GIRLS SOCCER: Stoney Creek blanks Lake Orion
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
LAKE ORION — Rochester Stoney Creek has benefited this season from a highly-touted freshman class. Yet it is the seniors that have led the way.
Two of those seniors contributed points Thursday in the Cougars’ 3-0 OAA Red Division road win over Lake Orion, while two freshmen also scored for Stoney Creek.
“I think the freshmen have given us some depth, something we didn’t have last year, and a couple of these freshmen have stepped in and done a really good job,” admitted second-year Stoney Creek coach Bryan Mittelstadt. “But I think our seniors have really led this team. We are still a work in progress. We have a ways to go, but I think we’re slowly coming together. We have a couple of really good seniors that make the difference.”
Senior Joanie Seija, headed for Oakland University next season, tallied in the second half to cap the scoring for Stoney Creek, with her goal coming off a through pass from classmate Lauren Bulhuis with just over 30 minutes to go.
Freshman Maddie Toth opened the scoring with a 30-yard laser coming in the 10th minute for the Cougars (4-3, 3-3). Freshman Jamie Midgley scored the second goal 10 minutes later, this time coming courtesy of a Maria Zandi helper. Zandi is the third of five freshmen gaining valuable minutes for Stoney Creek this season.
“We’ve played some very good teams here the first couple of weeks,” said Mittelstadt. “We opened league play with (top-ranked) Troy, and then we lost to Rochester, 1-0, without Bolhuis. We also lost to (fourth-ranked Rochester) Adams the other day. We’ll learn from those games. Those are three of the better teams in our league.
“I think all of those freshmen are gaining some great experience. We hope to be a lot better the second half of the season and be the type of team that no one wants to play (in the postseason),” added Mittlestadt. “We have the potential to be a good team.”
Lake Orion is in a familiar boat as Stoney Creek with a youth movement. Lake Orion was projected to bolster 11 seniors this season, although four are out for the year with injury issues. That has left Lake Orion with an unusual high amount of freshmen on the varsity ranks — eight of them.
“We have our good days and we have out bad days,” admitted first-year Lake Orion head coach Randy McCoy. “We are very young. I don’t think we’ve had this many freshmen before. But that being said, when you play in a league like ours, you do see improvement but that doesn’t always mean wins with the schedule that we play.”
Lake Orion (3-5-1, 1-4-0) did a few chances later in the game, but could not beat Stoney Creek sophomore Halee Michel, one of six returning starters this season for the Cougars.
Michael finished with four saves for Stoney Creek. Haley Barnes made eight saves for Lake Orion.
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