Preview: Several of History's Best Back to Make More, New Contenders Seek to Join Them
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
June 11, 2026
An impressive sampling of MHSAA girls soccer history's championship leaders will be finishing the 2026 seasons this weekend at Michigan State’s DeMartin Stadium.
The most titanic matchup of this Finals weekend may be in Division 2, where 13-time champion Hudsonville Unity Christian will face nine-time champion Bloomfield Hills Marian in the season’s final match Saturday afternoon. They rank first and third, respectively, in Finals titles in this sport.
Detroit Country Day is making its 12th trip to a championship match, Troy is making its eighth and Royal Oak Shrine Catholic will be playing in its fourth.
On the other side are Rockford, Grand Rapids West Catholic and Harbor Springs, all seeking their first championship in this sport.
Following is this weekend’s schedule at Michigan State University:
Division 1 - Friday - 4 p.m.
Troy vs. Rockford
Division 2 - Saturday - 4 p.m.
Bloomfield Hills Marian vs. Hudsonville Unity Christian
Division 3 - Saturday - 1 p.m.
Detroit Country Day vs. Grand Rapids West Catholic
Division 4 - Friday - 1 p.m.
Royal Oak Shrine Catholic vs. Harbor Springs
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
ROCKFORD
Record/rank: 21-2, No. 10
League finish: First in Ottawa-Kent Conference Red
Coach: Stu Quackenbush, sixth season (72-15-13)
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Players to watch: Audrey Muterspaugh, sr. F (10 goals, 22 assists); Grace Young, sr. D (6 goals, 4 assists); Laney Carlson, sr. M (9 goals, 7 assists); Sawyer Lenon, sr. M (8 goals, 3 assists).
Outlook: Rockford has followed up its first Regional championship with its first trip to the Finals and built toward this over the last three seasons with a third-straight league title and second-straight District championship kicking off this run. Carlson, Lenon, Muterspaugh and Young all earned all-state honorable mentions last season and make up part of an overall balanced lineup. Ten players had scored between 5-10 goals entering this week, including as well seniors Reese Petack (10 goals, 7 assists) and Sydney DeKuiper (10/4). Senior keeper Kaia Slanger entered the week with nine shutouts and a 0.41 goals-against average while splitting time in net.
TROY
Record/rank: 17-3-2, No. 8
League finish: Third in Oakland Activities Association Red
Coach: Tony Casali, first season (17-3-2)
Championship history: Three MHSAA titles (most recent 2013), four runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Olivia Jasniewicz, sr. F (13 goals, 11 assists); Sabrina Gaul, sr. F (15 goals, 7 assists); Emma Rozek, sr. D (1 goal, 3 assists); Maren Swan, sr. M (7 goals, 9 assists).
Outlook: This will be Troy’s first Final since its most recent championship season, and the Colts earned it in part with wins over No. 3 Rochester Adams and No. 13 Troy Athens along the way. Casali took over the program this year after leading Sterling Heights Stevenson to a league title in 2025, and Troy is seven wins better this spring than last. Jasniewicz made the all-state first team last season, and Rozek and Gaul earned honorable mentions. Senior Kennedy Brudenell and junior Kiera Gallihugh have combined in goal to give up fewer than one per game.
Division 2
BLOOMFIELD HILLS MARIAN
Record/rank: 21-2, No. 3
League finish: First in Catholic High School League Central
Coach: Danny Price, third season (52-9-4)
Championship history: Nine MHSAA titles (most recent 2021), five runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Clair Dauer, sr. CM (10 goals, 4 assists), Leah Nalichowski, jr. F (28 goals, 15 assists); Nia Bordogna, jr. M (10 goals, 21 assists); Emma Wyciskalla, soph. F (20 goals, 10 assists);
Outlook: Marian has finished runner-up twice, in 2022 and 2024, since winning its most recent championship, and the Marlins enter this decider having won its first five postseason games by a combined score of 26-2. That run has included defeating No. 5 DeWitt, No. 10 New Boston Huron and No. 13 Waterford Kettering. Bordogna and Dauer both made the all-state first team last season, while sophomore keeper Olivia Bussa (0.26 goals-against average) and Wyciskalla earned honorable mentions.
HUDSONVILLE UNITY CHRISTIAN
Record/rank: 23-0, No. 1
League finish: First in O-K Black
Coach: Randy Heethuis, 37th season (687-105-44)
Championship history: Thirteen MHSAA titles (most recent 2025), four runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Ava Steen, sr. D (6 goals, 5 assists); Addison Pell, sr. M (7 goals, 2 assists); Kyla Kobrzycki, jr. M/F (18 goals, 23 assists); Tessa Ponstein, sr. F (21 goals, 8 assists).
Outlook: Unity Christian is pursuing a fourth-straight Finals championship – which would tie for the second-longest streak behind its record six straight from 2005-10. The Crusaders also haven’t lost a game since May 22, 2024, a run of 54 without a defeat and only three ties among them. A shutout of Marian would also give Unity a fourth-straight playoffs without giving up a goal. Steen made the all-state first team last year, Kobrzycki and Ponstein made the second and Pell earned an honorable mention. Sophomore Olivia Walters had added 11 goals and 10 assists entering the week, and senior keeper Payton Barendsen has given up only one goal all season.
Division 3
DETROIT COUNTRY DAY
Record/rank: 13-4-3, No. 3
League finish: Does not play in a conference.
Coach: Laura Hamway, 11th season (113-58-19)
Championship history: Six MHSAA titles (most recent 2021), five runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Jenna Shaban, sr.; Megan Mateer, jr.; Charlotte Hartley, jr.; Georgia Hopkins, jr.; Julia Goetz, jr. (No positions or statistics provided.)
Outlook: Country Day defeated top-ranked Goodrich 1-0 in their Semifinal to advance to Finals weekend for the first time since 2021. The Yellowjackets have given up only one goal over five playoff games and have shutouts in seven of their last nine overall. Shaban and Mateer made the all-state first team last season, and Hartley, Hopkins and Goetz earned honorable mentions.
GRAND RAPIDS WEST CATHOLIC
Record/rank: 18-5-2, No. 7
League finish: Third in O-K Gold.
Coach: Ryan Smith, seventh season (74-44-16)
Championship history: Has not played in an MHSAA Final.
Players to watch: Katelyn Adams, sr. GK (0.72 goals-against average, 12 shutouts); Lexy Druelle, fr. M (13 goals, 14 assists); Hadley Giradot, jr. M (8 goals, 13 assists); Kenley Slanger, soph. F (34 goals, 7 assists).
Outlook: West Catholic won its first Regional title as well this spring and got here with wins over No. 2 Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian, No. 5 Grand Rapids West Michigan Aviation Academy and No. 10 Traverse City St. Francis. It’s also been a great jump off last season’s 8-9-4 finish. Slanger made the all-state second team last spring and Adams earned an honorable mention, and they’ve played major parts in the Falcons taking that big step. Junior Avery Dusseau (10 goals/3 assists) is another top scorer.
Division 4
HARBOR SPRINGS
Record/rank: 19-1-1, No. 9
League finish: First in Northern Shores Conference
Coach: Aaron Riley, 11th season (122-74-12)
Championship history: Division 4 runner-up 2001.
Players to watch: Stefi Reskevics, jr. F (25 goals, 8 assists); Fran Warren, sr. M; Maeve Riley, fr. F (16 goals, 19 assists); Lilly Barnadyn, sr. M (12 goals, 4 assists). (Limited statistics provided.)
Outlook: Harbor Springs is up to a combined 34-4-2 over the last two seasons and won its first Regional title since 2003. The Rams have defeated No. 7 Kalamazoo Christian and No. 13 Elk Rapids on the way, with their lone loss to Leland at the end of April. Reskevics made the all-state second team last season, and Warren earned an honorable mention. Warren also is one of only four senior starters.
ROYAL OAK SHRINE CATHOLIC
Record/rank: 11-8-3, No. 8
League finish: Sixth in CHSL AA
Coach: Mark Soma, 23rd season (record N/A)
Championship history: Division 4 champion 2019 and 2022, runner-up 2021.
Players to watch: Julia Kraemer, soph. F (27 goals, 9 assists); Leah Proctor, jr. M (6 goals, 12 assists): Rowan Armstrong, soph. F (7 goals, 5 assists); Jo Malcolm, jr. M (9 goals, 6 assists).
Outlook: After just a few years away, Shrine is back in East Lansing to play in its fourth championship game over the last seven seasons. Wins over No. 15 Auburn Hills Oakland Christian and No. 10 Schoolcraft were big along the way, but the best week of the run came when the Knights defeated No. 3 Bath and No. 2 Clarkston Everest Collegiate back-to-back in the Regional. Kraemer earned an all-state honorable mention last season, and senior Caitlin Wetzel is another playmaker in the midfield entering this week with one goal but 18 assists.
PHOTO Harbor Springs' Fran Warren makes a run upfield during her team's Division 4 Regional Final win over Ovid-Elsie. (Photo by Sarah Shepherd.)
TC West's Wheelock Still 'Living My Dreams' as CMU Assistant Soccer Coach
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
July 22, 2025
Keyton Wheelock has experienced soccer in several states since she earned her way into the MHSAA record books playing goalie for Traverse City West.
Wheelock, who once owned the career and single season shutout records in Michigan, has traveled extensively to play and coach.
But today’s she’s all but home and still coaching women’s college soccer.
“Hometown roots, hometown kid — that would be my thing,” Wheelock said this summer while sitting on a bench memorializing her grandparents in a park near where she grew up. “It’s lights out coming back here. This will always be home.”
Wheelock, now coaching at Central Michigan University, conducted her youth soccer camp this summer at Long Lake Township Park, the home of some of her favorite childhood memories. The area is also still home to most of her family.
“This area means so much to me, and I want to keep coming back and giving a little bit of soccer back,” Wheelock said, noting drives home of 16 hours from South Dakota and Alabama and 12 from Tennessee and Minnesota. “This is home to me, no matter where I've been, and now I'm only two and a half hours away. This has always been home. These people always have my back. My grandparents lived here. My parents lived here and still live here, and they will live here the rest of their lives in this area.”
Wheelock, a 2004 TC West grad, set the career shoutout mark at 61 with a win at Cheboygan in May of her senior spring. She also had the most shutouts recorded in a single season, 18, during her junior year. Both marks have since been surpassed. Her career shutout mark remains No. 4 all-time, however. The single season mark is tied for sixth on the all-time list.
Both still stand as records at West, where Wheelock was coached by Jason Carmien, now the school’s athletic director. Carmien found it hard to believe Wheelock graduated 20 years ago as he reflected on her passion for the sport.
“Keyton’s family was unbelievably supportive, and that determination to follow her soccer path still exists today,” Carmien pointed out. “She was an outstanding goalkeeper at West and has had an impressive coaching career. I was glad to see her land at CMU — she has certainly thrived there with the Chips.”
Wheelock played high school soccer during the earliest days of social media, so the postings that would follow her accomplishments if they occurred now didn’t really exist. But she vividly recalls the pressure her local newspaper and television stations inadvertently applied as she got closer to the career mark.
“The record for career shutouts in high school was something that I chased all the way through my senior year, and it was one of those things we knew it was going to come,” she said. “It felt so stressful at the time in high school. … Everybody kept asking, ‘When are you going to break it?’ It was just was a matter of time.”
It was far from easy, but she did it with the help of a strong defense.
“I had a great defensive line in front of me doing their job to cut my angles and make my job easy,” Wheelock said. “We had some rough games that we should have won — either we gave up a PK in it and I couldn't save the PK or, you know, I made some mistakes and didn't hold the clean sheet.”
After leaving West, Wheelock played in two seasons at South Dakota University. She played out the remainder of her eligibility for Concordia in St. Paul, Minn, before getting into coaching.
Her college playing days were injury-marred, and her playing career ended with an injury suffered at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.
“It was kind of like a tryout-type thing with the U.S. system out there,” Wheelock recalled. “I came back, finished out my degree and started coaching because I knew at that point I wasn't going to be able to play anymore.”
Her first college coaching job was a five-year stint as assistant coach for Tusculum College in Tennessee. She then was an assistant at South Alabama for three seasons.
Before her 30th birthday, Wheelock got the opportunity to become a head coach at a Division I school, Louisiana Monroe. She was named Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year in 2016 after leading her team to its first conference tournament appearance.
“You know, when you're not 30 and you get an opportunity to be a DI coach, you kind of take it,” Wheelock said. “And I jumped on it.”
Wheelock spent four years at Louisiana Monroe before the pandemic resulted in her returning to Michigan and finding the vacancy at CMU.
She is thrilled to see how the landscape in women’s athletics has changed for the better, with growth in numbers, skills and support for high school and college programs.
“Women's sports have taken off — there's so many opportunities out there for women now,” Wheelock excitedly said. “At the end of the day, women's sports matter, and there's enough people out there now pushing that forward.”
The record-setting keeper credits the U.S. women’s national team’s performance during the 1999 World Cup for putting women's soccer on the map.
Wheelock attended one of the U.S. team’s games – a 7-1 victory over Nigeria in Chicago. With a few members of her family as well as teammates Jackie Keller and Bree Hall, Wheelock saw U.S. goalie Briana Scurry make one of her 137 international appearances – this one taking place just a few matches before Scurry’s memorable world championship penalty kick performance. Nigeria did get one past Scurry for the game’s first goal, Wheelock recalled.
“My uncle was able to get us tickets, and we actually had front row seats to that game at Soldier Field — and it was a phenomenal atmosphere,” Wheelock said of the event drawing more than 65,000 fans. “It was unbelievable to all of a sudden see it at a women’s sporting event.”
Wheelock had some hopes of playing for the national team and professional soccer right up to her career-ending injury. She admitted she would have loved to continue to play, but notes she’s found a home in coaching.
“I'm living my dreams,” she said. “Obviously I would have loved to play professional, but injuries happen. And, I was never the tallest goalkeeper out there. Lots of people said I wasn't going to be able to do what I did, because I was pretty short.”
Relationships with past coaches and past and current players have brought her just as much satisfaction as playing. And she’s happy to give back to the game.
“This game has given so much to me,” she said. “And for me to give a little bit back to it is what I want. I can't imagine doing anything else.”
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PHOTOS (Top) At left, Keyton Wheelock makes a save for Traverse City West; at right, Wheelock plays keeper during her youth camp this summer. (Middle) Wheelock, now an assistant at Central Michigan. (Below) Wheelock, far right, cheers on the U.S. national team in Chicago in 1999. (Youth camp photo by Tom Spencer, CMU photo courtesy of CMU; all other photos courtesy of Keyton Wheelock.)