BY DAN STICKRADT
COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST | WEB AND CONTENT EDITOR | DIRECTOR OF NEWS
PH: (248) 884-1051
TW/X: @msn_stickradt @LocalSportsFans @MiSoccerNetwork
WATERFORD, Mich. – Shootouts in soccer are a time when goalkeepers have the green light to shine.
Madison McDonald had her time in the limelight Tuesday and the DeWitt junior stole the spotlight.
McDonald, an All-State Honorable Mention goalkeeper last season, saved Goodrich’s first two shooters in a penalty kick shootout and watched a third sail over the crossbar.
Meanwhile, DeWitt converted all three of its attempts and withstood constant pressure throughout 100 minutes of open play to record a 2-1 victory over Flint Metro League champion Goodrich in a Division 2 regional semifinals at Waterford Kettering High School.
Senior Norah Lutz, junior Cate Piesko and freshman Katelyn Jameson converted their penalties in succession for the Panthers, who have advanced to the regional finals for the first time since 2018 – a year they reached the Division 2 Final Four. DeWitt’s award is No. 12 Orchard Lake St. Mary’s which features one of state’s top players and vaunted offensive attacks.
DeWitt (12-4-6) will face St. Mary’s (17-2-1) at 6 p.m. Thursday in the regional championship match also at Waterford Kettering.
To get there, the DeWitt defense stepped up and time and time again goalkeeper Madison McDonald made clutch saves and commanded her box with authority.LIVONIA, Mich. – Fresh off its first district title in a quarter century, Salem hopes to party like it’s 1999 and stick around for a while in the Division 1 state tournament.
Saturday’s 3-0 shutout of district host Livonia Stevenson not only gave the formerly state-ranked Rocks a Division 1 district championship, but it ended more than two decades of postseason frustrations. The district title is the school’s first since 1999 – nearly 25 years to the date.
“I know that sounds odd, but it’s true,” laughed Salem coach Kyle Karns. “With all of the talent we’ve had on the boys (soccer) side and girls (soccer) side, that this is the first time our girls have won a district since 1999. In the eight years I’ve been here with the girls, I think we’ve lost in the district finals five times. We had the Covid year (cancelled in 2020) and no chance to compete there, but we’ve had talented teams. We’re always in one of the more tougher districts in the state and for whatever the reason, we just haven’t been able to win a district.
“Hopefully, now that we’ve won, we can stick around (in the tournament) for a while,” added Karns. “We’ve waited so long.”
Salem (13-5-5), which was listed as honorable mention in the Division 1 rankings entering the state tournament, was last ranked in the top-15 in mid-May in the 15th position before dropping down to a long list of honorable mention schools. The Rocks did venture through a rough 0-3-1 streak to end the regular season where they were outscored 7-2 and wound up finishing fourth overall in a loaded eight-school Kensington Lakes Activities Association-West Division behind powerful Hartland, Canton and Northville but ahead of Brighton, Novi, Plymouth and Howell.
“We’ve played a tough schedule and we did go through that little bit of a lull late in the (regular) season, but I think we ended fourth because we had so many ties,” reminded Karns.
The Rocks finished with five draws this season – all five were league games – and finished with a 6-3-5 record in the KLAA-West. There were no ties this past week as Salem posted three wins all against KLAA foes in the district tournament at Livonia Stevenson.
After slipping past Plymouth (2-01) and ninth-ranked Canton (2-1) in the first two rounds of districts – Canton was a regional finalists last season and defeated Salem 1-0 and 2-1 in the regular season – the Rocks earned a date with longtime nemesis Livonia Stevenson.
The Spartans (12-1-1 KLAA-East) outlasted Belleville (12-2-0) and Dearborn (11-2-1) in a tight KLAA-East Division race and upset 11th-ranked Hartland in the KLAA Tournament championship in late May. Stevenson is one of the more successful programs in the 16-schoool KLAA dating back to the early 1980s.
This time Salem delivered the knockout punches in its 3-0 shutout of Stevenson and its high-powered offense. Defensively, the Rocks backline shut down Stevenson senior Kelsey Ware (NCAA Division II Tiffin University), as juniors Callie Swartzenberger and Isabelle Prantera, senior Addison Furlow and sophomore Ainsley Mayer teamed up for a sterling performance.
Senior Morganne Jones pitched her fourth shutout of the campaign for the Rocks, who have outscored its tough schedule 50-22 this season.
Meanwhile the Rocks – who landed several players on the All-KLAA and All-District teams – collected three goals on the day to send Salem into the regionals for the first time in 25 years.
Senior midfielder Claire Hammill, who has signed with NCAA Division I Rutgers University and has not played high school soccer until this season, scored twice while senior midfielder Lauren Driscoll added the other goal in the district finals.
“This is so exciting because it’s been a long time for our school,” offered Hammill. “We have a very talented team and (seven) seniors where this is their last shot. I know they lost in the district finals the last couple of years and this was the goal all season long to finally win (a district).”
Sophomore forward Lauren Fowler leads the team with 13 goals and six assists, while Hammill has contributed nine goals and 14 assists for the Rocks. Sophomore forward Aubrey Krischano (12 goals, two assists), junior Katie Sarkesian and seniors Driscoll, Elaine Rama and Miranda Sanford have all been key cogs in the attack, which outscored the three district opponents 7-2.
There will be no rest for the weary, as Salem will face No. 2-ranked Ann Arbor Skyline in Tuesday’s regional semifinals at Ypsilanti Lincoln. Skyline is the Southeastern Conference-Red Division champs who also capture another tough district crown with wins over honorable mention Ann Arbor Pioneer (1-0) and fourth-ranked Saline (1-0) in the district finals – and Saline was a Final Four team last year.
So that begs the question.
“Why not us?,” asked Karns. “We’ll face some really good teams throughout the tournament. That doesn’t change year after year. But we have a very talented team and we understand that we can play with anybody just as easily that anyone can beat us. We’re excited to play a team like Skyline from another conference. They are always good and I know they have a great goalkeeper and some very talented players on the field. It will be another challenge for us.”
(Have a story suggestion for the Premier Media Group and the Michigan Soccer Network regarding club soccer, high school varsity, amateur soccer, collegiate soccer or professional soccer of teams or players with Michigan ties, contact Communications Specialist/Web and Content Editor/Director of News Dan Stickradt via email at stickradt@michigansoccernetwork.com, or call 248-884-1051. Dan Stickradt is a 31-year veteran of the Michigan Media circles and recently joined the staff full time in March of 2024. Want to schedule a broadcast game or live show, contact PMG/MSN Director of Broadcasting Jonathan Turner for availability and pricing at jonathan@michigansoccernetwork.com.)
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