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GIRLS SOCCER: Rochester edges Stoney Creek on PKs, wins first district since 2013

Dan Stickradt | June 6, 2022 | Comments (0)

BY DAN STICKRADT

SENIOR EDITOR

Dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com

TW: @LocalSportsFans | North Oakland Sports

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ROMEO – For Rochester, the drought is finally over.

The unbeaten Falcons, the OAA Red Division champions and ranked fifth in the state in Division 1, outlasted seventh-ranked Rochester Stoney Creek, 2-1, Saturday in the district finals at Romeo to claim the school’s first district crown since 2013.

Rochester edged Stoney Creek 4-3 in a shootout to gain the victory and advance to the regional semifinals Tuesday (5:30 p.m.) at Rochester Adams against 13^th-ranked New Baltimore Anchor Bay. The last time the Falcons (15-0-4) reached the regionals was nine years ago when they won a regional crown and eventually lost in the state semifinals to OAA-Red foe Troy 2-1 in a shootout.

“I don’t know if we’ve even played in the district finals since that 2013 season,” admitted third-year Rochester coach Doug Steinard.

Since 2013, Rochester has lost in the pre-district round twice, lost in the district semifinals five times and like everyone else had the 2020 campaign wiped out after tryouts due to the Covid Plamdemic. This year, the Falcons have battled through a brutally-touch schedule and are now in the Sweet 16 of the Division 1 state tournament.

“We found a way to win our district, which is always one of the toughest districts in the state,” lamented Steinard about his district that featured seven schools that finished the regular season over the five-hundred mark. “It’s never easy to win around here – it’s ridiculous. Winning a league or a district is very hard. Look at who we face. Our league had six teams ranked going into the tournament and every team in our district is tough. Stoney Creek, (Rochester) Adams, Romeo, (Utica) Eisenhower, Utica, (Utica) Ford – everyone is good. In our league even the last place team, Lake Orion, which is being regulated down to the OAA-White next year, won a district. And the team they beat in the district finals was Oxford, which won the OAA-White. And we had to win three, one-goal games to win our district.

“We don’t get much of a break, which is why when we have a non-league games I try to play everyone (on the roster) because our league games and district games are brutal,” continued Steinard, a 2008 Rochester graduate. “I couldn’t be more proud of what we’ve done up until this point. To win the hardest league in the state and one of the tougher districts says a lot about this group of girls.”

Against Stoney Creek – a mainstay in the Division 1 top 15 over the past decade – the Falcons battled the Cougars for the duration with both teams trading off occasional chances in the defensive battle.

In the shootout, Rochester missed its first shot with Katelyn Guolla, Alaina Webb, Ava Williams and Natalie Rayce converting the next four opportunities. That set the stage for freshman goalkeeper Alice Max to make a save on the Cougars’ fifth shooter to seal the deal.

“We returned most of our team from last year and we’ve upgraded at certain positions,” noted Steinard. “Alice has been very good for us all season – all of the freshman have been good. She’s so tall, athletic and has those long arms and has made some great saves this season. She was very good in our tournament games. She was (clutch) against Stoney Creek.”

Max, also a standout basketball player who stands 6-foot tall, finished with two saves in the shootout and eight saves over the course of 100 minutes of open play, including both 10-minute full overtime periods.

“Our defense has been very good. We play a freshman at center back, two juniors and a senior back there on defense and they have been solid. And we’ve had a lot of girls contribute on the offensive end. Natlie Rayce has been great all season.”

The game was tied 0-0 after the 80 minutes of regulation play.

Junior forward Lilley Bosley scored the first goal for Stoney Creek – her team-leading 26^th marker of the season to extend her single-season school record.

Rayce, a junior midfielder, knotted the game later in the first overtime session when she drilled a penalty kick after a teammate was hauled down in the box. Rayce now has 18 goals on the campaign.

That set the stage for a shootout, with the Falcons finally ending their nine-year drought and claiming the school’s 11th district crown – the others coming in 1987, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2013.

“We knew it would be very close, as rivalry games this time of year usually are,” said Steinard. “We knew it would likely be a one-goal game and it happened to reach a shootout.”

It marked the second straight year that Stoney Creek (13-4-2) lost in the district finals and third time in four years minus the COVID year off. The Cougars have lost in the district finals round in 2022, 2021, 2019, 2017 and 2014 while earning district crowns in 2015 and 2016 — the latter the program’s state championship run.

ROCHESTER’S DEEP TOURNAMENT RUNS

1987: District champions, lost in Class A regional semifinals (unknown opponent)

1992: District champions, lost in Class A regionals finals to Grosse Pointe North (4-1)

1994: District, regional champions, lost in Class A state semifinals to Troy (2-1)

1995: District, regional champions, lost to Birmingham Seaholm in Class A state semifinals (4-1)

1996: District champions, lost in Class A regional semifinals to Midland Dow (4-2)

2002: District champions, lost in Division 1 regional finals to Troy (4-0)

2004: District champions, lost in Division 1 regional finals to Grosse Pointe South (2-1, 2OT)

2006: District champions, lost in Division 1 regional finals to Novi (1-0)

2007: District, regional champions, lost in Division 1 state finals to Novi (2-1)

2013: District, regional champions, lost in Division 1 state semifinals to Troy (2-1, 2OT, SO)

2022: District champions, TBD in Division 1 regionals

OAA RED DIVISION TEAMS IN THE DIVISION 1 POLLS ENTERING THE POSTSEASON

4 Troy Athens (15-3-0)

5 Rochester (15-0-4)

7 Rochester Stoney Creek (13-4-2)

10 Rochester Adams (13-5-2)

12 Bloomfield Hills (11-2-3)

15 Troy (10-3-4)

OAA RED TEAMS IN POSTSEASON PLAY

Bloomfield Hills – District champions

Lake Orion – District champions

Rochester – District champions

Rochester Adams – District semifinalists

Rochester Stoney Creek – District runner-up

Troy – District runner-up

Troy Athens – District champions

OAA RED DIVISION STANDINGS 2022

SCHOOL LEAGUE OVERALL

Rochester	5-0-2	15-0-4
Troy Athens	4-2-0	15-3-0
Bloomfield Hills	3-2-1	11-2-3
Troy	2-2-2	10-3-4
Rochester Stoney Creek	2-2-2	13-4-2
Rochester Adams	2-3-1	13-5-2
Lake Orion	0-6-0	11-7-3