Powers Learns, Returns, Wins D3 Title
June 16, 2017
By Keith Dunlap
Special for Second Half
WILLIAMSTON – Kennedy Myers didn’t want to forget the images, even if they were still like piercing wounds.
A sophomore forward for the Flint Powers Catholic girls soccer team, Myers had flashbacks of last year’s Division 3 title game loss to Hudsonville Unity Christian when Powers took the field to face Freeland in this year’s Final on Friday.
“Right before this game started, I remembered last year and how the seniors felt getting their medals for second place,” Myers said. “Seeing their faces and how disappointed they were. I knew I had to use that to motivate me today.”
Thanks to two early goals from Myers, Powers made good of another title chance and had a much happier disposition during the medal ceremony this time following a 4-0 defeat of Freeland.
The championship was the second in school history for Powers (26-1-2), which also won it all in 2011.
“You look back knowing we were a better team last year,” Powers coach Art Moody said. “Nothing against Unity because they did what they needed to. We just outshot them last year and learned from that. We came in here saying these were the things we needed to do better. It meant so much to have that negative to look back on to kind of say, ‘Hey, this is how we are going to turn it into a positive.’”
Powers took a 1-0 lead with 30:18 remaining in the first half on a goal by Myers, who found herself with the ball right in front of the goal following a series of deflections off a free kick.
Powers then scored two goals over a span of 1:34, the first by Myers with 19:05 left in the first half.
Dribbling toward the goal from the right side of the net, she had a shot blocked by Freeland junior goalkeeper Alexa Walker.
But the ball bounced back toward the middle of the box, Myers won the race to the ball and fired into an open net to make it 2-0 Powers.
With 17:31 left in the first half, senior Emilie Pechette then drilled home a shot from 18 yards out to give the Chargers a 3-0 lead.
“I definitely think it shot our confidence down,” Freeland coach Lauren Kemerer said. “I just tried to explain to the girls that if something like that happens, you have to pick yourselves up.”
Powers made it 4-0 with 20:25 left in the game when senior Gabrielle Amato headed home a ball in the box off a corner kick by senior Sophia Dubiel that deflected off of a Freeland defender and went in.
“(Last year) definitely carried with us,” Powers senior sweeper Rachel Phillpotts said. “It definitely made an impact on how we came out here and how we did our season this year. We needed to come out and really show people that last year was not a fluke.”
Freeland (23-2) entered with a lot of momentum following a 3-2 Semifinal win Tuesday over three-time reigning champion Unity Christian.
The downside from that win for Freeland was that it lost one of its best players, senior midfielder Jessica Piper, late in the game to a knee injury.
Piper didn’t play in the title game against Powers.
“She’s a phenomenal player,” Kemerer said. “Defensively and offensively she’s a leader on our team, and it was definitely detrimental to our team to not have her.”
Still, Freeland did make the MHSAA championship game for the first time in school history.
“Our goal this year was getting past Unity,” Kemerer said. “We wanted it and worked towards it. We hit our goals. We expected to make it here. It’s unfortunate we lost, but it is what it is. It’s a learning experience for all of us.”
Click for the full scoring summary.
PHOTOS: (Top) Flint Powers Catholic players celebrate during Saturday's Division 3 Final at Williamston High School. (Middle) Freeland's Erin Tyson (2) works to gain possession against Powers' Dominique Amato (19).
Title IX at 50: Portage Central's Tarpley Scores as State's Superstar, U.S. Soccer Hero
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
May 10, 2022
What Lindsay Tarpley went on to accomplish in soccer fills a list that quickly explains why she’s one of the all-time greats in U.S. history in the sport.
And what she accomplished at the high school level over her four years before graduating from Portage Central in 2002 remains the stuff of legends at our level as well.
Tarpley is best-known nationally as a key contributor to Olympic teams that won gold in 2004 in Athens and 2008 in Beijing, and also on World Cup teams that finished third in 2007 and runner-up in 2011. She was named College Soccer Player of the Year in 2003 after leading North Carolina to the NCAA championship, and she went on to play professionally for multiple franchises.
She was named ESPN’s Youth Player of the Decade in 2010. Her game-winning goal in the final of the inaugural U-19 World Championships on Sept. 1, 2002, is considered one of the monumental goals in U.S. soccer history.
And only a few months earlier, she was completing a high school career as a headlining two-sport standout.
Tarpley played soccer and basketball for the Mustangs, earning four varsity letters in both sports. On the basketball court, she set multiple school records in steals and assists. But the soccer pitch is where she became one of the most storied athletes in state history.
Tarpley led Portage Central to a combined 85-7-4 record over her four soccer seasons, making the all-state Dream Team all four and earning the state’s Miss Soccer Award in 2002. She scored a career-high 50 goals as a freshman, and her 147 career goals remains tied for 11th in MHSAA history—and would’ve tied for third on that list when she graduated.
In the 2000 Division 2 Final, Tarpley scored the game’s first goal 1:38 into the first half, then assisted on both her team’s second goal and overtime winner as Central defeated Madison Heights Bishop Foley 3-2. The Mustangs finished that season 23-0-1.
Tarpley has continued to connect with Portage Central and youth athletics over the years. In 2020, she delivered the opening address at the MHSAA Women in Sports Leadership Conference in Lansing.
Second Half's weekly Title IX Celebration posts are sponsored by Michigan Army National Guard.
Previous Title IX at 50 Spotlights
May 3: Prychitko 'Legend In Her Own Time,' Legend for All Time - Read
April 26: Braddock vs. Verdun Still Striding Among All-Time Sprint Matchups - Read
April 19: Holmes' Strikeout Record Rarely Approached, May Be Unbreakable - Read
April 12: Anticipation High as 45,000 Girls Return to Spring Sports - Read
April 5: Regina's Laffey Retiring as Definition of Legendary - Read
March 29: Edison's Whitehorn named 2022 Miss Basketball - Read
March 22: Carney-Nadeau Sets Girls Hoops Standard with 78-Win Streak - Read
March 15: Binder Among Voices Telling Our Story on MHSAA Network - Read
March 8: 28 Years, Thousands of Cheers - Read
March 1: Kearsley Rolls On Among Girls Bowling's Early Successes - Read
Feb. 22: Marquette Ties Record for Swim & Dive Finals Success - Read
Feb. 15: Jaeger's 2004 Winter Run Created Lasting Connection - Read
Feb. 8: Marian's Cicerone to Finish Among All-Time Elite - Read
Feb. 1: WISL Award Honors Builders of State's Girls Sports Tradition - Read
Jan. 25: Decades Later, Edwards' Legend Continues to Grow - Read
Jan. 18: Iron Mountain Completes Championship Climb - Read
Jan. 11: Harrold's Achievement Heralds Growth of Girls Wrestling - Read
Dec. 20: Competitive Cheer Gives Michigan Plenty to Cheer About - Read
Dec. 14: Evelyn's Game Had Plenty of Magic - Read
Dec. 7: Council Term Ends, But Leinaar Leaves Lasting Impact - Read
Nov. 30: Basketball Season Ready to Add to Rich Tradition - Read
Nov. 23: Marysville Builds Winning Streak Yet to be Challenged - Read
Nov. 16: Wroubel Has Championed Girls School Sports from Their Start - Read
Nov. 9: Pioneer's Joyce Legendary in Michigan, National Swim History - Read
Nov. 2: Royal Oak's Finch Leading Way on Football Field - Read
Oct. 26: Coach Clegg Sets Championship Standard at Grand Blanc - Read
Oct. 19: Rockford Girls Set Pace, Hundreds After Have Continued to Chase - Read
Oct. 12: Bedford Volleyball Pioneer Continues Blazing Record-Setting Trail - Read
Oct. 5: Warner Paved Way to Legend Status with Record Rounds - Read
Sept. 28: Taylor Kennedy Gymnasts Earn Fame as 1st Champions - Read
Sept. 21: Portage Northern Star Byington Becomes Play-by-Play Pioneer - Read
Sept. 14: Guerra/Groat Legacy Continues to Serve St. Philip Well - Read
Sept. 7: Best-Ever Conversation Must Include Leland's Glass - Read
Aug. 31: We Will Celebrate Many Who Paved the Way - Read
PHOTO Lindsay Tarpley speaks during the 2020 MHSAA Women in Sports Leadership Conference. (MHSAA Archive)