ROCHESTER HILLS – The Utica Eisenhower Eagles claimed their first district title since 2017 with a 3-1 win over the defending Division 1 champion Rochester Adams Highlanders on Saturday afternoon.

“It feels really, really good. We’ve been working very hard all season to win the district, and it means a lot to us because this is our first time, at least for the freshmen class that came in with me,” captain Sonja Peterson said. “So we’re really looking forward to hopefully making an even deeper run in the state.”

Eisenhower dominated the first half, creating most of the best chances even as it battled into the wind. The Eagles got on the board first when Lily Pantaleo scored on a breakaway with 28:21 still to play before intermission.

Later in the half, it was Pantaleo’s turn to play the through ball. Gabby Riggio ran onto the slotted ball and used the outside of her foot to flick a ball inside the near post, doubling the Eagles’ advantage. Eisenhower had a couple of chances to stretch the lead even further, but Adams senior goalie Brooklyn Harding came up with some key saves to keep the Highlanders hanging around.

The Highlanders fought to try and shave the deficit. Adams was especially dangerous after halftime and created a handful of high quality chances, but struggled to finish any of them off. The Highlanders did hit the crossbar twice – once in the final minute of the first half and again early in the second half – and had the ball bouncing around the Eisenhower penalty area on a few different occasions, but the Eagles always seemed to win those battles and eventually cleared the ball or pressured Adams into missing the net.

When Devyn Raymond blasted a ball that went in off the post with 4:26 remaining to make it 3-0 Eagles, any drama left in the game was put to rest. Still, Adams kept in it to the end and spoiled the shoutout with 24 seconds remaining when Riley Walsh set up Sadie Rogers for a 20-yard rip that capped the scoring at 3-1 Eisenhower.

“The story of it is they finished and we didn’t,” Adams head coach Josh Hickey said.. “But I’m proud of the girls for the way they played. They gave a good effort, but that’s a good team, so you can’t make mistakes against those types of teams.”

The win is the first district title for Eisenhower in eight years as they have consistently been drawn into one of the tougher districts in the state.

It was also Eisenhower head coach Merhdad Nekoogar’s 300th career win with the Eagles.

“Honestly, I never thought about. I really didn’t. I’m just happy that I was able to stay with a very, very good school, a school that I’m so proud of. I’m proud to be part of this program, and I’m just happy that I was able to help a little,” he said.

Photo gallery of Rochester Adams vs. Utica Eisenhower in a D1 girls soccer district championship

Eisenhower now advances to the regional semifinals on Tuesday when it will face Troy Athens, who defeated rival Troy for its district title.

“I’m just so happy for them. They worked very hard,” Nekoogar said. “This is the toughest district. Now after districts, Athens another very, very good team, but we will take one at a time. We’re just happy that we accomplished this part of it."

Added Peterson, “I think it’s definitely just the team’s chemistry this year. It’s been unmatched with years before when I’ve been on the team. Everyone cares about each other so, so very much, and we just connect really well. We also have a very talented group of players all working together, and I think all of us together wanting to win and wanting to go as far as possible is what is going to keep us going and what has kept us going."

Rochester Adams finishes the year 13-5-1. The Highlanders will graduate eight seniors from this year’s team.

“We’re happy. I thought we had one of the toughest schedules in the state, bar none, and it definitely got us ready for this. But having 13 wins against that type of schedule is always big,” Hickey said. “I love the seniors. We had girls come for the first time and be able to play high school, which is cool to see. Then I had a few four-year players. Those players are always special to us. And we’re going to miss them.”

TROY – Troy Athens goalkeeper Ashley Miller both stopped a shot in the penalty shootout and scored the winning kick as the Red Hawks outlasted their crosstown rivals, the Troy Colts, to claim a D1 district title Thursday evening.

Miller made a save in Round 2, and then stepped up in the fifth round to take a penalty kick, faking out the opposing goalie and scoring into the right side to seal the win from a match that was tied 2-2 after regulation and remained the same after overtime.

“It literally did not feel real. I’m still in shock. It feels like a dream,” Miller said. “It feels so good. For many years, we’ve been trying to get them (Troy). But this year we all worked hard together, and it just feels amazing.”

The Colts had dominated the early part of the game, running at the Red Hawks’ defense time and again. It nearly paid off just three minutes in, but the Athens back line cleared a shot off the line. Instead, Troy got on the board with 14:01 to play in the half when Sabrina Gaul’s shot from 25 yards out eluded the outstretched arm of the goalkeeper and snuck inside the far post.

Troy’s goal seemed to energize Athens, however. The Red Hawks became much more attack-minded after that and needed only five minutes to tie the game on a shot from Charlotte Cotta, who picked the top-left corner from the right wing with 9:08 to play in the opening half.

The second half was more of the same. Troy dominated early and had the better of possession and the stat sheet.

“We played really well. We pinged the ball around. It was really good, really good soccer,” Troy head coach Dan Troccoli said.

But it didn’t do Troy any good in regards to the advantage on the board as the teams traded goals midway through the second half of regulation. Athens scored off a corner kick with 25:53 on the clock when Cotta got on the end of it and fired a ball back across the front of goal that hit a defender and went in the far side, giving the Red Hawks a 2-1 lead.

It would last all of 88 seconds before Gaul got her second goal. Olivia Jasniewicz slotted a through ball behind the defense and Gaul simply outran everyone to the ball and one-timed it in, retying the game.

Each team also came close once or twice in overtime, but neither side could find a goal in the extra sessions, and the game had to be settled by a shootout.

With the win, Troy Athens improves to 16-2-2 and claims the district title, avenging a 4-1 loss to the Colts in last year’s district finals.

Thursday marked the first time that the rivals had gone to a playoff shootout since the Colts beat Athens for a district championship in penalties back in 2013 en route to the Colts winning a D1 state title.

Photo gallery of Athens vs. Troy in a D1 girls soccer district championship

“Whenever it’s a rivalry game, we know that it’s one you’ve got to show up for. You’ve got to try your best, and it comes down to heart. And today we played with a lot of heart, so I think that’s what eventually got us the win,” Red Hawks senior captain Lauren DeJonckheere said. “I’m just really proud of our team. We backed each other up the whole game, no matter what. Whenever we got down, we were there to support one another and it paid off in the long run."

The Red Hawks advance to Tuesday’s regional semifinals where they will face the winner of Saturday’s match between Rochester Adams and Utica Eisenhower.

“We had to earn it there. But it was a fantastic game for both sides,” Red Hawks head coach Jason Clark said. “For the girls to come back after being down one in a district final, it takes a lot of mental toughness for that. And we’re so proud of them for not putting their heads down, not writing it off and just riding the wave and weathering the storm when we could and then coming back and taking our chances.”

Troy, meanwhile, finishes the year with a record of 10-6-2.

“I’d say we played really good soccer and PKs are PKs. Who knows with PKs?,” Troccoli said.

SHELBY TOWNSHIP– The Utica Eisenhower Eagles rolled past the Stoney Creek Cougars 4-0 in the opening round of D1 districts Wednesday night at Swinehart Field.

Stoney Creek started strong and even hit the crossbar less than five minutes into the game. But from then on, the Eagles slowly took over the game playing a bit better in each segment of play, and near the end of the first half, they finally broke through on the scoreboard. The increased pressure produced a turnover, and Devyn Raymond pounced on the poor clearing attempt to rifle a quick shot into the net from 30 yards out.

That gave Eisenhower the lead with 10:48 remaining in the first half. The Eagles doubled their lead about seven minutes later when Maryn Smith took a cross, juggled once to settle the ball a bit, then snapped a volley home from near the penalty spot. That gave Eisenhower a 2-0 lead and seemed to take the air out of the Cougars.

“I thought we stared a little bit slow, and we got lucky the first five minutes. They (Stoney Creek) hit the crossbar, and if they would have scored, that would have changed the momentum for sure. But after that the girls woke up,” Eagles head coach Mehrdad Nekoogar said. “As they started getting their legs back, we started playing our game. We had a lot of chances. (Their) goalie did outstanding.”

Stoney Creek had struggled to score pretty much all year — the Cougars were held off the board 11 times heading into Wednesday, including a 2-0 loss to the Eagles on April 17 in Rochester Hills — and this game was no different. They could get up and down the field for much of the first half, remained unable to find the last one or two touches in the final third to turn possession into scoring chances. Once they went down a pair of goals, things looked grim.

“We just couldn’t get out of that first half and that final 10 minutes before the half,” Cougars head coach Bryan Mittelstadt said. “The kids gave it a fight. They played hard. I though the first 25, 30 minutes was top quality and a strong showing for us. We’ve got a lot of work to do in the offseason, things we need to work on. But we knew, offensively, what Ike brings to the table. We weren’t going to get a lot of shots, but the ones that we had, we really had to get on the end of them.”

The Cougars came out quick at the start of the second half and created one or two good chances early, but then Eisenhower got a third goal – a beautiful header by Ellera Jakubowski that went back across the face of goal. That seemed to permanently put the Cougars on the back foot.

Stoney Creek kept fighting, but spent most of the remaining time fighting off one attacking wave of Eagles after another and never really got forward again until the final few minutes. By then, Lily Pantaleo had added another goal for Eisenhower to complete the scoring.

“We are a good attacking team, and if we get some luck sometimes going our way, we can really create a lot of opportunities in the front (of goal),” Nekoogar said.

Merrick Schwalbach was outstanding in net for the Cougars, making 11 saves, calling out marks, and generally doing everything possible to keep her team close. But eventually, Eisenhower just had too much time on the ball running at the Stoney Creek net.

Photos of Stoney Creek vs. Utica Eisenhower in D1 girls soccer district action

The Eagles (16-2) now move on to next week’s district semifinals to be held at Rochester Adams High School. Eisenhower will face the Rochester Falcons in a game currently slated for next Wednesday.

“They’ve been playing as a team,” Nekoogar said. “We have said it from day one: Our team is just about go out there and play the best you can.”

Stoney Creek finished the season 4-11-3 against a very tough schedule. The Cougars had a young team this season – starting six freshmen against Eisenhower – and will be looking to grow in the offseason.

“It’s one of those years, things maybe haven’t gone the way we wanted them to go. But I felt like every game we showed up; we battled; we gave it everything we could,” Mittelstadt said. “But our kids stuck together as a team.” He added that, “I think we’ve gotten stronger. We’ve learned a lot, and we’ve grown. I just look forward to next season and appreciate what the seniors do, and there is definitely some youth in the program.”

ROYAL OAK –  The Allen Park Cabrini Monarchs claimed their second consecutive Catholic High School League St. Anne Division championship with a 4-1 win over the Wixom St. Catherine of Siena Academy Stars on Saturday afternoon.

After what had been a pretty even first half that ended with Cabrini leading 1-0, the Monarchs would go on to dominate the second half. Senior Carly Roth would double Cabrini’s lead just over 11 minutes into the second half when she fired a free kick that beat the wall and rocketed into the left side of the net to make it 2-0. Roth would score again with 21:17 remaining in the game. Paityn Hawes drove a corner kick towards the back side, and Roth headed it back the way it came and just inside the right post to make it 3-0.

The Stars would fight back almost immediately with Joanna Namel notching her program record 33rd goal of the season with a volley from inside the penalty area, to get Wixom St. Catherine back within two goals barely a minute after Roth’s second goal.

But Carbini was able to reassert themselves, get control of the game, and put the finishing touches on the win. Madi Smith’s 30-yard rocket with 9:13 to play provided the final margin and took any lingering drama out of the match, restoring Cabrini’s three-goal advantage, 4-1.

“The first half, we were going against the wind. The second half, we had the wind helping us,” Monarchs head coach Tony Pizzo said. “The girls came to play. They were hungry, so I’m happy about that. That’s for sure,’ he added.

The first half had been just as offensive, but without the goals. The teams actually combined for more shots on goal in the first half than they did in the second half, but the only first half goal came from Hawes who juggled a ball in tight, got her first shot saved, but quickly got her own rebound and scored past the goalkeeper who was still off balance from the first save.

Wixom St. Catherine probably should have had a goal in the first half. Between hitting the crossbar with a freekick just 90 seconds into the game and then coming up short on a breakaway late, thanks to a terrific save by Monarchs goalie Bella Perez, the Stars had plenty of chances to score in the first half. But they could not find a goal in the opening half and went into the break down 1-0 despite having a slight edge in shots on goal and a couple of glorious chances.

“When we get those chances and we don’t capitalize, it definitely helps the other team gain confidence too. They were already playing well, and then for us to miss those chances, it kind of gave the other team a boost and knocked our confidence down just a little bit,” Stars head coach Aaron Roy said.

With the win, Allen Park Cabrini goes back-to-back in the CHSL St. Anne Division for the first time in school history. In fact, these are the first two CHSL titles for the Monarchs.

“It feels good. I’m excited. I’m proud of us. I’m proud of our team. We really pushed ourselves in the second half especially because it was getting close there. But overall, I felt that our team did really good,” Roth said.  “It’s my last year here as a senior, so it’s kind of good to leave a legacy for the next couple of years,” she added.

Photos of Allen Park Cabrini vs. Wixom St. Catherine in a CHSL St. Anne Tournament final

Cabrini (10-2-1) opens the state tournament on Wednesday when they host Marine City Cardinal Mooney to open district play. The Monarchs are the district hosts.

Wixom St. Catherine (8-3-2) earned a first round bye and will face the winner of Dearborn Henry Ford Academy and Dearborn Advanced Tech Academy on May 28 in a district semifinal.

"The players came in here and did everything that we worked on to prepare for this game. I’m proud of my players. I’m not leaving here feeling like we played a bad game. There are a couple of bad bounces here and there that just went the other team’s way, and we prepare for districts now,” Roy said.

ROYAL OAK – The host Royal Oak Shrine Knights won their first Catholic High School League championship since 2019, claiming the Cardinal Division title with a 3-2 win over the Ann Arbor Greenhills Gryphons in Saturday afternoon’s final.

All the scoring came in the first half. Shrine got things started just 1:12 into the game when Isobel Malcolm’s corner kick deflected through to the far side where Jo Mitroff pounced on it and banged it in, giving the Knights an early lead. With just under 21 minutes to play in the first half, the Knights converted another Malcolm corner. This time it was Molly Salerno finding the net with a quick shot amid the scramble in front of goal.

“The last couple of weeks, we’ve worked on corners and set plays, and trying to finish our opportunities, so it pays off when you score goals,” Shrine head coach Mark Soma said.

At that point, the long shots would start going in for both teams. Cate Alumkal  scored a pair of rockets from about 30 yards out sandwiched around a 40-yard spinning chip shot for Malcolm that handcuffed the Gryphons’ goalie and bounced its way into the net. By the end of the half, the teams had combined for five goals and nearly 20 total shots.

However, after all the offense in the first half, it would be the defenses that dominated the second 40 minutes. The defenses tightened up considerably, and neither team came close to scoring again as the teams combined for just two shots on goal – both by the Knights – in the second half.

“It was a grind. I think the other team played well, and we played well. It could have gone either way, and I think we just took more opportunities than they did,” Soma said.

The win both clinched the Cardinal Division Championship and avenged a loss to the Gryphons earlier this month.

Photos of Royal Oak Shrine vs. Ann Arbor Greenhills in a CHSL Cardinal Tournament final

“It feels really good. We lost to them a couple of games ago, 3-1. So this definitely showed what we’re capable of,” Malcolm said. “We haven’t won Catholic League in a while, so it feels really good to finally bring home a Catholic League Championship for our school,” she added.

“It’s important for these girls to have their own identity that they’re Catholic League (Champs) and we can go into states with a positive momentum,” Soma said.

Royal Oak Shrine is now 12-3-2 on the year. The Knights will host a district this year. Having earned a first round bye, Royal Oak Shrine will await the winner of Clawson and Southfield Christian. That game is scheduled for May 28

ROYAL OAK – The Bloomfield Hills Marian Mustangs claimed their sixth CHSL Bishop Division Championship in the last decade with a 3-0 win over the Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood Cranes Saturday morning.

The Mustangs nearly opened the scoring barely a minute into the game, only to have the goal called back for offsides. Led by the efforts of Sophia Baldwin, Kendall Pankoff and Carola Gorlier, Cranbrook fought their way into the game. The two best chances for the Cranes came back-to-back near the midway point of the period. But the Cranes could not get either one on frame despite some glorious looks, and Marian finally got on the board moments later when Bella Musachio got a clean look at the other end and buried it into the back of the net for a 1-0 Mustangs lead.

The wind was blowing hard all game, and in the second half, Marian got the wind at their back and took full advantage.

“We’ve faced that wind probably two or three times this season already, and the wind is not a factor if you are a team that likes to play the ball on the floor (the ground) as we do,” Marian head coach Danny Price said. “We like to move the ball on the floor, so really it didn’t bother us. We just had to get through the first half without conceding, and with the wind at our back in the second half I always felt confident that we could flourish, and we did that in the second half.”

Indeed, after a first half that saw the Cranes dangerous offensively at times, Cranbrook struggled to create any sustained offensive threat in the second half. Marian took advantage to dominate possession even more than they had in the first half, and the Mustangs made sure to convert a pair of chances to put the game out of reach. Nia Bordogna scored both second half goals for the Mustangs – a 35-yard strike followed barely three minutes later by a 20-yard blast from just outside the penalty area that went in off the right post. That made it 3-0 and gave the Mustangs all the margin they would need.

The win was also a little bit of payback for the Mustangs who were knocked out of last year’s playoffs by Cranbrook in the semifinals.

“It feels amazing. We worked so hard up to this point just practicing and putting in the work, lots of running, lots of discipline. So it feels really good that it paid off, especially against a team that we have a small rivalry between,” junior co-captain Clair Dauer said.

“I’m really happy. I’m happy for my staff. I wouldn’t be able to do this without them,” Price said. “I’m happy for the players. They were absolutely tremendous today. But we talked about that last year, getting beat in the semifinal to Cranbrook and how that motivation and discipline would play in today. So now, we sort of righted that wrong from last year, and now we want to go all the way to states and go back to the Division 2 final.” He added that, “It was a complete team performance.”

Photo gallery of Cranbrook-Kingswood vs. Marian in a CHSL Bishop Tournament championship

For Cranbrook, it is their second straight loss in the Bishop Division Final in their first two years in the division.

“In these games, you always have a chance. You always will have one just kind of bouncing around and hope to finish it. But hats off to Mairan, they’ve got some great players over there, good coaches, and they make us better,” Cranes head coach David Brown said. “But it just didn’t go our way. We didn’t get the bounces we wanted, didn’t get the finishes we wanted, but just to play in this game and represent the Catholic League was good,” he added.

Both teams will now turn their attention to the playoffs. Marian (14-2-1) earned a first round by and will have to wait to see who they play in the district semifinals.  It could be Cranbrook (3-8-2) who will play Walled Lake Western this Wednesday with the winner advancing to play Marian the following week.

“Nothing is easy this time of year. Everything is hard, so we’ve just got to play our best and hope for the best,” Brown said.