Thank You from Second Half
January 25, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Next week will mark the one-year birthday of Second Half, our place to tell your high school sports stories.
And I thank you for helping us to such a great start.
We knew what we hoped to accomplish starting this site a year ago, but we've learned quite a bit during a relatively short time. Although we continue to pursue the mission of being home of the state’s best high school stories and a daily stop for fans, we’ll continue to experiment to figure out what you'd most like to see and how best we can continue to pass along the great things happening in MHSAA athletics.
A few things to call to your attention as we move ahead:
- First and foremost, we strive to tell your stories – hoping to hit every sport and all regions of our state – and have some intriguing ones coming up as we get into the second half of the winter season. Stay tuned.
- Second Half is the home for the “Battle of the Fans II.” We have visits to Buchanan and Vandercook Lake next week, followed by Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard and Zeeland East the week after. We’ll announce the winner Feb. 22. All will be found here first.
- We've revamped our video page (see menu across the top of this screen) and will be adding more videos more regularly in the year to come.
- After a brief hiatus, we’ll next week bring back “High 5s” featuring two athletes and a team that have done great things this season.
- What you’re reading now is the first of a weekly “First Pitch” blog that will allow us to post more of the quick hits we run across in our regular travels. Make sure to continue checking out the twice-weekly blog by Executive Director Jack Roberts, as well as the Viewpoints and SAC Sound-Offs supplied regularly by our friends from the Michigan State University Institute for the Study of Youth Sports and the members of our Student Advisory Council, respectively.
- We began providing in-depth statewide coverage – both previewing and then postgame reporting – of our Finals in every sport this fall, and hope to become your first and fastest source for the stories behind our championships.
We’re always looking for ideas both for stories or any other features you’d like to see – and feel free to send them directly to me at [email protected].
And again, thank you again for coming to our site today. We look forward to seeing you more in the year to come.
Pioneer Earns 31st State Championship to Complete Sport's Inaugural MHSAA Tournament
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
October 25, 2025
NORTHVILLE – If there were ever a situation where one state championship seemed greater than 30 previous ones, this was it for the Ann Arbor Pioneer field hockey program.
Over its first 45 years as a program, Pioneer won 30 state championships while the sport was sanctioned by the Michigan High School Field Hockey League.
With this 46th year for the Pioneers the first for field hockey with MHSAA sponsorship, they certainly had a weight of expectations as the team to beat with their storied history and fact they entered the postseason as the No. 1 overall seed.
But none of that additional pressure slowed down Pioneer, which made history as the MHSAA’s inaugural Finals champion in field hockey with a 2-0 win over Southeastern Conference rival Dexter on Saturday at Tom Holzer Field.
“I always tell the athletes that pressure, you can use it to your advantage,” said longtime Pioneer head coach Jane Nixon, who completed her 27th season as head coach. “It helps you focus, and it gives you energy. I never think of pressure as a bad thing, but as kind of a good thing.”
The biggest reason Pioneer (15-6-1) added to its championship collection was the strength of its defense.
Pioneer and freshman goalie Mara Boullion didn’t give up a single goal during the entire MHSAA Tournament, and thwarted all 10 penalty corner opportunities Dexter earned during the championship game.
Boullion stopped all seven shots from the Dreadnaughts (15-4-4).
“It was just a lot of grit and a lot of heart,” Nixon said. “Just sticking with it and persevering through the hard stuff. Really proud of our defensive effort and our goalkeeping.”
Pioneer opened the scoring with 4:03 remaining in the first quarter on a goal by junior Zoe Shuchman.
Following a Pioneer penalty corner, there was a mad scramble in front of the Dexter goal, where Zoe Shuchman managed to get a strong enough piece of the ball to put it across the line and net.
Pioneer went up 2-0 with 2:47 remaining in the third quarter on a Dexter turnover deep in its own territory. An errant pass was intercepted by Pioneer senior Maggie Lamb, who broke in all alone on the Dexter goal and put away the chance.
It was her 10th goal of the season.
“We felt a lot (of pressure),” Lamb said of Pioneer’s tournament run. “We were also trying to go into it a game at a time and not thinking too far ahead. Just making sure we played our best game until we reached this ultimate end game.”
This was the third game of the season between Pioneer and Dexter. The teams played to a 1-1 tie on Sept. 15 before Pioneer earned a 1-0 win in the second game Sept. 22.
Like Pioneer, Dexter also is a storied program, having won MHSFHL Division 2 state titles in 2022 and 2023 and five overall.
Dexter was making its fourth-straight championship game appearance after losing in last year’s MHSFHL Division 2 final and had spurts throughout the game where it carried play.
Dexter ended up outshooting Pioneer, 9-7. Unfortunately for the Dreadnaughts, it couldn’t crack Pioneer’s stout defense.
“Sometimes it’s just a matter of a lucky break,” said Dexter head coach Keely Tamer. “They’re a talented team, and I knew we were going to have to play hard to get the ball in. It just didn’t happen today. We have the talent to score. It just wasn’t there today.”
PHOTOS (Top) Ann Arbor Pioneer's Maggie Lamb (7) and her teammates raise their championship trophy Saturday after clinching the first MHSAA Finals title in the sport. (Middle) Pioneer's Violet Soldan (10) prepares to move the ball ahead while Dexter's Claire Dubuque defends. (Below) Pioneer's Izzy Sutton (15). and Mara Buillon (35) defend their goal with Dexter's Allison St. Amour (9) and Kylie Marcinkowski working to find an opening.