Puzzle Coming Together as Goodrich Aims to Claim School's 1st Girls Soccer Title
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
May 6, 2026
Baylor Lauinger just can’t get enough of winning at Goodrich.
The junior has earned a pair of Finals titles with the Martians, as part of the Division 2 girls cross country champion in 2024 and the Division 2 girls basketball champion this past March.
Now, Lauinger and her Goodrich soccer teammates are looking to add to the school’s overflowing trophy case.
“I mean, it’s hard not to do all three of them when all three teams are very successful,” Lauinger said. “That’s just something that you want to be part of when you have a winning culture like we do. If you see a team having that success, I feel like other girls would want to join that. And it makes us push harder when we see all these other teams in our school that are winning.”
Behind a strong core of returning players in the midfield and back end who have been joined by a talented group of newcomers up front, Goodrich is off to a 10-2-1 start to the season and ranked No. 1 in the latest Michigan High School Soccer Coaches Association Division 3 poll.
That combination of talent and the depth of his roster have Goodrich coach Josh Back excited about the opportunities ahead.
“I always say I have all my puzzle pieces,” Back said. “This is the fifth year I’ve had (the program), and I have lots of puzzle pieces that I get to play with.”
Lauinger leads that returning group as an attacking midfielder. She’s already dished out 13 assists despite missing four of the Martians’ 13 matches, including both of their losses (Clarkston and Oxford).
“Last year, she was our goal scorer,” Back said. “She’s an awesome leader. These younger kids that come in, it doesn’t faze her one bit that the other girls are doing the scoring. She just wants to win.”
She’s finding success playing the ball forward to a completely new starting front line for Goodrich, which features freshmen Elliana Back and Sydney Place, as well as sophomore Bristol Cook.
Back has 18 goals and eight assists already, while Place has added seven goals. All three have years of club experience.
“This is the most soccer-savvy group I’ve had,” Josh Back said. “At times, there’s a learning curve with freshmen, but this year, they’ve stepped right in. They have that savviness and understanding of the game at the highest level. We lost our whole offense last year, and those two came in with our sophomore (Cook). As young as they are, the experience is there.”
The varsity experience is behind them, particularly at center back where Goodrich starts a pair of seniors in Lily May and Kaylee Eickhoff. They lead a defense in front of sophomore keeper Abigail Gagnon, who Josh Back called a “rockstar who doesn’t get enough praise,” who has allowed just eight goals through 13 games and has eight shutouts.
“They’re very important,” Lauinger said. “They’re the foundation of our back line, and they keep us ready. I think those two have been playing together for a long time now. Honestly, their defense really helps us with the goals, too. Their defense translates to offense.”
The pieces didn’t have much time to come together before being thrown into the fire. Not only were the newcomers asked to get up to speed early, but six members of the basketball team – Lauinger, Eickhoff, May, Place, junior Olivia Millerd and freshman Katerina Frederick – were playing in the season opener two days after claiming their Finals title at the Breslin Center.
And it wasn’t exactly a warm-up.
The Martians opened against Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, the No. 6-ranked team in Division 3, and followed that up with a trip two days later to Troy Athens, which is ranked No. 13 in Division 1.
They came out of their opening week 1-0-1, defeating NDP 6-0 and playing Athens to a 1-1 draw.
“I just think those two games were kind of like a wake-up call to show what we can do,” Lauinger said. “It shows how we can compete with high-level teams and shows the state what we are able to do. It definitely gets us ready for later.”
Later is coming up quickly, as the District tournament begins May 26 at Lake Fenton. Goodrich has won four straight District titles after not having won one since 2004. But Josh Back knows this team is capable of taking the next step, as all of the last four years ended with Regional losses, including shootout defeats against DeWitt both of the past two years.
“Hopefully this could be the first state title for Goodrich (in girls soccer),” he said. “But we have to get through the Districts and Regionals first – just one game at a time. The kids, they’re focused on the next one up. They just worry about tomorrow’s game. But I still think our goal of a state title is well within reach.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Goodrich’s Baylor Lauinger (4) leads a rush downfield during a game this season against Ortonville Brandon. (Middle) The Martians’ Elliana Back (4) makes a move toward the net. (Photos by Tonya Wyczalek.)
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Lacrosse Finals Move to U-M Among Headlines as Spring Sports Ramp Up
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
April 9, 2024
The Girls & Boys Lacrosse Finals will be played at University of Michigan Lacrosse Stadium for the first time, one of the most notable changes for this season as sports ramp up for more than 100,000 athletes anticipated to participate this spring for Michigan High School Athletic Association member schools.
The MHSAA sponsors postseason competition each spring in baseball, girls and boys lacrosse, girls soccer, softball, girls and boys track & field, boys golf (Lower and Upper Peninsula) and girls golf (UP), and girls (LP) and boys (UP) tennis.
The U-M Lacrosse Stadium opened for competition in 2018 and seats 2,000 spectators. The Girls Lacrosse Finals will be played Friday, June 7, with Division 1 at 4 p.m. and Division 2 at 7 p.m. The Boys Lacrosse Finals will be played the following day, June 8, with Division 2 at 11 a.m. and Division 1 at 2 p.m.
Girls lacrosse also has a significant format adjustment this season, as games will be played with four 12-minutes quarters instead of the previous two halves, in part to allow coaches more opportunities to provide direct instruction during a game. Two more rules changes are expected to improve flow of play – players awarded a free position outside of the critical scoring area no longer must come to a stop and settled stance before self-starting, and false start penalties outside the critical scoring area have been eliminated.
Several more rules changes will be noticeable this spring:
In boys lacrosse, a change was made to enhance player safety. Play will stop immediately any time a player’s helmet comes off, and that player may not return until the next dead ball after play continues.
Fair and legal starts are a continued emphasis for track & field, and a rule change will allow for movement before the start of the race as long as a competitor does not leave their mark with a hand or a foot after the “set” command, or make forward motion before the starting device is activated.
A significant rule change in softball alters pitch delivery mechanics. The pitcher may now have both feet off the ground at the same time when releasing the ball as long as both feet remain within the 24-inch width of a pitching plate and the pitcher does not replant the pivot foot before delivering the pitch.
Another change in softball requires that a playbook/playcard be worn on the wrist or kept in a back pocket to reduce distractions. If worn by the pitcher, the equipment must be worn on the non-pitching arm. Similarly in baseball, a wristband with plays or instructions will be permitted but must be a single, solid color, and for pitchers may not contain the colors white or gray or be otherwise distracting. Baseball players must wear this wristband on the wrist or forearm, and pitchers may wear one only on their non-pitching arm.
Also in baseball, a rule change allows for one-way communication devices worn by the catcher to receive instructions from the dugout while on defense, for the purpose of calling pitches. The coach must be inside the dugout/bench area to use the communication device.
Golfers now are required to participate in at least four competitions for the high school team prior to representing that school team in an MHSAA Regional or Final. Those four regular-season competitions may be 9 or 18-hole events.
In tennis, for the first time in Lower Peninsula play, a No. 1 doubles flight from a non-qualifying team will be able to advance from its Regional to Finals competition. To do so, that No. 1 doubles flight must finish first or second at its Regional, and the No. 1 singles player from that team also must have qualified for the Finals individually by finishing first or second in Regional play.
On the soccer pitch, two officiating-related changes will be especially noticeable. Officials now may stop the clock to check on an injured player without that player being required to leave the match – previously that player would have to sub out. Also, categories for fouls have been redefined: careless (which is a foul but does not receive a card), reckless (a foul with a yellow card) and excessive force (foul with red card).
The 2023-24 Spring campaign culminates with postseason tournaments, as the championship schedule begins with the Upper Peninsula Girls & Boys Golf and Boys Tennis Finals during the week of May 27 and wraps up with Girls Soccer, Baseball and Softball Finals on June 15. Here is a complete list of winter tournament dates:
Baseball
Districts – May 23-June 1
Regional Semifinals – June 5
Regional Finals, Quarterfinals – June 8
Semifinals – June 13-14
Finals – June 15
Golf
LP Boys Regionals – May 28-June 1
UP Girls & Boys Finals – May 29, 30, 31 or June 1
LP Boys Finals – June 7-8
Boys Lacrosse
Pre-Regionals – May 10-15
Regionals – May 16-29
Quarterfinals – May 31 or June 1
Semifinals – June 5
Finals – June 8
Girls Lacrosse
Pre-Regionals – May 16-18, or May 20
Regionals – May 22-June 1
Semifinals – June 5
Finals – June 7
Girls Soccer
Districts – May 22-June 1
Regionals – June 4-8
Semifinals – June 11-12
Finals – June 14-15
Softball
Districts – May 23-June 1
Regionals – June 8
Quarterfinals – June 11
Semifinals – June 13-14
Finals – June 15
Tennis
LP Girls Regionals – May 15-18
UP Boys Finals – May 29, 30, 31 or June 1
LP Girls Finals – May 31-June 1
Track & Field
Regionals – May 16-18
Finals – June 1