Tournament tested: Colts continue stampede into Final Four
SNIPER PATROL: Troy's Madison Hirsch (No. 22) scored two goals Friday in a Division 1 regional final against Grand Blanc. Staff Photo | Dan Stickradt
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
LAKE ORION — Troy has many elements on its girls soccer team that any coach can’t teach: speed, size and postseason experience.
The Colts have a bevy of each and that has helped carry them back to the Final Four.
Troy outshot Grand Blanc 18-8, including 10-6 with shots on frame, and posted a 3-1 triumph Friday over the Bobcats in a Division 1 regional final at Lake Orion High School, a game where the Colts played to their strengths and carried play throughout.
“Size-wise we are able to win a lot of balls in their end. So in the midfield, we are really strong and we can win balls out of the air,” offered Troy coach Brian Zawislak, who coached in his third regional finals in four years with the Colts. “Up top, we are really big with Irene (Young) and we were able to control the pace of the game (with our speed).”
With three straight appearances in the regional finals, several of Troy’s players are used to playing on the big stage.
CHIN MUSIC: Troy's Phylisha Drayton (left) heads the ball off Grand Blanc's Allison Carroll's face during Friday's regional finals. Staff Photo | Dan Stickradt
“We talked about before the game how tournament tested we were,” said Zawislak. “Over the past three years, some of them have played 70-plus games together. It’s a testament to them because they have executed (on the field) and prepared in the off-season so well, which has enabled us to play this deep (in the tournament three straight years). We’ve learned a lot from other games to keep this season alive.”
It marks the seventh regional title in school history and the second in three years for the Colts (19-2-2). Troy lost in the regional finals last season to eventual state champion Novi, 1-0.
Troy will play in the state semifinals Wednesday at a site and time to be determined against either Portage Central, the 2009 state champion, or Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central, a pair of annual top-10 teams.
Grand Blanc defeated Troy, 3-1, in the first week of the season, scoring twice in the final five minutes. The Bobcats (14-6-2) struggled to muster much offense against the state’s fourth-ranked team this time around.
“The more (Troy) kept pressuring, the deeper they got. When we would win a ball we would play it out and Troy would just bring it back in,” offered Grand Blanc coach Greg Kehler. “It was just constant pressure.
“They move off the ball so well,” continued Kehler. “They are just a good (well-rounded) team.”
After a scoreless first half, where Troy dominated play, the Colts scored the game’s first two goals. Jennifer Buck slotted the ball to a running sophomore Madison Hirsch, who one-timed a shot from the corner of the box that sailed over Grand Blanc keeper Morgan Waier’s hands and inside the far post with 34:44 on the scoreboard for 1 -0 advantage.
Young, the OAA Red Division scoring champ who has netted 27 goals on the year, set up the second goal for Troy. Working down the left side, she split two defenders and then sent a left-footed cross through traffic to freshman Phylisha Drayton, who headed in what proved to be the game-winner from six yards out with 30:50 left in the contest.
Grand Blanc, which carried a 14-game unbeaten streak into Friday, did something that no other team has been able to do the entire postseason — score on Troy.
After Troy’s Emily Dzik cleared the ball of the goal line, giving a cornerkick to Grand Blanc, Alex Lowes’ set piece sailed into the goal mouth and Ava Peera pounced on the ball from short-range to cut the deficit to 2-1 with 27:17 still left to play.
Grand Blanc, which lost in the regional finals for the third straight season, could only muster one more shot the rest of the way. Troy goalkeeper Alison Holland, rarely tested throughout, picked up her 19th win in goal on five saves, as the Colts have yielded only eight goals in 23 games, good for a 0.31 team goals-against-average.
Troy put the game away with an insurance tally with 14:53 left, when junior Alyssa Cabelof flicked the ball over to a wide open Hirsch, who volleyed in a shot from eight yards in front of the goal.
CUTTING IT BACK: Troy's Alyssa Cabelof carries the call back into the middle of the field during the Colts' 3-1 victory over Grand Blanc. Staff Photo | Dan Stickradt
“This feels great,” said Hirsch. “I wasn’t with the team two years ago when they made it (to the Final Four). Last year we lost (in the Elite Eight), so it feels great to be on the other side.
“Last year we all put our heads down when Novi scored that goal,” recalled Hirsch of the regional finals loss. “This year when Grand Blanc scored, I said ‘guys we have to finish this game out.’”
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Category: High School, High School (M-Z), Prep Wraps, Troy
