Sports

Lakers Girls Soccer Beats Farmington 3-1, Wins Division Title

The West Bloomfield High School girls soccer team won its first Oakland Activities Association White Division championship since 2004 Tuesday with a 3-1 victory at home over Farmington High School.

As the clock ticked down the remaining seconds Tuesday night, the Lakers bench screamed with each number in anticipation of the game ending in victory. They didn’t have to — the girls soccer team played a decisive 3-1 win over Farmington High School at home Tuesday.

With that win and Bloomfield Andover High School's loss to Lahser High School the same night, the Lakers clinched their first Oakland Activities Association White Division championship since 2004. Although the title doesn’t necessarily come as a surprise to the team, it’s just as sweet as one might expect.

“When I came in as coach three years ago, we had a core group of players who have helped to establish a different kind of culture here in (Bronte) Payne, (Taylor) Hotz, (Niki) Zuk and (Alissa) Neff,” coach Jason Clark said of his four captains.

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“We just knew this was our year, and if we stayed focused, we were going to do it," Clark said. "We had a chip on our shoulder because certain people were saying, ‘Who’s West Bloomfield?’ Now, we know we’re 9-2-2, and we won the league.”

“We’ve worked so hard,” senior midfielder Hotz said with a breathless grin. “A bunch of us have been on the team since our freshman year, and now, finally, getting here in our senior year — it’s just the best feeling ever.”

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Hotz said that a key to WBHS’ victory over the Falcons, who fell to 3-2-2 overall with the loss, was the type of deft passing which has come to define the Lakers this season. At 17:35 in the first half, senior midfielder Emily Rozin received a pass in good position on the left side of the box before slipping on wet grass, recovering, then sliding a short pass over to the other side, where senior attacker Julia Kempf kicked in the game’s first goal.

“We’ve been working on our crosses a lot lately, so it’s good to see a goal like that," Hotz said. "We really connected well before it even got to Emily.”

FHS coach Greg Thompson attributed a lack in defense to injuries suffered during the week, as well as to a difficult game schedule.

“We have a lot of people playing in positions that are new to them, and they’re trying to sort things out,” Thompson said. “We lost a few players who were starters, so any time you make that many changes, it really forces people to have to solve problems in real time.

"We have three games this week, so you don’t have a lot of practices to fix things,” he said.

Zuk blasted home a shot from the right side of the box after a corner kick from Payne to bring the score to 2-0 at 7:05 in the first half, and the Lakers never looked back.

At 32:12 in the second half, Rozin helped force FHS into a handball violation from 20 yards out of the Falcons’ goal, then a free kick from Hotz was stopped after a dive from FHS goalkeeper Lauren McCann. However, Payne was running toward the goal just in time to receive the rebound, and she kicked in a goal to bring the score to 3-0.

Thompson gave his team credit for not giving up, and sure enough, at 2:43, FHS junior Melissa Kucukarslan drew a penalty kick after forcing the issue with Lakers freshman Knar Tpouzan. Midfielder Quin Miller kicked in the penalty to bring the score to 3-1.

“We had moments where I thought we played pretty well and other times when kids weren’t sure of their job. Melissa has been one of our stronger performers all year,” Thompson said.

Clark said the Lakers will receive a bye in the first round of the playoffs after their draw, Pontiac High School, withdrew from the tournament. The Lakers await the winner of a game between Waterford Mott High School and Huron Valley Lakeland High School for a game June 2 — which is, unfortunately, the same date as WBHS' senior prom.

The Lakers are trying to get the game date switched, and Clark said that if they are able to do so, he is confident in his team’s chances of reaching the district finals. “I see us right up there with (third-ranked in Michigan) Troy (High School),” he said. “This is our time.”


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