Preview: Ramping Up for Rematches
June 14, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
This weekend will feature a first-time scenario in MHSAA girls soccer, and one certainly rare in any sport at any level:
The Division 2, 3 and 4 championships games Friday or Saturday at Williamston High School will be rematches of the same Finals from 2017. Grand Blanc is back in Division 1 and has a rematch ahead as well – against Novi, which followed the Bobcats in league play earlier this spring.
Following is this weekend’s schedule:
Division 1 - Friday - 4 p.m.
Grand Blanc vs. Novi
Division 2 - Saturday - 4 p.m.
Bloomfield Hills Marian vs. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern
Division 3 - Saturday - 1 p.m.
Flint Powers Catholic vs. Freeland
Division 4 - Friday - 1 p.m.
Kalamazoo Christian vs. Lansing Christian
Tickets cost $8. Radio broadcasts of all games can be heard online at MHSAAnetwork.com. All games will be streamed live online at MHSAA.TV and viewable on subscription basis.
All statistics below are through Regionals. (Click for links to brackets and scores.)
Division 1
GRAND BLANC
Record/rank: 27-1, No. 4
Coach: Greg Kehler, 20th season (326-88-57)
League finish: Second in Kensington Lakes Activities Association Gold
Championship history: Three runner-up finishes (most recent 2017).
Players to watch: Paige Webber, jr. F (33 goals, 15 assists); Faith Webber, soph. F (25 goals, 17 assists); Madison McKay, jr. GK (0.38 goals-against average, 18 shutouts); Ashton Cassell, sr. M (15 goals, 8 assists).
Outlook: Grand Blanc will play in its second championship game in three seasons, its only defeat this spring coming early to No. 2 Brighton. The Bobcats have yet to give up a postseason goal after six games including wins over No. 8 Midland and No. 18 Rochester Adams. Cassell and Paige Webber have been named to the all-state first team, Faith Webber made the second, McKay, senior mid Morgan Metzger (8 goals/15 assists) and junior mid Allyson Childers (2/8) made the third and senior defenders Morgan Jewell and Lara Wheeler earned honorable mentions. Sophomore forward Jenna Blackburn added another 16 goals and 10 assists heading into the week.
NOVI
Record/rank: 18-5-1, No. 6
Coach: Todd Pheiffer, fourth season (56-17-4)
League finish: Third in KLAA Gold
Championship history: Five MHSAA titles (most recent 2011).
Players to watch: Avery Fenchel, soph. F (20 goals, 9 assists); Jessie Bandyk, jr. M (12 goals/10 assists); Callie Rich, sr. GK (0.98 GAA, 11 shutouts); Emmie Takada, sr. M (4 goals, 1 assist).
Outlook: After finishing third in the same league as Grand Blanc, Novi went on to win its second Regional in three seasons. The Wildcats eliminated No. 14 Northville, No. 15 Saline and No. 20 Canton on the way to this championship game. Bandyk, Fenchel and Rich all have been named to the all-state first team, while Takada, junior defender Lauren Calhoun and freshman defender Eva Burns earned honorable mentions. Junior forward Julia Stadtherr is another valuable scorer, tallying 14 goals heading into this week.
Division 2
BLOOMFIELD HILLS MARIAN
Record/rank: 21-0-1, No. 1
Coach: Barry Brodsky, 17th season (317-26-36)
League finish: First in Detroit Catholic League Central.
Championship history: Six MHSAA titles (most recent 2017), three runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Jansen Eichenlaub, jr. F (31 goals, 10 assists); Annie Bruce, sr. M (15 goals, 8 assists); Claudia Schilling, sr. M (9 goals, 21 assists); Sara Stroud, jr. M (3 goals, 11 assists).
Outlook: Marian earned its first championship since 2012 last season to move into third alone for most titles in MHSAA girls soccer history. The Mustangs have given up only nine goals and just one over six postseason games while facing No. 4 DeWitt and No. 9 Trenton among others. Bruce, Eichenlaub and Schilling have been named to the all-state first team, while Stroud made the second, junior defender Neve Badalow the third and sophomore forward Chloe Aberlarde (14 goals, 10 assists) and senior defender Emme DeConinck earned honorable mentions. Freshman Maria Askounis added 10 goals and nine assists entering the week.
GRAND RAPIDS FOREST HILLS NORTHERN
Record/rank: 19-5, No. 3
Coach: Daniel Siminski, fifth season (87-16-10)
League finish: Second in Ottawa-Kent Conference White.
Championship history: Three runner-up finishes (most recent 2017).
Players to watch: Elyse DeSchryver, soph. M/F (17 goals, 3 assists); Addie Brown, soph. M (13 goals, 19 assists); Credence White, sr. M (9 goals, 2 assists); Sophia Terzes, sr. M (4 goals, 5 assists).
Outlook: Forest Hills Northern is aiming for its first championship after finishing runner-up the last two years, and with a few of last season’s standouts setting the pace again. Brown led the team in goals in 2017 and has been named to the all-state second team this season, while DeSchryver made the third team. Terzes also is a past all-stater. After winning the Regional Final in a shootout against Spring Lake, FHN downed No. 2 Richland Gull Lake in overtime in the Semifinal. The Rangers also eliminated No. 7 Lowell, No. 8 Ada Forest Hills Eastern and No. 18 Middleville Thornapple Kellogg during this run.
Division 3
FLINT POWERS CATHOLIC
Record/rank: 22-1-3, No. 1
Coach: Art Moody, 11th season (207-41-20)
League finish: First in Saginaw Valley League.
Championship history: Two MHSAA titles (most recent 2017), six runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Sophie Bubnar, sr. F (23 goals, 31 assists); Rachel Rasins, jr. F (35 goals, 16 assists), Madeline Cardinal, sr. M (11 goals, 20 assists); Natalie Deitering, soph. GK (0.79 GAA, 15 shutouts).
Outlook: Powers will play in its third straight championship game after winning its first title last season since 2011. The Chargers have 19 shutouts and haven’t given up a goal during the postseason while averaging more than six goals per playoff game. They’ve defeated No. 6 Warren Regina, No. 9 Montrose, No. 10 Birch Run and No. 11 Williamston along the way. Bubnar, Cardinal and Raisins made the all-state first team, while Deitering and freshman defender Kate Cardinal made the second team, junior midfielder Camryn Murlick (7 goals, 7 assists) made the third and junior Dominique Amato (17 goals, 12 assists) earned an honorable mention. Junior forward Kennedy Myers added 13 goals and 10 assists heading into the week; she and Amato are high-scoring subs.
FREELAND
Record/rank: 22-4, No. 18
Coach: Lauren Kemerer, fifth season (103-12-4)
League finish: First in Tri-Valley Conference Central.
Championship history: Division 3 runner-up 2017.
Players to watch: Mackenzie Stroebel, sr. F (30 goals, 10 assists); Autumn Kloha, jr. F (26 goals, 13 assists); Kayler Radaz, sr. M (11 goals, 7 assists); Erin Tyson, jr. M (15 goals, 14 assists).
Outlook: Freeland cruised through most of its first five postseason games without giving up a goal, then allowed one in upsetting No. 4 Grand Rapids Catholic Central in the Semifinal. A number of this season’s top contributors helped the Falcons to their first MHSAA championship game a year ago. Kloha and Stroebel have been named all-state first team, while Radaz and Tyson earned honorable mentions. Junior Madeline Boyes (16 goals, 3 assists) fills out a group of talented forwards, while junior Emerson Lynch (11 goals, 10 assists) comes off the bench to supply the midfield.
Division 4
KALAMAZOO CHRISTIAN
Record/rank: 18-2-5, No. 3
Coach: Jay Allen, fourth season (91-15-11)
League finish: Tied for first in Southwestern Athletic Conference
Championship history: Four MHSAA titles (most recent 2008), Division 4 runner-up 2017.
Players to watch: Kayla Beebe, jr. F; Lauryn Mohney, soph. M; Elise VanSparrentak, jr. D; Emma Bertrand, jr. M. (Statistics not submitted).
Outlook: Kalamazoo Christian returned to the championship round last season for the first time since winning Division 4 in 2008, and Beebe is back after also helping that team to the season’s final day. She made the all-state first team this spring, while Mohney made the second, VanSparrentak the third and Bertrand and sophomore keeper Jenna Blackwell earned honorable mentions. Kalamazoo Christian was one of the few to score this season on top-ranked North Muskegon, going on to win a Semifinal shootout to advance, and the Comets also beat No. 6 Kalamazoo Hackett during this tournament run.
LANSING CHRISTIAN
Record/rank: 18-3-2, No. 2
Coach: Joel Vande Kopple, 12th season (189-49-15)
League finish: First in Greater Lansing Activities Conference.
Championship history: Division 4 champion 2017, two runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Kasey Jamieson, jr. F (53 goals, 18 assists); Jenna Li, sr. M (17 goals, 21 assists); Kealeigh Usiak, jr. D (3 goals, 1 assist); Lynn Cullens, sr. GK (0.73 GAA, 15 shutouts).
Outlook: The Pilgrims broke through for their first championship last season and have made at least the Semifinals five straight seasons. Jamieson will finish among the leading scorers in MHSAA history and made the all-state first team with Li and Cullens. Usiak made the second team, and junior midfielder Eliza Lewis earned an honorable mention. Lansing Christian shut out No. 7 Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett in a Semifinal, its fifth shutout in five tournament games while also defeating No. 5 Manchester and No. 18 Dansville among others.
PHOTO: Lansing Christian’s Kasey Jamieson (11) moves the ball upfield during last season’s Division 4 Final against Kalamazoo Christian.
MHSA(Q&)A: Soccer Coaches President Zach Jonker
September 21, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Zach Jonker has had his hands – or, perhaps, feet – on just about every facet of soccer in this state over the last 20 years.
He played on a Class B Semifinalist at Petoskey before graduating in 1995, then earned four letters and served as a captain at Hope College. He came back home to teach social studies and became coach of both boys and girls varsities that are regularly among the northern Lower Peninsula's elite, but also are highly-regarded statewide. And this fall, he began the first of a two-year term as president of the Michigan High School Soccer Coaches Association.
So he can speak first-hand on the benefits of playing high school soccer in Michigan, which is good news to get out perhaps now more than ever. Michigan high school soccer is facing a predicament unlike any it has tackled before – the creation by U.S. Soccer of its Development Academy, a set of travel teams all over the country that train nearly year-round and are meant to eventually fuel the men's national team. That opportunity has drawn a number of top Michigan players out of high school soccer.
Jonker and his coaching brethren are monitoring that situation closely, while continuing to lead their teams into the second half of this fall boys season. His Northmen are 6-7-1 overall this fall, but have faced three of the top-five ranked teams in Division 1 and another from Division 2.
Despite your location near the tip of the Lower Peninsula, you still manage to schedule strong competition. How do you make it work?
We’re in a really nice spot. Traverse City hosts a tournament during the regular season with Traverse City Central, Traverse City West and Petoskey, and then they invite three schools from downstate that have generally been (Warren) DeLaSalle, Clarkston and Ann Arbor Skyline. The following weekend, we host a similar format with Rochester Hills Stoney Creek and Bloomfield Hills Lahser. We get six really good games at the start of the season with two tournaments. It’s early in the season and teams love coming up, making a weekend out of it, hitting the beach and doing some bonding. And the fields at Traverse City and Petoskey are both beautiful, which helps teams commit, plus the three of us are very competitive.
We’re coming down next weekend to play East Lansing, and we always schedule a couple of those. Last year, Mason came up here. It’s definitely a commitment in terms of travel during the course of the year, but from a Petoskey standpoint, I don’t care about our nonleague record. We’re using those games to get better for our league and better for the (MHSAA) tournament. The only tough thing is putting that in perspective for the kids.
What is something happening in high school soccer that the coaches association is proudest about right now?
We’re always looking at it from the other side, what we want to make better. But one of our main goals as an association is to properly recognize players. And I think the process we have in place for giving all-district, all-regional and all-state recognition and ultimately the selection of the Dream Team, I think that’s a very good model that enables us as an association to truly recognize players who put the work in and had a successful season. We also redesigned our web site this past season, and we’ve done a lot of the all-state process online, which a lot of coaches really liked because it cut down travel time for meetings.
Is anything new on the horizon?
A lot of coaches are really interested in seeing what the long-term impact of the (U.S.) Academy ruling is. Everyone’s initial take is we’re seeing increased parity round the state as the result of 120 kids electing not to play high school soccer this year. Obviously, all of those players are good players playing at a high level, and people are interested in seeing at the end of the season if kids are going to have missed playing in front of their communities, and if kids are going to migrate back to high school soccer. There’s talk of U.S. Soccer adding a U-14 academy. They’re trying to expand.
What has been the reaction so far to the U.S. Academy?
For certain players, the academy makes sense. They’re in a professional training environment 10 months out of the year. But those guys not on the professional track would be equally served by playing high school soccer and playing club like we always have. (U.S. Soccer) is doing a lot of this to benefit the top one percent of players. It’s the main frustration from the coaches.
Everyone kind of understands why U.S. Soccer is headed down that path, and it impacted each (high school) team differently. Some programs lost upwards of 8-10 kids as a result. Some didn’t lose any.
In terms of geographic parity, we’re already seeing that. Two years ago, west side teams won all four championships. Last year, Detroit teams won all four. Now we’re going to see more parity within districts, within conferences. And I think we’ll see scores closer than in the past.
What role should high school soccer play compared to club, the academy, etc.?
I equate it as playing for your national team. When you put your school colors on, go out with your friends that you’ve played with since kindergarten, it’s really special. They can’t even begin to match the rivalries we have with high school soccer, the amount of passion that exists within our game and the number of fans that show up at these games. At an academy game, you might have a handful of parents on the sideline, that’s it, and a few college coaches watching. But you can’t match the high school experience and the passion that exists. Kids are going to miss that, and we’ll get kids back because of that.
Do your players see an MHSAA championship differently because so many elite players aren’t participating in high school?
It doesn’t even register with these guys. The (MHSAA) championships are going to be awarded in November, and for whoever wins this year, it will be just as meaningful for these guys as the guys who won last year.
Does soccer get a bump from U.S. national team success like swimming or gymnastics might during Olympic years?
Any time it’s a World Cup year, men’s or women’s, the players get really excited about the experience. It gets them enthused to get out and train. I don’t think kids watch enough soccer in this country, and that’s one of the big issues we have. Ultimately, what’s holding us back at the national team level is kids are not growing up in a culture of soccer on television like in other countries against which we compete. In a World Cup year, kids get excited, and they watch more soccer, and the play is better on the field.
How much has high school soccer changed since you played?
There are just so many more layers of sophistication, tactically. We had good athletes playing at that point, and we have good athletes playing now. But as a country, we’ve evolved from a coaching standpoint. The kids are getting better technical training at a younger age, and are much better tactically. There are many more teams now emphasizing more possession-based (play). What else has helped the evolution is getting off playing on football fields. During the (19)80s and 90s, a lot of games were played on them, and it made it hard to possess the ball when the turf was chewed up. Soccer-specific fields have helped the game evolve.
What will Michigan high school soccer look like five years from now?
I like the path we’re headed down. The number one thing going forward is seeing what happens with the evolution of the academy program – do kids come back, or does the academy program grow? Regardless, the kids playing high school soccer are going to have a great experience, and there are a lot of really good coaches in high school soccer, a lot of really great referees and administrators. That makes the game special. I see us continuing to have the best going forward.
PHOTO: Petoskey senior Noah Honaker goes high while surrounded by defenders to head a ball during a game this season. (Photo courtesy of Dean Viles.)