Moment: OT Winner Makes Marian History
May 8, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Bloomfield Hills Marian entered the 2019 Girls Soccer Finals with the third-most championships in the sport in MHSAA history, and seeking to become the seventh program to win three in a row.
A familiar opponent awaited. And eventually so too did sophomore Maria Askounis as the final minutes of overtime ticked down.
Her tap-in of a rebound with 4:18 left in overtime last June 14 gave Marian a 2-1 lead on its way to clinching the Division 2 championship over Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern, which the Mustangs also had defeated in the 2017 and 2018 championship games.
The title was Marian’s eighth total and its third straight, a program first after previous teams won two consecutive on two occasions.
Forest Hills Northern opened the scoring on Grace Sayers’ goal just past five minutes in, and Emily Rassel tied it 1-1 with a goal four minutes into the second half. As overtime wound down, Marian’s Sara Stroud fired a corner kick that was headed by Rassel toward the goal, deflected off the keeper and pounded into the net by Askounis.
“My coaches told me to stay at the far post, and so I stayed on the far post,” Askounis said that day. “That’s where the ball went, and I just tapped it in. I scored last game, but not like this in the state championship. It feels amazing.”
Click for coverage from Second Half and watch the game winner below from the NFHS Network.
Be the Referee: Unusual Soccer Goals
By
Paige Winne
MHSAA Marketing & Social Media Coordinator
October 28, 2025
Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.
Below is this week's segment – Unusual Soccer Goals - Listen
We’re talking some unusual ways to score soccer goals today.
It doesn’t happen often, but a team can score directly from a corner kick or the kickoff.
But what if it’s a goalie, down in their own end, who somehow throws the ball 80 yards or so and into the back of the other team’s net. Does that count?
It does not. A keeper cannot score for his own team by throwing the ball the length of the field and into his opponent’s goal.
If this were to happen, the defending team would receive a goal kick.
But if the keeper accidentally throws the ball into his own net, then it does count as a goal for the opponent.
You don’t always need your feet to score a goal in soccer.
Previous 2025-26 editions
Oct. 21: Field Hockey Penalty Stroke - Listen
Oct. 14: Tennis Double Hit - Listen
Oct. 7: Safety in Football - Listen
Sept. 30: Field Hockey Substitution - Listen
Sept 23: Multiple Contacts in Volleyball - Listen
Sept. 16: Soccer Penalty Kick - Listen
Sept. 9: Forward Fumble - Listen
Sept. 2: Field Hockey Basics - Listen
Aug. 26: Golf Ball Bounces Out - Listen