Troy Girls Soccer Falls to Okemos in State Championship Game

East Lansing, MI – The disappointment and frustration weren’t easy to hide for the Troy varsity girls soccer team.

For a second straight season, the Colts only to be shutout.

Okemos (24-1-1) won the state title Saturday with a 2-0 victory at DeMartin Stadium on the Michigan State University campus. Last year, Novi blanked the Colts 1-0 in the title game.

“It’s a hard pill to swallow,” Troy coach Brian Zawislak said. “They wanted it so bad. The girls were really into it this season. I thought they were playing some of their best soccer at the end of the season, but Okemos was a fantastic team. They are a solid all-around team and tough to break down.”

The problems for Zawislak’s squad started early when it allowed the Chieftains some solid scoring opportunities just minutes into the game.

Okemos sophomore Kristelle Yewah almost connected with fellow forward Ashton Miller at the 34:57 mark for a quick goal. Colts goalkeeper Alison Holland had to make a diving save to keep the game scoreless.

“They set the tone from the beginning of the game,” Zawislak said. “I don’t think we put enough pressure on their forwards, our backline didn’t step up, and I think they got comfortable on the ball. I think that helped them get confidence.”

Chieftains coach Brian Guggemos usually plays Yewah up at forward by herself, but for the finals game moved Miller up with her, and the two were a dynamic tandem assisting on both of the team’s goals. 

“They were one of the best tandems we’ve come up against all season,” Zawislak said.

Yewah set up Emma Baker to give Okemos a 1-0 lead with 12:04 left in the first half. Off a throw-in around midfield, Yewah brought it up the sideline and cut into the middle of the field.

She made Holland move forward just a step and gave her an open passing lane to Baker, who was cutting right up the middle of the field.

“If we had gone up a goal, the game would’ve been completely different,” Zawislak said. “Unfortunately, we had to play from behind and just could never correct the backline.”

Coming into the finals, Troy (19-3-3) only allowed a single goal in six playoff games. The backline only gave up two or more goals twice all season.

The Chieftains didn’t even need 10 minutes in the second half to become the third.

Miller beat two defenders in the corner to create enough space so she could center a laser of a pass across the net to Liz Mullin. Mullin kicked the ball in stride into the back of the goal. 

“Ashton is really poised on the ball, and she served a great ball in on that second goal. We have to do a better job defending her one-on-one; we were diving in a lot,” Zawislak said.

The goal gave Okemos a seemingly insurmountable 2-0 lead with 30:47 left to play. While Troy’s defense had been outstanding in the tournament, the Chieftains backline might have been even better.

In six playoff games, including two overtime wins, they didn’t allow a single goal.

The handful of solid scoring opportunities the Colts did have in the final 30 minutes on Saturday didn’t come close to getting past Okemos goalkeeper Molly O’Connor.

“We didn’t give up a goal," Guggemos said. "We played three of four teams in the top five, I don’t think anybody can say we backed into (the title)."

Troy’s leading scorer Irene Young, playing in her final high school game, was a non-factor. The Chieftains limited her to a handful of touches, and she rarely saw open space when she had the ball in their zone.

Young and her fellow seniors shed some tears after the loss, but Zawislak said the group had nothing to hang their heads about. The group of seniors were playing in their 25th tournament game, something Zawislak said “not many other seniors can say.”

“We just got done in the huddle, telling the girls to thank a senior before you leave because they really set the standard at Troy High, getting to the postseason and deep into the postseason every year,” he said.