Final Burst Nets Unity's 9th Title
June 12, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – Hudsonville Unity Christian and Detroit Country Day had played 95 minutes Friday afternoon. Bursts of speed were in short supply.
Crusaders junior Maddy VanDyke had one left – she made it, and the next few seconds felt like slow motion.
That’s how she saw her go-ahead goal with 4 minutes and 12 seconds left in the second overtime of the Division 3 Final at Michigan State University, a goal that resulted in Unity Christian claiming a 2-1 victory and its ninth MHSAA championship in a rematch of last season’s title decider.
Senior Bethany Balcer found VanDyke on a long pass as she sprinted toward the goal with two Country Day defenders in tow. VanDyke’s shot was deflected by the Yellowjackets’ keeper – but then slowly rolled toward and past the goal line as the Country Day defenders just missed catching up.
“It was perfectly placed that I could sprint and have a burst of energy, in order to go to the goal. As soon as I realized it was me and the keeper, it kinda got a little tense,” VanDyke said. “As soon as it crossed the line … (it was) just the feeling of accomplishment and amazement, joy.
“Coach just kept saying to play the corners and cross them in … and as soon as the ball was played to the corner, I feel like everyone, whether outside forward or outside mid, we got that burst of energy to want that goal and want to see that scoreboard at two to one.”
Unity Christian’s run has been nearly unprecedented. The Crusaders have won three titles in four seasons, with all nine coming over the last 11 seasons. Only Madison Heights Bishop Foley, with 12, has won more girls soccer championships.
Overtime couldn’t have been a thought for anyone who watched the first 20 minutes of regulation. Like it did for what had to be at least 90 of the 100 minutes total, Unity Christian dominated possession – until Country Day sophomore Lauren Alshab shook two defenders and launched the Yellowjackets’ first shot of the game, drilling it 21 yards and over the Unity Christian keeper’s outstretched arms into the far top corner of the net.
Still, the Crusaders finished with 31 shots including 15 on goal. They kept firing from just about every angle unsuccessfully until junior Abby Neinhuis took a pass deep in the box with 16:55 left in regulation and punched the equalizer into the net.
Unity Christian got off seven more shots during regulation and five during the first 10-minute overtime. VanDyke’s winner was one of only two shots by either team during the final extra period.
“I’m sure the fans were on the edge of their seats. We were on the edge of our seats,” Unity Christian coach Randy Heethuis said. “The thing with Country Day, they won their last two games on penalty kicks. We really didn’t want to go there. That experience, a very good goalkeeper, not that we weren’t confident in going and doing that, but we were going to throw everything at them to see if we could get that game winner, and lo and behold we did.
“You saw a girl (VanDyke) that played 80 minutes, and she ran away from the defenders there and found a way to will it past their keeper.”
Indeed, Country Day had advanced with shootout wins over Grosse Ile in the Regional Final and Flint Powers Catholic in the Semifinal.
Sophomore keeper Isabel Nino had 13 saves as she and her crew of defenders – among them senior Jenna Staudt, sophomores Olivia Heppard and Dagny Hill, junior Naomi Hill and senior Libby Ronchetto dropping back from the midfield – repeatedly turned back runs by Unity Christian forwards who seemed to have at least a few inches of height on most of them.
“We came in as an underdog. … Our legs are gone. There’s no doubt they’re the better team, and they won the game, but I’m very proud of my athletes and everything they gave on the field,” Country Day coach Bob Bukari said. “We were just a few minutes away from going to PKs again, and I think we would’ve won them because our goalkeeper is outstanding in PKs.”
VanDyke said scoring the title-winning goal was an honor, and thanked those who have supported her during a school year that began with significant heartbreak. Her father Rod, a teacher and the girls golf coach at Grand Rapids South Christian, died Oct. 7 after he was struck by a car while riding his bike.
He too had experienced an MHSAA championship, having led the Sailors to the Lower Peninsula Division 3 golf title in 2009.
“(I'm) just wishing that I had my dad in the stands, but I know it can’t be like that,” VanDyke said. “But I know he’s watching me, and I have a lot of people supporting me, and that’s what gets me through it.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Unity Christian’s Maddy VanDyke (14) celebrates her go-ahead goal during Friday’s Division 3 Final. (Middle) Unity’s Lauren Orr (4) and Country Day’s Hannah Hansen work to gain possession.
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.