Williamston Welcomes MHSAA Elite
April 19, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The Williamston girls soccer team regularly loads its schedule with some of the best competition it can find, both in the mid-Michigan area and beyond.
Many eyes. especially among the state’s best in Division 3, will be on the Hornets’ home stadium the next two weekends.
Williamston hosts Division 3 No. 2 Hudsonville Unity Christian at 6:15 Friday night in a rematch of the 2010 MHSAA Division 3 Final (update: they tied 1-1). On April 28, the Division 3 No. 3 Hornets will host their annual Williamston Shootout with a field including Division 2 No. 1 Plainwell, Division 3 No. 1 Flint Powers Catholic, No. 4 Detroit County Day, No. 6 Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard and No. 9 Frankenmuth.
“I think there is a delicate balance between too difficult or too soft of a schedule. In my opinion, we play and coach at the level of our competition, and if we strive to be competitive at the highest level possible for our team we have to play a challenging schedule – one that demonstrates to our athletes what excellence is like physically, mentally, athletically and tactically,” Williamston coach Jim Flore said.
“This provides the ultimate learning environment, one that we cannot duplicate on the practice field. Playing this type of competition provides our student-athletes with the confidence that they can compete regardless if we win or lose.”
Tickets for Friday’s game cost $5, $3 for elementary students and are free for pre-schoolers and senior citizens. For the Shootout, tickets cost $5, but $3 for all students and, again, are free for pre-schoolers and senior citizens.
The April 28 Shootout schedule is as follows. Field 1 games will be played at the stadium which will be used for this season’s Division 2 and 3 MHSAA Finals:
9:15 a.m. – Detroit Country Day vs. Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard (Field 1)
11 a.m. – Williamston vs Frankenmuth (Field 1)
12:45 p.m. – Detroit Country Day vs. Flint Powers (Field 1)
12:45 p.m. – Frankenmuth vs. Plainwell (Field 2)
2:30 p.m. – Williamston vs. Plainwell (Field 1)
2:30 p.m. – Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard vs. Flint Powers (Field 2)
6 p.m. – 3rd-Place Game (Field 2)
6 p.m. – 5th-Place Game (Field 3)
6:30 p.m. – Championship Game (Field 1)
There also is a junior varsity Shootout the same day, with that field of teams the same except Eaton Rapids is in for Country Day.
Williamston opened this season with a 2-0 loss to Division 2 No. 2 Bloomfield Hills Marian. Since, the Hornets are 4-0-1 and beat Division 1 No. 2 Okemos 1-0.
“Playing high school soccer is not all about winning. It is about how to learn from the experience and make adjustments to be better in the future,” Flore said. “I believe this philosophy has helped the players over the years; I know it has helped me.”
PHOTO: Williamston, including now-senior Adrienne Watts (22), will face Hudsonville Unity Christian on Friday in a rematch of this 2010 Division 3 Final.
Streberger Steps Into Larger Leadership Role as GPN Seeks to Reign Again
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
April 26, 2024
GROSSE POINTE — Amelia Streberger is already getting a sneak preview about what her future in soccer could look like one day.
A senior standout for reigning Division 2 champion Grosse Pointe North, Streberger said she has thought about getting into coaching one day, which is good because it seems like she’s gotten a head start on that type of leadership over the past year since the Norsemen claimed what some would argue was an unexpected Finals title last June.
Last year’s head coach, Olivia Dallaire, stepped down during the offseason and a large crop of seniors graduated, leaving a good portion of the roster to be comprised by 13 incoming freshmen.
“I feel like I’ve had to step up as a leader on and off of the field,” Streberger said. “Especially since these freshmen coming in have never played (varsity) soccer before.”
But as far as finding a player to help guide younger ones and ease the program into a coaching transition, you’d be hard pressed to find a better person for the job than Streberger.
After helping North win its first Finals title, Streberger, a midfielder, was named to the all-state Dream Team. She has a future in college soccer, as Streberger signed in November to play next for Detroit Mercy.
Now, she’s back this spring to not only lead a young team that has a first-year coach in Thalu Masindi, but also try and show the state her team can be strong again after last year’s unanticipated run. North had finished fifth in the Macomb Area Conference Red during the regular season with only four wins entering the MHSAA Tournament.
Streberger admitted that even some in the Grosse Pointe community thought it was a “Cinderella” team that defied the odds, but said there was talent on the roster last year that is back for more this spring, including fellow captains Gabby Miller and Alyssa Burney.
“It was through hard work and dedication,” Streberger said of the championship. “It was not through luck or anything.”
When he was interviewing for the vacant head coaching job after Dallaire stepped down, Masindi said one part of the interview process was interacting with the team –and he quickly found Streberger is just as “soccer crazy” as he is as the two got to know one another.
As he has transitioned into the role, Masindi said Streberger has been a rock to rely on.
“She shows ownership with helping out with some of the practices,” he said. “To make sure the intensity is high and she’s demanding more of her players, and also showing the freshmen that this is what you need to do for your four years to show growth.”
While her leadership talents are obvious, Masindi said so is what she brings to the team technically.
“I know when she has the ball at her feet, she’s confident and calm,” he said. “She’s always going to be a threat. When she collects the ball, she knows she is going to be a difference.”
Streberger said she’s been playing soccer “since she could walk,” especially since she has three older siblings who played the game including older brother Jack, who played collegiately at Butler.
Amelia Streberger said there were constant battles among her siblings in the family’s basement, where they would try to score on mini-nets for hours.
“We had so many holes in the wall,” she said. “It was crazy.”
Given what she has accomplished for the North soccer community, all those holes obviously have been worth it.
Streberger still has plenty of games ahead as a player, with more than a month left of her senior season and a college career upcoming. Beyond that she envisions staying involved in the game, and this spring has provided her some valuable insight if coaching is her next soccer calling.
“I’ve definitely thought about it with my club teammates,” she said. “We’ve definitely talked about it, because it’s something we love so much. We’d love to give off what we love and teach younger kids.”
Keith Dunlap has served in Detroit-area sports media for more than two decades, including as a sportswriter at the Oakland Press from 2001-16 primarily covering high school sports but also college and professional teams. His bylines also have appeared in USA Today, the Washington Post, the Detroit Free Press, the Houston Chronicle and the Boston Globe. He served as the administrator for the Oakland Activities Association’s website from 2017-2020. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Grosse Pointe North's Amelia Streberger (7) works for possession during last season's Division 2 Final. (Middle) Streberger accepts her championship medal.