battle of stingy defenses colliding in a struggle that lasted through regulation and overtime.
The second period of overtime saw Bloomfield Hills’ Avary Hall also put the ball into the net, but the goal was called off because of offsides.
Badallo’s second-period score was her 17th goal of the season, and none had been bigger.
“We always talk about the golden minutes,’’ said Black Hawks coach Alan Zakaria. “I was proud of the resilience we showed. You score a goal and have great energy, and it’s disallowed. Our girls responded in a big way. What a great player (Badallo). Our goalkeeper made some great saves. Unbelievable resilience to pull it out.’’
The Mustangs’ Kate Gonzalez got Northville on the board at the 15:27 mark of the second half with a header off an assist from Lauren Moraitis, her 24th, to tie the game at 1-1.
The Black Hawks (15-2-3) were playing in their first Final and entered the contest having won or tied their last 14 games, while Northville had two runner-up finishes, the most recent in 2014.
Led by nine seniors, the Mustangs hadn’t given up more than one goal in a game all season, posting 16 shutouts on their way to the championship while allowing just seven goals. The Black Hawks posted 11 shutouts this spring.
Bloomfield Hills pressed the action early Friday and had a couple of chances to score but the Mustangs defense, as usual this year, held tough.
Halfway through the first half Northville’s offense started peppering shots at Opdahl, but she was up to the task. Northville played five midfielders in an attempt to put pressure on the Black Hawks’ defense, generating scoring chances.
The Mustangs (18-1-5) had a pair of scoring chances as the second half began to wind down before Gonzalez sent in the equalizer.
“I thought we had some momentum when Kate scored,’’ said Northville coach Jeannine Reddy. “I thought both teams played great. It’s tough to lose that way. It was a good Division 1 state final. Both teams battled. You don’t want that to be your last memory.”
PHOTOS (Top) Bloomfield Hills celebrates its first Finals championship Friday at DeMartin Stadium. (Middle) The Black Hawks’ Drew Martin (3) controls play with Northville’s Avery Peters (15) in pursuit.