Performance of the Week: Ann Arbor Pioneer's Gabrielle Haudan
November 6, 2026
Gabrielle Haudan ♦ Ann Arbor Pioneer
Junior ♦ Field Hockey
Haudan scored the only goal of this season’s MHSAA Final at Michigan State with 29 seconds left in the first quarter as Ann Arbor Pioneer repeated as champion with a 1-0 win over Saline. The goal made a memorable day even more so, as Haudan celebrated her 17th birthday Saturday.
The junior forward also was a significant contributor on Pioneer’s Finals championship team in 2025 and already is set to continue her career after high school as she’s committed to national power Northwestern. Haudan will be continuing a Division I athletic legacy as her mother Jenny (Zangara) Haudan was on University of Michigan’s 2001 national championship field hockey team and her father Brad ran track at U-M. Gabrielle also runs track for Pioneer and earned a Lower Peninsula Division 1 Regional championship in the 100 meters this past season.
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Past 2026-27 honorees
Oct. 30: Mason Crosby, South Lyon East tennis - Read
Oct. 23: Addilyn Duflo, Bath golf - Read
Oct. 16: Levi Lengemann, Imlay City tennis - Read
Oct. 9: Olivia Buford, Sterling Heights Stevenson swimming - Read
Oct. 2: Sophia McCollum, Muskegon Reeths-Puffer golf - Read
Sept. 25: Jenna Middleton, Kingsley volleyball - Read
Sept. 18: Caden Livermore, Grandville cross country - Read
Preview: Familiar Foes Meet Again with MHSAA Finals Championship at Stake
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
October 30, 2026
Ann Arbor Pioneer and Saline High School are seven miles apart, and the two programs will enter Saturday’s MHSAA Final as familiar with each other as any two field hockey teams in the state could be this season.
They’ve played each other twice this fall. Pioneer won the first meeting 5-0, on Aug. 24 in the second game of the season for both. But Saline cut the margin significantly in the Sept.14 rematch, a 1-0 Pioneer win.
And Round 3 at Michigan State University’s Ralph Young Field will be for a bigger prize.
Game time Saturday is 11 a.m. Tickets are $12, and the matchup also will be streamed on the NFHS Network and viewable with subscription.
Below is a brief look at the finalists:
ANN ARBOR PIONEER
Record: 17-3
Michigan Power Rating: No. 1
Coach: Jane Nixon, 28th season (451-51-50)
League finish: First in Southeastern Conference Red
Championship history: Pioneer won last season’s inaugural MHSAA Final.
Players to watch: Lily Boardman, sr. F/M (9 goals, 7 assists); Klara Jones, sr. F/M (13 goals, 9 assists); Gabby Haudan, jr. F (10 goals, 7 assists); Lucy Peikert, jr. M/D (10 goals, 6 assists).
Outlook: Pioneer will play in its eighth-straight championship game including the final six Michigan High School Field Hockey League Division 1 title deciders before the MHSAA began sponsoring the sport last season. All three of the team’s losses this fall were to out-of-state teams, and the Pioneers have yet to allow a goal in four MHSAA Tournament games, outscoring their opponents by a combined 19-0. Sophomore Mara Boullion is the scheduled starter in goal and has split time this season with senior Bridget Schafer; together they have given up only 14 goals this season and only two over 15 games against in-state opponents. Jones, Haudan and senior Olivia Rollins made the all-state first team last season, and Peikert and Boullion made the second.
SALINE
Record: 19-2
Michigan Power Rating: No. 2
Coach: Sophia O’Connor, sixth season (83-20-12)
League finish: Second in Southeastern Conference Red
Championship history: MHSFHL Division 2 champion 2015, two MHSFHL Division 1 runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Elle Pufpaf, sr. M/F (23 goals, 6 assists); Ella Arvai, jr. M (30 goals, 11 assists); Claire Clark, sr. D (10 goals, 1 assist); Alivia Pufpaf, sr. D/M (7 goals, 5 assists).
Outlook: After reaching the Semifinals last season, Saline will play in a championship game again after most recently finishing runner-up in the MHSFHL’s Division 1 in 2024. Similar to Pioneer, Saline has allowed only one goal over four postseason games while finding the net 31 times. Minus the two losses to Pioneer, Saline has given up only six goals over 19 games. Arvai made the all-state first team last season, Elle Pufpaf made the second, and Alivia Pufpaf and Clark made the third team.