North Farmington takes City Girls Soccer Championship

's girls soccer team celebrated a fourth city championship title in five seasons Monday night with a 2-0 victory over .

The storm clouds that hung over the area parted just in time for Farmington's pre-game Senior Night ceremonies. Seniors Lauren Kohler, Quin Miller, Corrinne Greeg, Ashley Williams, Allie Bahling, Melanie Guyette, Meghan Diehl, Ashleigh Finn and Kristina Camaj were honored.

Although the game ended in a loss, Falcon coach Greg Thompson liked the way his team looked on the field.

“I think that we tried to execute our plan, and we had a few hiccups,” Thompson said. “Aside from a couple of mistakes that cost us, we played well.”

The Falcons (4-6-4) kept the game close in the first half. The Raiders (8-7-3) attacked in the final minutes of the first half with shots that sailed just over the net. The near-goals were met with enthusiastic cheers from the North Farmington faithful.

The creativity on offense was just one element of his team’s play that North Farmington coach Tim Russell liked to see.

“We had a great week of practice, probably the best of the year,” Russell said. “Everything we did in practice, we saw in the game today.”

At the 35:19 mark in the second half, Raider Sam Roumayah put that offensive creativity to use and slashed through the Farmington defense to put a shot in the goal. Thompson couldn’t help but admire the athleticism of the play.

“I think (Roumayah) went through three defenders and then scored,” Thompson said. “It was just a beautiful play.”

Russell said that Roumayah went through a rough patch this season but has come back full force.

“Her resurgence has really changed our fortunes toward the second half of the season,” Russell said. “She’s a tremendous player. She’s throwing her heart into the game, and it’s making a big difference for us.”

North Farmington’s Jasmine Henderson put the game away with a second goal inside the 25:00 mark.

Though her team was down, Farmington’s Melissa Kucukarslan kept up her energy level, much to the delight of her coach. Thompson said that this has been Kucukarslan’s style all season.

“She’s just a big-time player,” Thompson said. “She’s got a big heart. She runs and runs and runs.”

Russell said that Kucukarslan’s speed was greater than what he expected.

“She’s crafty,” Russell said. “It’s one thing to be able to get open with a move; it’s another to be able to take advantage of it with a burst of speed. She gave us trouble tonight.”

Raider Hallee Kansman could not have asked for a much better end to her senior season. She said that the success of the team was a result of everyone working together.

“We’ve been on this city champs streak for a long time running now, so it just feels really great,” Kansman said. “It’s a good finish to our regular season…We just played collectively as a team. Everyone went out and played with their full effort and their full heart.”

Next on North Farmington’s slate is a matchup with Novi. The game will be next Tuesday, May 31 at Novi Meadows. Russell and his team are going in with confidence, regardless of Novi’s No.1 ranking. The team beat the No. 2 team in the state, Troy, earlier in the season.

“We are going to go into it with the idea that we are going to try to be in the championship,” Russell said. “Knowing that you’ve already done it with a good team helps our confidence.”