Unfinished business: Fourth-ranked Troy looking to reach state finals for first time since 2003
WITH THE FEET: Troy's blanced offensive attack includes sophomore Madison Hirsch, who has netted 12 goals and is second on the team in scoring for the fourth-ranked Colts, who will face Grand Rapdis Forest Hills Central in Wednesday's Division 1 state semifinals. File Photo.
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
TROY— A year ago a loss to Novi left a bitter taste in mouth of Irene Young and her teammates. Now, Young and Troy are doing something about it.
The Colts, ranked fourth in Division 1 and a top-five team all season, will play in the Division 1 girls soccer state semifinals at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Holt against Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central, which entered the postseason ranked seventh.
“We knew we had the talent this season, but we needed for others to step up because we lost a lot of good players,” said young, a junior midfielder/forward for Troy. “I think we have done just that. A lot of girls have stepped up.”
Troy coach Brian Zawislak, whose team reached the semifinals two years ago and lost in the regional finals to Novi (1-0) last season despite dominating play, have been sterling all season. The Colts have played a brutally tough schedule and have only been upset once all season.
Forest Hills Central is coming off a 5-2 thrashing of 2009 state champion Portage Central in Friday’s regional final, yet the Rangers (20-1-0) will find the scoring a little tougher to come by against one of the state’s better defenses. Forest Hills Central also showcased some firepower in the district finals two weeks ago, scorching another ranked team, No. 8 Caledonia, 6-1.
This is the first time the two schools have met in girls soccer.
“I know they were in Division 2 for years and they just came up to Division 1 a couple of years ago,” said Zawislak. “They won a couple of state titles in Division 2 (three) and were very successful there. I know they have a very good team. They have been scoring a lot of goals.”
After Troy dropped a 3-1 decision to Grand Blanc in early April, the Colts have never given up more than a goal in a game. Troy has pitched 17 shutouts, which is believed to be a school record, and they have given up only eight goals all year.
Troy, 19-2-2 on the season, avenged Grand Blanc with a 3-1 victory in a regional final on Friday. The Colts have outscored their five postseason opponents 24-1, knocking out league foe and fellow top-10 team Rochester Adams (3-0) in the regional semifinals last week. The Colts face three unranked teams in the district week, outscoring them 18-1.
Young leads a potent Colts offense with 27 goals — the most by a player from the talent-laden OAA Red Division in several years. Madison Hirsch has scored 12 goals and freshman Phylisha Drayton has netted 10 goals for the Colts, who have several other players with five or more goals.
“I like our balance,” said Zawislak. “Irene has 27 goals, which is a lot, but she’s also a very good passer. She assisted on three goals last week in the regionals. We have a lot of offensive weapons. Teams have been paying so much attention (marking) Irene and we’ve had other girls that have stepped up and finished.”
Troy has won state titles in 1994 and 2003 and is making its seventh appearance in the Final Four in school history. The Colts are 4-3 in state semifinals and 2-2 in state title games.
Troy is trying to become the first OAA-Red Division school to reach the D-1 finals since Rochester in 2007 and the first OAA school overall to reach the finals since Bloomfield Hills Lahser reached the final day in Division 2 in both 2007 and 2008 — and both times the Knights lost to Forest Hills Central.
Troy’s run to the semifinals has not all been offense, as the defense rarely makes mistakes.
“Our defense has been solid all season. I think everyone just plays their roles their roles,” said Zawislak. “We don’t have any unsung heroes or anything like that. Everyone just does their job.”
Erin Farley has held the fort as a central defender for the Colts, who often play three in the back, while marking backs Rachel Shamoon and Kelsey Horbach have shut down all-state-caliber forwards with regularity without much fanfare.
Sophomore Alison Holland, who replaced all-stater Victoria Trocolli (Drexel) in goal, has posted a goals-against-average under 0.50 Jen Busk and Emily Dzik have been solid in the midfield, as the Colts have formed a cohesive unit all over the field.
“We lost Vic (Trocolli) in goal, we lost our leading scorer form last year, Madeline Wideman, and we lost Madison Pines, who was a fixture on our back line for three years,” said Zawislak of his three all-staters that graduated in 2010. “But everyone came together (this year) to fill those roles and we have played well all season.
“I think we have played a very tough schedule, which I know has helped us a lot ot get to this point,” continued Zawislak, who played at Livonia Churchill in the 1990s and understands that tough strength of schedule is a must for any team looking to make a run. “Troy Athens and Adams were very good this season and they both finished ahead of us in the league. Rochester came on strong this year and we tied them, North Farmington beat us 1-0. (Auburn Hills) Avondale was a strong team and their defense was very stingy. We played a lot of teams just in our league.
“We’re hoping that it all paid off and we can get to Saturday,” continued Zawislak. “We have another tough team in the semifinals.”
Top-ranked Novi, which has won four of the past six state titles, and unranked Grosse Pointe South meet in the other state semifinal Wednesday. The state finals are set for Saturday at a site in the Lansing area and time to be determined Wednesday night.
“We would like to play Novi again. But I think we just want to make it to the finals,” said young. “(Two years ago) we played in the state (semifinals) and lost to (Utica) Eisenhower. I think we have a lot of girls on this team that have experience playing in big games. We’re excited to be here but we have some (unfinished business).”
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Category: High School, Prep Wraps, Troy
