Performance: Anchor Bay's Ally Gaunt
May 3, 2019
Ally Gaunt
New Baltimore Anchor Bay senior - Soccer
Anchor Bay’s three-year starting goalkeeper continued to build on her substantial legacy last week, tying the school career record with her 32nd shutout against then-No. 3 ranked Utica Eisenhower to earn the Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week.” She became the school’s sole record holder the next game as Anchor Bay shut out Port Huron Northern 5-0 on Friday.
Gaunt tied and broke the record of 2015 graduate Emily Zweng, who went on to Oakland University, and with the 32nd shutout also earned a spot in the MHSAA record book. She’s now up to 29th all-time with 34 career shutouts and has led Anchor Bay to a combined 41-5-10 record over three seasons including 5-1-4 this spring. The Tars also have won two District titles with her guarding the net. In fact, Gaunt has never given up more than two goals in a game at the high school level – and in 13 games, she’s allowed just one – and she has a career goals-against average of 0.52.
Anchor Bay coach Kevin Grammens considers Gaunt one of the best keepers in Macomb County history, and she earned Division 1 all-state honorable mention as a sophomore and made the second team a year ago. When she’s not playing, she’s still in the game as a youth soccer referee and goalie trainer. Gaunt also played basketball as a freshman and sophomore on sub-varsity teams and carries a 3.7 grade-point average. She’s signed to continue her academic and soccer careers at Saginaw Valley State. A fan of numbers and math, she plans to major in accounting and finance and eventually become a certified public accountant.
Coach Kevin Grammens said: “Ally is usually the first player to arrive at practice and the last to leave. She is a student of the game and true believer in the growth mindset. She soaks in the mental skills training that we teach in our program and intently trains the finer details of her position with her goalkeeper coach, Keith Jarema. She is humble and is first to acknowledge that she cannot set records on her own. We've played tremendous team defense the past three years in front of her and have had and currently have fantastic, selfless players willing to play defense to benefit the team.”
Performance Point: It was a great week. It means a lot, but it’s not everything – to be fair, it’s just a record,” Gaunt said. “The season that we’ve had this year, it’s been a process. And to get that with this team, it means a lot. We graduated our back line – all four of them graduated last year, so we had to rebuild it. We had to start from scratch basically the first day of tryouts, and from then till now it’s grown tremendously. We were ready for battle, and we definitely stepped up. I knew Coach Grammens had a plan, and we had to stick with it. And I trust him, and it worked out.
Success to the successor: “My sophomore and junior year (Zweng) came back for the District games and a few of the other games, and I talked to her. She gave me some pointers, and it was really beneficial just to hear it from another player that set the record here at Anchor Bay, (made the NCAA Tournament) at Oakland.”
At home in goal: “I love it back there. You can see the entire field. You can see the plays developing before they happen. Just (from) practice, you see it, what we work on, and when it shows in games it shows practice really helps. I can see in goal what we’re trying to do.”
Our time: “My communication is better than it was two years ago. My physical aspects are better than they were two years ago. Every day we’re working on both physical and mental stuff, and it’s very helpful to get something every single day that’s beneficial. Being a senior – there’s six of us, and we all want to do something great here. ‘Leave the jersey in a better place’ is our biggest motto on the team for the seniors, and I truly believe all six of us can do it and are doing it. … Coach Grammens here at Anchor Bay has helped me become the leader I am. We have a binder with a bunch of different articles on how to be mentally strong, and reading those and going through with him helping us individually to become a better person grows our leadership skills as well.”
Problem solver: “I like the structure of (math), knowing there’s not only one way to do a problem to get the correct answer. Within the team, within soccer, you have to be able to see a problem from more than one angle – if there’s two people on the team and something happens, you have to be able to see both angles to be a good leader and try to diffuse the situation. I believe math helps with that because with numbers, you can see it that way.”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2018-19 school year, Second Half and the Michigan Army National Guard recognizes a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom or protect lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Past 2018-19 honorees
April 25: Kali Heivilin, Three Rivers softball - Read
March 28: Rickea Jackson, Detroit Edison basketball - Read
March 21: Noah Wiswary, Hudsonville Unity Christian basketball - Read
March 14: Cam Peel, Spring Lake swimming - Read
March 7: Jordan Hamdan, Hudson wrestling - Read
February 28: Kevon Davenport, Detroit Catholic Central wrestling - Read
February 21: Reagan Olli, Gaylord skiing - Read
February 14: Jake Stevenson, Traverse City Bay Reps hockey - Read
February 7: Molly Davis, Midland Dow basketball - Read
January 31: Chris DeRocher, Alpena basketball - Read
January 24: Imari Blond, Flint Kearsley bowling - Read
January 17: William Dunn, Quincy basketball - Read
November 29: Dequan Finn, Detroit Martin Luther King football - Read
November 22: Paige Briggs, Lake Orion volleyball - Read
November 15: Hunter Nowak, Morrice football - Read
November 8: Jon Dougherty, Detroit Country Day soccer - Read
November 1: Jordan Stump, Camden-Frontier volleyball - Read
October 25: Danielle Staskowski, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep golf - Read
October 18: Adam Bruce, Gladstone cross country - Read
October 11: Ericka VanderLende, Rockford cross country - Read
October 4: Kobe Clark, Schoolcraft football - Read
September 27: Jonathan Kliewer, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern soccer - Read
September 20: Kiera Lasky, Bronson volleyball - Read
September 13: Judy Rector, Hanover-Horton cross country - Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Anchor Bay goalkeeper Ally Gaunt sends a kick downfield during a game this season. (Middle) Gaunt launches another toward waiting teammates. (Photos courtesy of the Anchor Bay girls soccer program.)
Hudsonville Unity Christian Adds to Era of Dominance - This Time in Division 2
By
Drew Ellis
Special for MHSAA.com
June 13, 2025
EAST LANSING – The MHSAA girls soccer record book needs some editing.
Hudsonville Unity Christian won its 13th Final on Friday at DeMartin Soccer Complex on the campus of Michigan State University, clinching with a 7-0 defeat of New Boston Huron.
The win broke Unity Christian’s tie with Madison Heights Bishop Foley for the most girls soccer titles of any program in the state, as each had 12 championships prior to Friday.
“I think the thing I am probably the proudest of for the kids is the consistency,” 36-year Unity Christian coach Randy Heethuis said. “They know if they do little things, it allows big things to happen. That is something that we have been preaching now for 20-plus years. We get kids who buy-in to the program and want to be part of it, and just want to end their season (at the Final), quite frankly.”
Appearing in its 17th MHSAA Final, which tied Bishop Foley for most-ever by a program, the Crusaders also became the 19th team in MHSAA history to finish a season undefeated (22-0-2).
While Friday marked the third consecutive championship, it was the first time Unity Christian claimed the top prize in Division 2. The previous 12 titles were all in Division 3.
“It’s not something that we really talked about. At the beginning of the year, we had some parents asking what that was going to be like. We don’t care what division we are in, we just want to come out and play soccer,” Heethuis said. “On any given day I think we are good enough that we can compete with anybody. We showed that day-in and day-out over the course of the season.”
Unity Christian put on the pressure from the start of the match. It dominated possession, resulting in 19 first-half shots. However, the Crusaders were able to put only four on goal.
The opening score finally came for the Crusaders in the 37th minute of play when senior Ava Lutke took a corner kick and it got through to the head of junior Tessa Ponstein, who found the net for her 15th goal of the season, making it 1-0.
“We had the corner and (Lutke) played a perfect ball to me, and it just came straight to my head,” Ponstein said. “I just knew to hit it where you want it to go … just get it in that goal. It was a great feeling.”
Ponstein got the assist on the second Unity Christian goal. Off a free kick, she found the head of junior Addison Pell, whose attempt trickled past the New Boston Huron defense for a score with 28 minutes to play. That made it 2-0 for the Crusaders.
The Chiefs would find themselves down a player after a second yellow card midway through the half, which sparked the five-goal rally during the final stretch of the game.
Lutke got a goal of her own with 18 minutes to play as she put in a header off a header pass from junior Tessa Nagelkirk. It was Lutke’s 29th goal of the season. That would be the first of three goals for the Crusaders over a span of 2:33.
“I saw the ball bobbling around and as I saw Tessa Nagelkirk coming into to get the header, I knew there was a chance of it getting in behind, so I just saw the opportunity to run in on it,” Lutke said. “It was there, so I got my head on it and put it past the keeper.”
Ponstein passed up a look at the net for herself to feed sophomore Kyla Kobrzycki for a goal with 16:46 remaining to make it 4-0.
“She’s been working hard too, and I felt like she had a better angle than I did,” Ponstein said of feeding Kobrzycki. “She’s earned (the goal).”
Freshman Olivia Walters then had a shot attempt hit the crossbar, only to find her foot for a putback score with 15:59 on the clock.
Sophomore Myla Obande and freshman Lauren Prins also found the net for the Crusaders during the closing minutes of the contest.
The scoring overshadowed another dominant defensive performance for Unity Christian, led by juniors Avery Dekker and Ava Steen, as well as sophomore Karli Rose. They allowed keepers Payton Barendsen and Kennidee Crump to earn a shutout without making a save.
Friday’s shutout marked the 18th consecutive postseason shutout for the Crusaders, as they outscored opponents in the playoffs this year, 22-0.
“That’s one of the things I am most proud about,” Heethuis said of the postseason shutouts. “Obviously, stats and offense get a lot of the accolades, but you go 18 tournament games without giving up a goal, that doesn’t just happen by chance. That’s the equivalent of going an entire season and not giving up a goal. That’s something we are extremely proud about.”
New Boston Huron junior keeper Brooklyn Burke led the Chiefs with nine saves, as she made some athletic plays to keep the Crusaders from scoring more. Altogether, Unity Christian finished with 36 shots in the match.
The Chiefs lost just two times in 2025, both to unbeaten teams in Unity Christian and Division 1 finalist Saline. The 21-2-1 final record and first Finals appearance is a big step for a program that was only 5-7-3 in 2023.
“I’ve been wanting for a while to have the girls side of our program (get to this level). We’ve always had the talent on this side. Everything has been going really well,” New Boston Huron coach Matt Lividini said. “Obviously, today didn’t go in our favor. There’s going to be a winner and there’s going to be a loser. Super excited with what we’ve done. Just three losses in the last two years.”
This marks the third time that Unity Christian has had a run of three consecutive MHSAA championships. The Crusaders won six straight from 2005-10, three straight from 2014-16, and now the 2023-25 run.
Heethuis upped his career win total to 664 games, 135 ahead of the field for most in MHSAA history.
PHOTOS (Top) Hudsonville Unity Christian's Ava Lutke (15), Tessa Ponstein (22) and Olivia Walters (11) celebrate during their Division 3 championship win Saturday. (Middle) New Boston Huron's Rylie Cassette (8) winds up to send the ball downfield with Unity Christian's Ava Steen (5) in pursuit. (Photos by Adam Sheehan/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)