Slanger Stars in Net as Rockford Caps 1st Finals Run with 1st Championship
By
Brian Freiberger
Special for MHSAA.com
June 12, 2026
EAST LANSING – Rockford – playing in its first MHSAA Final in girls soccer Friday – finally broke through a vaunted Troy defense during the second half to earn its first championship with a 2-0 win over the Colts at DeMartin Stadium.
“Our word this year is relentless. We're so proud of them. Troy was well coached and organized. They played a formation that we didn't see very much,” Rockford coach Stu Quackenbush said. “Troy won the first half and the girls were frustrated, but at halftime, the seniors stepped up. They said the right things. We were having a hard time winning first and second balls, and the seniors did a great job of helping players understand that. Then they bought into different roles. … They were confident in each other, confident in their abilities to make adjustments.”
Both senior-led teams left it all out on the field with everything on the line. Rockford had 16 seniors, while Troy competed with nine.
Both teams had plenty of chances to find the back of the net in the first half, but quality defensive lines and solid goalkeeper play kept the score 0-0 going into the break.
Rockford (21-2) and Troy (16-4-2) wouldn’t separate until midway through the second half when senior forward Isla Brown found the back of the net thanks to a centering pass from Sawyer Lenon to take a 1-0 lead with 17 minutes remaining.
“This means so much to me. We’ve been working hard for the past four years to bring a state championship home,” Brown said.
Troy would not back down, nearly scoring multiple times, but the Rams defense and goalkeeper Kaia Slanger wouldn’t let it happen.
“I was just thinking that we got the ball, but we need to stay locked in. Anything can happen,” Slanger said. “It feels really awesome to win a state championship. This shows that all of our hard work led up to this, and we deserved it. I love every single one of those girls. We’ve been playing together for so long, and we are a family. It's gonna be hard to leave this.”
Quackenbush credited Slanger with having the best game of her career.
“(Slanger) played the best game of her life. It's a great time to choose to do that at the state championship. I couldn't be more proud of the kid. We had some question marks going into the year at goalkeeper. … (Slanger) is the player we needed today, and she was confident, she was brave, and the girls are so proud of her,” Quackenbush said.
After a Colts scoring chance, Rockford got on the run with time running out and sent a ball deep in the Colts' zone where senior captain Sydney DeKuiper found Amelia Chapin for the second goal with fewer than two minutes remaining.
The Colts (16-4-2) held the Rams' potent offense in check for most of the night, besides a few lapses during the evenly-matched game.
“Sometimes that's the cruel reality of the game. The ball doesn't always bounce your way. Rockford had a good game plan. They knew what they were getting themselves into. We knew what we were getting ourselves into, and we knew it was just going to be a heavyweight battle,” Troy coach Tony Casali said. “It's not the trophy we wanted, but there are 110 D1 teams, and there are two teams left standing today. It's definitely an honor to be out here. It's an honor to coach those girls.”
Casali, along with his senior-heavy roster, catapulted the Colts to their first championship game since 2013.
“This is my first year coaching (at Troy), so I didn't have a chance to get to know these seniors as freshmen coming in,” Casali said. “But what I did get the chance to get to know is the commitment they have, the resiliency they have. These girls have laid a big foundation.”
PHOTOS (Top) Rockford goalkeeper Kaia Slanger, far left, makes a stop as Troy and Rockford players pursue the ball Friday at DeMartin Stadium. (Middle) Troy’s Kaylee Worrell (6) controls the ball while Rockford’s Rylan Potter attempts to take possession. (Below) The Rams celebrate their championship win. (Photos by Adam Sheehan/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
Forest Hills Central Ends Marian Title Streak, Begins Division 2 Reign
By
Perry A. Farrell
Special for MHSAA.com
June 18, 2022
EAST LANSING – Wearing her black “lucky’’ jacket, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central girls soccer coach Ashley Ludtke celebrated her team’s 2-1 Division 2 championship game victory over Bloomfield Hills Marian on Saturday at DeMartin Stadium.
The Mustangs were seeking their fifth-straight Division 2 title. Instead, the Rangers (20-2-1) ended that streak with their fifth championship and first since winning Division 1 in 2017.
FHC became just the fifth team to hold Marian to fewer than two goals this season, and capped a run during which the Rangers didn’t give up more than one goal in 10 straight games.
“Marian is obviously a top-notched program,’’ Ludtke said. “They have skilled players at every level. We settled into the game, but they definitely were putting some pressure on us. The defense really came together the final part of the season. I was proud of how our backline played too.’’
The Rangers offense was led all season by senior forward Theryn Hallock, daughter of former MSU fullback Ty Hallock, who will attend her father’s school on a basketball scholarship.
Hallock wasted no time making her presence felt Saturday, scoring the first goal on a header at the 35:01 mark to give Central a 1-0 lead. It was her 35th goal of the season.
Boxing out like a power forward, she made the Marian defense account for her throughout the championship. Hallock returned to the soccer field this spring for the first time since middle school after focusing on hoops during her first three years at FHC.
“This was a chance for me to come out and play with my friends,’’ said Hallock. “I’ll miss soccer, but I’m ready to get on the court and play.
“We knew our defense had to be solid. We knew we had to get the ball to our forwards because of their speed. We probably could have scored more, but we got the job done. On my goal I just ran to the box, and I knew Dailey Tucker could get me the ball. I was there, I was ready to head it and I had a lot of confidence.’’
After Hallock’s goal, Marian star Isa Agrusso took less than two minutes to tie the game, fighting through two defenders and scoring her 21st goal of the season.
The lead didn’t last long as senior midfielder Stella Sutton scored on a corner kick at the 31:15 mark to give the Rangers a 2-1 advantage.
“We’ve been working on corner kicks ever since postseason started,’’ said Sutton. “I really just wanted to get in there and capitalize on the opportunity. I got my body in there. It hit my shoulder and it just went in. It determined the game. We knew we couldn’t allow another goal.’’
They didn’t. Mustangs first-year coach Reid Friedrichs, a former Michigan State star, was bothered by the corner kick score.
“It was not how we scripted the beginning,” he said. “It was a very wide-open game, and we looked a little shocked at how fast they could counter. I don’t know if the girls were ready for that kind of speed in a live scenario. We hadn’t given up a goal on the corner since the first game of the year. We’ve scored an average of 1.06 goals on restarts per game. To give up one and not score one is the opposite of what we’ve done all year.’’
The Mustangs (17-2) pressed the issue offensively looking for the tying score, but lime green-clad FHC keeper Ava Wilberding was up to the challenge.
Hallock nearly gave the Rangers a 3-1 lead, but a shot that got through came just after the first-half horn sounded.
Forest Hills Central had more chances to take a two-goal lead during the first 20 minutes of the second half, but didn’t convert.
Bloomfield Hills Marian (17-2) was seeking its fifth-straight Division 2 title, but this time for the first time without retired coach Barry Brodsky.
His first Marian championship came in 2003 with co-coach Chris Courage and the opponent Forest Hills Central, with Marian winning 1-0 in overtime.
PHOTOS (Top) Forest Hills Central’s Dailey Tucker (24) considers her options Saturday with a Marian player applying pressure. (Middle) The Rangers celebrate their first championship since 2017.