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.)
US District Court Approves Realignment of UP Teams to Statewide MHSAA Soccer Tournament
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
August 18, 2023
Upper Peninsula teams playing boys and girls soccer will have the opportunity to participate in a statewide Michigan High School Athletic Association Tournament beginning with the 2023-24 school year after the U.S. federal court in the Western District of Michigan granted on Wednesday, Aug. 16, a joint petition to adjust that portion of the 2000s seasons litigation compliance plan that had required Upper Peninsula boys and girls soccer teams to play in opposite seasons from their Lower Peninsula counterparts.
The petition, filed together by the MHSAA and Communities for Equity, requested that Upper Peninsula soccer teams’ postseason tournaments be realigned with those of the Lower Peninsula soccer teams, such that boys teams be allowed to play with Lower Peninsula teams in a fall statewide MHSAA Boys Soccer Tournament and Upper Peninsula girls teams be allowed to play with Lower Peninsula teams in a spring statewide MHSAA Girls Soccer Tournament.
Almost 20 years ago, the federal court had assigned a separate Upper Peninsula boys tournament for the spring and a separate Upper Peninsula girls tournament for the fall as part of the compliance plan emerging from litigation in a lawsuit filed by Communities for Equity in 1998. The resulting compliance plan, with Lower Peninsula boys soccer season in fall and girls soccer in spring and Upper Peninsula girls soccer season in fall and boys soccer in spring, was put into place beginning with the 2007-08 school year.
However, the different seasons for Upper Peninsula and Lower Peninsula soccer proved unworkable. To realize a full regular season, both boys and girls Upper Peninsula soccer teams at that time instead chose to play during the same regular seasons as their Lower Peninsula counterparts, forgoing participation in an Upper Peninsula-only MHSAA Tournament that was offered consistent with the original compliance plan.
Totals of 13,221 boys and 11,921 girls played on MHSAA member high school soccer teams statewide during the 2022-23 school year. This decision means that hundreds of Upper Peninsula girls and boys soccer players will have the opportunity to have a meaningful regular season and play in a statewide postseason soccer tournament.
“This is great news for our member schools, especially those soccer programs in our Upper Peninsula. We appreciate the partnership on this issue with Communities for Equity, in particular President Diane Madsen, working together in a spirit of cooperation and common sense in making this positive change for soccer players in our state” said MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl.
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,500 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract more than 1.3 million spectators each year.