Country Day Dominates Offensively, but Dominant Defense Sets Tone in Title Clincher
By
Drew Ellis
Special for MHSAA.com
June 13, 2026
EAST LANSING – Detroit Country Day collected its seventh MHSAA girls soccer state championship Saturday with a 1-0 win over Grand Rapids West Catholic in the Division 3 Final at DeMartin Field.
The Yellowjackets (14-4-3) held a sizable advantage in most key offensive stats, but the Falcons (18-6-2) remained within reach until the final seconds.
In the end, it was a dominant defensive effort, led by senior captain Jenna Shaban, that carried Country Day to its first championship since 2021.
“It’s Jenna Shaban leading the back line,” Yellowjackets coach Laura Hamway said. “There were minimal opportunities going at the goal because she’s collected and she understands pressure-cover-balance. She gives room for her teammates to make mistakes and steps in when needed.”
Country Day had a pretty young attack spark the lone goal, but the veteran defense of Shaban, senior Isabella Schimizzi and juniors Charlotte Duross and Julia Goetz pushed the Yellowjackets to the victory.
“Julia next to (Shaban) was outstanding the last two games, and then Charlotte and Bella’s ability to release at times and play the direct ball when needed,” Hamway added. “The back line just did a beautiful job recognizing if there is space and can we build, or did we need to go direct.”
The first 20 minutes were back-and-forth before Country Day started to develop stronger offensive opportunities.
In the 31st minute of play, sophomore Scarlett Lossia played a ball that went over the top of a pair of West Catholic defenders and found the foot of freshman Aliya Saad. Saad then played a perfect lob over the Falcons’ keeper that found the back of the net.
“The adrenaline was really pumping, and my teammate Scarlet played a really good ball over the top. I just saw it skim the center back’s head and I saw the goalie coming out, and knew I just had to put it over the top,” Saad said of her goal. “I just got my foot right there and stuck it to the laces, and it went right where I wanted.”
Hamway had a lot of praise for the intelligent shot that Saad played, showing the maturity of an upperclassman as opposed to a freshman.
“She can get in the seam, and we can play into her feet,” Hamway said of Saad. “She recognizes when she’s got to go back and cross-field dribble. She has so much confidence for a freshman. It’s rare for a kid to be creative, physically enough, and put a ball in the back of the net.
The goal was the only one to get past West Catholic senior keeper Katelyn Adams, who put up a strong effort in net.
Country Day put on even more pressure in the second half, but Adams shut the door on some great looks.
“She made some huge saves in the second half,” Falcons coach Ryan Smith said of Adams, who finished with seven saves in the match. “We went into a three-back and we pushed up and left some one-on-ones back there, and she made some huge saves.”
Country Day finished with a 15-1 shot advantage and had a 12-1 edge in corner kicks for the match. Hamway credited junior Georgia Hopkins, senior Ava Amezcua, junior Megan Mateer, and Lossia for their ball control as the reason for the offensive edge.
“Georgia really controls the game on offense. She wins all those flooded balls,” Hamway said. “Ava was in underneath, and it allowed Megan and Scarlett to be creative in the space out wide today.”
Despite the opportunities, West Catholic was never out of it. They had a few opportunities in Country Day territory during the closing minutes, but couldn’t put a shot on goal.
“(DCD) was good, obviously. They were super skilled,” Smith said. “They had some size that was tough for us to match, and they were a little deeper. Our girls battled to the end. We had it down with those long throws, so we gave it everything we had.”
The Falcons were appearing in their first Final on Saturday, and Smith beamed about the incredible run his team had this spring, including its first Regional championship.
“There’s nothing to be ashamed of. When I started here 10 years ago, and as a head coach seven years ago, we wanted to build a program. We’ve had so many teams come through here that have helped lay the foundation. I said to the girls, ‘You set the bar almost as high as you can,’” Smith said. “The last three months and the last three weeks of the playoffs was a heck of a ride.”
PHOTOS (Top) Detroit Country Day’s Megan Mateer (21) and Aliya Saad (22) enjoy a moment during their team’s Division 3 championship win Saturday at DeMartin Stadium. (Middle) Mateer controls possession while Grand Rapids West Catholic’s Elise Savickas (6) pursues. (Photos by Adam Sheehan/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
D2 Soccer Final: Marian Takes Top Spot
June 16, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
WILLIAMSTON – Bloomfield Hills Marian seniors Makenzie Larson, Alexa Finger and Hanna Pateryn were set to give everything they had this season, their last of high school soccer.
But after graduating 13 players from the 2011 team, and then adding six freshmen, the trio had no idea what they were getting themselves into this spring.
Turns out, it was a third MHSAA championship in four seasons.
Thanks in part to two goals by one of those freshmen, midfielder Kelly Sweeney, Marian downed reigning champion Plainwell 3-1 in Saturday’s Division 2 Final.
“Just to come back with all these freshmen; they worked so hard to keep these three seniors around to the very end,” Larson said. “All these underclassmen that stepped up for us, they brought so much energy to the team. They did an amazing job.”
Larson and Finger were on the Mustangs for all three championships, while Pateryn joined for the 2010 win. Total, Marian has won four MHSAA titles, all over the last decade.
The Mustangs (22-2-1) also had two sophomores this season. One, midfielder Julia Griessmann, got her team on the board 7:55 into the game.
The chances kept coming for both teams. Total, Marian outshot Plainwell 13-10, but the Mustangs capitalized with Sweeney’s two goals during the first nine minutes of the second half.
The Trojans (21-3-2) – which returned 15 players from last season’s title-winning team – did get on the board on junior Hope Pell’s goal with just less than 22 minutes to play. But they couldn’t come up with enough opportunities down the stretch to make it closer.
“I love my group,” Plainwell coach Chad Wiseman said. “They battled from the beginning of the season to the end of the season. We had some chances, and in a state title game you’ve probably got to capitalize on those chances.”
Larson has signed to play next season at Loyola University of California. Pateryn has signed to play at Northern Kentucky, while Finger will go to Butler University on an academic scholarship. The multitude of juniors and underclassmen certainly played a large part in this championship, but coach Barry Brodsky said it came down to the leadership of his three seniors coming off last season’s District opener loss.
“We made a point as a coaching staff to really stay on the seniors we have. These are quality kids and they bought in," he said. “If the seniors don’t buy in, you’re not going anywhere. But from the first day until last night at practice, they were all in 100 percent of the time.”
PHOTO: Bloomfield Hills Marian's Mackenzie Pohlman (13) battles for the ball with Plainwell's Makenzie Evers during Saturday's Division 2 Final at Williamston High School.