EAST LANSING – Harbor Springs returned to an MHSAA girls soccer championship game Friday for the first time since finishing Division 4 runner-up in 2001.

The Rams departed with their first Finals title after a marvelous 2-0 win over Royal Oak Shrine Catholic at DeMartin Stadium.

"This is incredible and I'm proud of the team," Harbor Springs junior Stefi Reskevics said. "From the start of the season we knew that we had to do something great." 

Shrine got out on the front foot to start, but eventually, the Rams would find their rhythm after the 10-minute mark. 

Nearly halfway through the first half, Harbor Springs senior Sophie Barnadyn flipped the field and found a wide-open Reskevics for a couple of touches and a rocket from outside the box that passed the Knights goalkeeper.

The Rams had many chances throughout the first half, but most of those opportunities were turned away by Shrine junior defender Maddie Malkowski. 

Harbor Springs would go into the break with a sizeable control on the time of possession and shots on goal. 

"This puts Harbor Springs on the map, and this program has been very successful since 2001," Harbor Springs coach Aaron Riley said. "I'm glad that we won it for that team. The ladies appreciate the community support."

Both teams would go back and forth throughout the start of the second half. 

Shrine came out strong again, but the Rams turned away multiple chances. 

Both teams battled in the midfield until Reskevics was injured at midfield halfway through the period. 

Harbor Springs senior Lizzie Bassett received a free kick after the injury that turned into a breakaway and a penalty kick after the goalkeeper committed a foul inside of the box. 

Bassett managed to find the net with a low left-side shot to give the Rams a commanding 2-0 lead. 

"It's crazy that we made school history. This is the best team that we could have done it with. We worked really hard all season, and I'm just proud of everyone that we accomplished our goal," she said.

Shrine would have multiple opportunities throughout the rest of the game but couldn't find the back of the net thanks to great play from sophomore goalkeeper Lillian McShannock to complete the shutout.

The goal for the Rams (20-1-2) was to slow down Shrine sophomore Julia Kraemer, who led the Knights in goals this season. Lilly Barnadyn and Makenna Brey led the defense.

The Knights ended their season with an 11-9-2 record.

"We played really well despite the score. We had a wide-open shot in the first five minutes and didn't put it away," Shrine coach Mark Soma said. "We did everything we wanted to do as a group, and as a team you can't complain about that. Sometimes you just lose games because the team gets one or two more opportunities than you do.

Harbor Springs did a good job and scored when they needed to. ... It just seemed it was one of those days where they weren't going in. ... We played a great game, and the girls should be proud." 

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PHOTOS (Top) Harbor Springs players celebrate during Friday’s Division 4 championship win at DeMartin Stadium. (Middle) Harbor Springs’ Meme Animikwam (13) and Shrine’s Samantha Donley make contact with the ball at the same time. (Below) ,Donley (9) battles the Rams’ Addison Zulski (14) for possession. (Photos by Adam Sheehan/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)