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.)
TC West Standout Renews Ties to Titans, Cheers Past Teammates' Gold Pursuit
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
July 16, 2021
Savanna Wojtanowski was made here. She played here. She stayed here — except for stints in Washington, D.C., where international soccer players joined her.
Now she’s back as a high school soccer coach.
While lots of faces familiar to United States and Canadian television viewers and soccer fans are expected at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, some of those players will be personally familiar to Wojtanowski.
Wojtanowski played alongside a handful of current and recent players on the U.S. and Canadian women’s teams after serving as four-year starting goalie for Traverse City West and during a college career that began with two seasons at Ferris State and concluded with her final two at Michigan State in 2016 and 2017. During her time with the Spartans, Wojtanowski spent two offseasons with the reserve team for the Washington Spirit, one of the original eight teams when the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) was formed in 2012.
At West, Wojtanowski was named second team all-conference as a junior and senior, as well as first team all-district, first team all-region and all-state honorable mention her senior season in 2013. West winning the Big North Conference title that spring remains her favorite memory from high school soccer – and she quickly has matched that achievement as a coach, leading West to the BNC championship this past spring in her first season after taking over the program.
Wojtanowski is looking for the U.S. national team to come out with a vengeance after the disappointment of the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil. There the U.S. fell to Sweden in a semifinal shootout, which meant failing to reach the gold medal match for the first time since women’s soccer was introduced to the Olympics in 1996 in Atlanta.
Sweden is the U.S.’s opening-game opponent July 21 in Tokyo.
“I believe there is a lot of revenge being chased after the Rio Olympics,” the 25-year-old former keeper said. “I was with the Spirit during Rio, and when the team returned from the Olympics, the sense of disappointment was felt for a long time.
“I believe going into this year's Olympics, we will see a different type of fire displayed from the USWNT.”
Wojtanowski won’t see former Washington Spirit teammate Diana Matheson of Canadian fame and Estelle Johnson of Cameroon playing in Tokyo. Matheson recently announced her retirement after 18 years representing Canada’s national team. Johnson and her teammates lost a playoff with Chile for the last of 16 slots in the Olympics.
Wojtanowski feels fortunate that she had the chance to compete with and against the women trying to claim gold at Tokyo.
“During college I was able to play two years on the Washington Spirit reserves, which opened the door to the pro side of the game,” she said. “I was fortunate enough to be one of two college players training full-time with the pro squad for those two summers.
“Having the opportunity to play alongside some USWNT women and the Canada women was such a great experience.”
Wojtanowski played with current U.S. roster players Crystal Dunn and Kristie Mewis. The current Canadians she played with are Stephanie Labbe and Shelina Zadorsky. Labbe was Canada’s starting goalkeeper in Rio.
Dunn, though, stands out most to Wojtanowski. Dunn was with the Spirit but now plays for Portland. She has 24 goals and 19 assists in 116 appearances for the USWNT as primarily a defender.
“(Dunn) was such a treat to play with …. her humor, attitude, and training mentality is something I will forever remember,” Wojtanowski said. “She was constantly dancing, laughing, and having a great time at training, but when it was time to get serious she would get the job done.”
Wojtanowski also had the tough job of trying to stop U.S. standout Rose Lavelle during Lavelle’s time starring for Wisconsin. The past Badgers standout and now-Washington Spirit midfielder has 14 goals and nine assists in 56 appearances for the U.S.
Wojtanowski began her collegiate career with two seasons at Ferris State University. After transferring to MSU, she played two more seasons and as a junior in 2016 tied the MSU single-game record with 14 saves against then-No. 16 Penn State. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business with a focus on administration and management and a master’s certificate in supply chain management and procurement. She returned home to start the next chapters of life, and she works as a supply chain buyer fulltime along with her guidance of the Titans.
She’s thrilled to be back at her high school alma mater, which she guided to an overall 10-4-1 record this spring, with the Titans eventually falling to Midland Dow in a Division 1 District Final.
“I wanted to give back to the community,” said Wojtanowski, who previously had coached at the club level in Lansing. “West has always had a very special place in my heart ever since graduation.
“When this opportunity presented itself, I knew I had to take the opportunity to be a Titan again,” she continued. “It has been a special experience to coach the program that I grew up with.”
Wojtanowski wants to instill a family-based culture in the Titans program, something she came to know and love while at Michigan State.
“The biggest thing for me is growing them as individuals both on and off the soccer field,” she said.
Wojtanowski believes girls high school and women’s soccer in this country have changed for the better since she played. And, she’s not the least bit surprised by the consistent success of the USWNT.
“The women's game in the US has grown significantly since I started playing soccer in 2000,” Wojtanowski noted. “Our farm systems here in the U.S. along with club, college, and other programs feed a constantly-elite level of players through the USWNT system.”
2020-21 Made in Michigan
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PHOTOS: (Top) Savanna Wojtanowski leads a halftime discussion this spring with her Traverse City West varsity. (Middle) Wojtanowski, second row standing far right in group photo, trained two seasons with the Washington Spirit’s reserves; the Spirit first team included U.S. national teamer Crystal Dunn (left in second photo) and Cameroon national teamer Estelle Johnson (far right). (Below) Wojtanowski makes a save for West against Traverse City Central in 2012. (Top photo by Daisy Kinney, middle courtesy of Savanna Wojtanowski and below courtesy of the Traverse City Record-Eagle.)