Preview: Historic Opportunities Abound as Contenders Conclude at DeMartin Stadium
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
June 12, 2025
The MHSAA Girls Soccer Finals have seen 18 champions also finish their seasons undefeated, the most recent in 2021.
Both Saline and Hudsonville Unity Christian have the opportunity this weekend to become the next.
And that’s not all on the all-time historical side of these two days of championships at DeMartin Stadium.
Byron Center, New Boston Huron and both Division 3 contenders – Grand Rapids Catholic Central and Warren Regina – are set to play in their first championship matches, meaning the Division 3 champion is guaranteed to be a first-time Finals winner.
Following is this weekend’s schedule at Michigan State University:
Division 1 - Saturday - 4 p.m. - Stream
Byron Center vs. Saline
Division 2 - Friday - 4 p.m. - Stream
Hudsonville Unity Christian vs. New Boston Huron
Division 3 - Friday - 1 p.m. - Stream
Grand Rapids Catholic Central vs. Warren Regina
Division 4 - Saturday - 1 p.m. - Stream
Kalamazoo Christian vs. Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett
Tickets cost $11 and may be purchased online only at GoFan. One ticket is good for all soccer, softball and baseball games at MSU’s Old College Field that day. All four Finals will be broadcast and available with subscription from MHSAA.tv.
Below is a glance at all eight contenders, with statistics through Regionals:
Division 1
BYRON CENTER
Record/rank: 19-1-3, No. 12
League finish: First in Ottawa-Kent Conference Green
Coach: John Conlon, fifth season (85-13)
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Players to watch: Ella Alexander, soph. F (9 goals, 14 assists); Morgan Malek, sr. M (11 goals, 9 assists), Jordan Kerns, sr. D (7 goals, 2 assists), Nora Schans, fr. GK (0.30 goals-against average, 12 shutouts).
Outlook: Byron Center claimed its third Regional title under Conlon, who previously coached East Kentwood and is one of the winningest coaches in state history for both girls and boys soccer. Only No. 6 Midland, in the Regional Final, has scored against Byron Center during this MHSAA Tournament; the Bulldogs have shut out Northville, No. 3 Rockford, Grand Haven and Hudsonville. The team’s scoring has been impressively balanced with eight players netting between 7-12 goals heading into this week; freshman Bristol Collard (12) is the leading goal-scorer, and sophomore Nora Leavitt (10) is also high on the list. Kerns earned an all-state honorable mention last season.
SALINE
Record/rank: 21-0-2, No. 1
League finish: First in Southeastern Conference Red
Coach: Leigh Rumbold, seventh season (78-21-17)
Championship history: Division 1 champion 2015.
Players to watch: Sienna Snyder, sr. D (30 goals, 9 assists); Sadie Walsh, jr. M (20 goals, 12 assists); MaKena Means, jr. D (16 goals, 5 assists); Kaylee Mitzel, soph. GK (0.23 goals-against average, 18 shutouts).
Outlook: Saline’s run to its second Final has seen plenty of offensive power, with a combined 19 goals, but the defense has been just as impressive with shutouts in all five games including against No. 13 Ann Arbor Skyline and No. 8 Troy Athens. Total, Mitzel and the Hornets have given up only five goals this season. Sophomore Laynie Tousa (12 goals/9 assists) is another top scorer, and four more teammates had found the net at least five times heading into this week. Snyder and Walsh both earned all-state honorable mentions last season. Rumbold formerly played professionally in this country and also in England and New Zealand.
Division 2
HUDSONVILLE UNITY CHRISTIAN
Record/rank: 21-0-2, No. 1
League finish: First in O-K Conference Black
Coach: Randy Heethuis, 36th season (663-105-44)
Championship history: 12 MHSAA titles (most recent 2024), four runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Ava Lutke, sr. F (28 goals, 27 assists); Kyla Kobryzcki, soph. F (15 goals, 10 assists); Ava Steen, jr. D (6 goals, 4 assists); Tessa Ponstein, jr. F (14 goals, 10 assists).
Outlook: Unity Christian is playing for a third-straight championship, and this time in Division 2 after winning Division 3 the last two years. The Crusaders have not lost in 30 games, going back more than a calendar year, and they have 19 shutouts this season including seven straight. Junior Payton Barendsen (0.10 goals-against average) and senior Kennidee Crump (0.31) have split time almost evenly in net. Lutke and Steen made the all-state first team in their former division last season, and Kobryzcki made the third.
NEW BOSTON HURON
Record/rank: 21-1-1, No. 4
League finish: First in Huron League
Coach: Matt Lividini, third season (39-9-7)
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Players to watch: Brooklyn Burke, jr. GK (0.50 goals-against average, 15 shutouts); Rylie Cassett, sr. F (23 goals, 25 assists); Miley Skamiera, soph. F (28 goals, 15 assists); Avery Turk, jr. F (20 goals, 9 assists).
Outlook: Huron has gone from 5-7-3 during Lividini’s first season leading the program to a combined 34-2-4 over the last two. Huron has allowed only one goals over its last seven matches, a run that’s included a 1-0 win over No. 9 DeWitt in the Semifinal. Senior Gabby Emelian is another key contributor in the midfield, with seven goals and 16 assists. Lividini played on Riverview Gabriel Richard’s 1991 Class C-D runner-up team before going on to play professionally and also compete in the Olympics in bobsled for San Marino.
Division 3
GRAND RAPIDS CATHOLIC CENTRAL
Record/rank: 12-8-2, No. 7
League finish: Sixth in O-K White
Coach: Genevieve Sandner, 19th season (209-132-34)
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Players to watch: Natalie Beachler, sr. GK (1.53 goals-against average, .753 save %); Maris Klein, sr. M (11 goals, 7 assists); Maurine Schneider, sr. M (11 goals, 9 assists); Emma Mead, sr. F (10 goals, 3 assists).
Outlook: Grand Rapids Catholic Central is riding a three-game shutout streak that included a 3-0 Regional Final win over No. 10 Traverse City St. Francis. The Cougars played in the same league as three top-14 teams from Division 2 and emerged from a 1-7-1 run midway through the season and defeated Division 2 No. 7 Forest Hills Central heading into the playoffs. Mead earned all-state honorable mention last season, and Sandner returned this spring after two away from the program she began leading in 2005.
WARREN REGINA
Record/rank: 7-5-6, No. 11
League finish: Fourth in Catholic High School League Central
Coach: Stefano Moraccini, ninth season (record N/A).
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Players to watch: Jenna Moeller, sr. D/M/F; Ava Janusch, jr. M/F; Anna Booms, fr. D/M; Kate Booms, jr. D/M. (Statistics not submitted.)
Outlook: Regina advanced to its first Semifinal since 2019 and now will play in its first championship game. The Saddlelites haven’t given up more than one goal in any of five playoff matches, and they’ve defeated No. 2 Detroit Country Day, No. 8 Pontiac Notre Dame Prep and No. 14 Ann Arbor Greenhills along the way. Moeller earned an all-state honorable mention last season.
Division 4
GROSSE POINTE WOODS UNIVERSITY LIGGETT
Record/rank: 14-3-4, No. 5
League finish: Tied for fourth in CHSL AA
Coach: David Dwaihy, 17th season (188-103-14)
Championship history: Division 4 champion 2016 and 2005.
Players to watch: Aline Rahaim, soph. GK (1.00 goals-against average, 8 shutouts); Aubrey Hermann, soph. M (7 goals, 7 assists); Jasmine Diaz-Don, jr. M (4 goals, 8 assists); Kerith Short, sr. M (13 goals, 11 assists).
Outlook: Liggett won its second Regional title in three seasons this spring and jumped from finishing 8-8 overall a year ago, navigating an impressive playoffs that’s included wins over No. 2 Royal Oak Shrine Catholic, No. 9 Plymouth Christian Academy, No. 10 Clarkston Everest Collegiate and No. 12 Madison Heights Bishop Foley. Three of the team’s eight shutouts have come during the postseason. Six seniors anchor the lineup, with Short a returning all-state third-team selection from a year ago.
KALAMAZOO CHRISTIAN
Record/rank: 17-4-2, No. 4
League finish: First in Southwestern Athletic Conference Valley
Coach: Jay Allen, 11th season (184-43-15)
Championship history: Five MHSAA titles (most recent 2023), five runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Maysen Steensma, sr. D; Izzy Suloff, jr. M; Jordyn Bonnema, sr. M; Emily Gorton, jr. F. (Statistics not submitted.)
Outlook: Kalamazoo Christian will play in its fourth-straight Division 4 championship game, having finished runner-up both in 2022 and last year in a shootout defeat to Jackson Lumen Christi to go with its 2023 title clincher. The Comets have defeated top-ranked Muskegon Western Michigan Christian, No. 7 Saginaw Nouvel Catholic Central and No. 14 Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep during this run, and also avenged last year’s Lumen Christi loss in an April rematch. Steensma and Bonnema made the all-state first team last season.
PHOTO Kalamazoo Christian’s Emily Gorton controls possession during last season’s Division 4 championship match.
Flashback 100: Tarpley's Legendary Run Began as Portage Central's Miss Soccer
May 23, 2025
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 to 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 Division I 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 for 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 15th in MHSAA history — and tied for third on that list when she graduated. Her 78 total points in 1999 was a state record at the time and is still 10th most in MHSAA history.
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.
Previous "Flashback 100" Features
May 16: Scane’s Record-Setting Lacrosse Run Began at Cranbrook Kingswood - Read
May 6: MHSAA Titles Just Start for NCAA Champion, Olympian Stark - Read
May 1: Legendary Actor Played Multiple Sports Roles at Country Day - Read
April 23: Legacy Program Provided Start for Pioneering NBA Official Schroeder - Read
April 11: Rice's Championship-Winning Ways Started at Flint Northwestern - Read
March 28: Youngquist's Times Still Among MHSAA's Fastest - Read
March 18: After 40 Years, Coles' Shot Remains Among Century's Most Famous - Read
March 7: Walled Lake Northern's Hellebuyck Reigns as NHL's Elite Netminder - Read
Feb. 27: Zeerip's Mat Stats Remain Rarely-Challenged Chart Toppers - Read
Feb. 21: Before TV Stardom, Kerwin Excelled as All-State Skier - Read
Feb. 14: Detroit Central Star Voted into Pro Football Hall of Fame - Read
Feb. 6: Multi-Sport Star Look Becomes Super Bowl Officiating Legend - Read
Jan. 31: Johnson Family Put Magical Stamp on Michigan High School Hoops - Read
Jan. 24: Future Hall of Famers Face Off First in MHSAA Class A Final - Read
Jan. 17: First-Ever WNBA Draft Pick Rocked at Salem, Won Titles at Tennessee - Read
Jan. 10: Despite Launching Before 3-Point Line, Smith Still Tops Scoring List - Read
Jan. 3: Edison's Jackson Earns Place Among State's All-Time Elite - Read
Dec. 20: Future Olympian Piper Leads Grosse Pointe North to Historic Heights - Read
Dec. 13: The Other Mr. Forsythe in Michigan School Sports - Read
Dec. 6: Coleman's Legendary Heroics Carry Harrison Through Repeat - Read
Nov. 29: Harbaugh Brothers' Football Roots Planted in Part at Pioneer - Read
Nov. 22: 8-Player Football Finals Right at Home at Superior Dome - Read
Nov. 15: Leland Career Helps Set Stage for Glass' International Stardom - Read
Nov. 8: Future Baseball Pro Led Escanaba's Legendary Football Title Run - Read
Nov. 1: Michigan High School Baseball Trio Provide World Series Voices - Read
Oct. 25: Before Leading Free World, Ford Starred for Champion GR South - Read
Oct. 18: Mercy Links Legend Becomes World Golf Hall of Famer - Read
Oct. 11: Fisher Races to Finals Stardom on Way to U.S. Olympic First - Read
Oct. 4: Lalas Leaves High School Legacies on Ice & Pitch - Read
Sept. 27: Tamer's History-Making Run Starts in Dexter, Continues to Paris - Read
Sept. 20: Todd Martin’s Road to Greatness Starts at East Lansing - Read
Sept. 13: James Earl Jones, Dickson High Hoops to Hollywood Legend - Read
Sept. 6: Pioneers' Unstoppable Streak Stretches 9 Seasons - Read
Aug. 30: Detroit dePorres Rushes to 1995 Class CC Football Championship - Read
PHOTO Lindsay Tarpley is seated front row, third from right, with her Portage Central teammates after their 2020 championship victory.