Coach Ryan Thomason admitted he never expected the Plymouth Christian Academy girls soccer team to have its greatest season in program history.
“At the beginning of the year, we didn’t think any of this was possible if we’re being honest as coaches,” Thomason said after the Eagles’ dream season ended with a 2-0 loss to Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett in the Division 4 state semifinal on June 11 at Waterford Kettering. “We thought we’d take a drop in the program, so that speaks to our seniors’ resilience and who we wanted to be as a team.”
And those accomplishments? The Eagles (16-4-3) won both the Michigan Independent Athletic Conference and a district championship for the fourth time in five seasons. They won their first regional title ever. And they made their first appearance in the final four, coming within just one win of playing for a state championship.
“I think it was a shock for a lot of us when we played so well together this season after we lost a lot of people last year,” said goalkeeper Mary Michalak, one of two returners who made the Michigan High School Soccer Coaches Association’s all-state team last season. Clare Binder was the other. “We lost a lot of our defenders and midfielders, but we got it together during the season, and it was just a great run we went on.”
That seems like brutal honesty from Thomason and Michalak, but their surprise was warranted.
They graduated some key starters from last year’s team, including Kate Creighton and Mia Houk, their other two all-state selections.
Creighton, the daughter of Eastern Michigan University football coach Chris Creighton, finished with 99 career goals and was named the MIAC MVP twice before going on to play for Wheaton College in Illinois.
Houk was arguably their top defender.
No one knew what to expect once the 2024 graduating class passed the baton to this year’s nine seniors. But they retooled on the fly and made the most of their opportunities, even finally getting PCA out of regionals.
“This senior class has been nothing but amazing, and I’m proud to be part of it,” Thomason said. “I’m proud to be able to get to coach such a great senior class — and the rest of the team as well. We wanted to be a resilient team, play with purpose and be intentional in what we do. We came together as a team and, for as long as I have coached, the teams that do the best are the ones that can develop unity and fight for each other, and that was the case this year.”
Those seniors include Binder, Selina Mong, Georgia Bird, Lucy Kaiser, Chloe Martin, Lauren Hamlin, Lauren Baxendale, Sarah McCreedy and Sophia Arlen-Olsen.
What’s more, their success came after Thomason also led the boys soccer team to the state championship last fall.
“It’s a testament to the kids.” Thomason added. “The last two summers, there were several boys and girls who came out and trained with me every morning at 7 a.m. the whole summer because they wanted it. They wanted to be great, and they wanted to do great things. It’s the behind-the-scenes stuff and the exta work that helps that finally come to fruition for both the boys and girls.”
It just wasn’t enough to get past the Knights, who will face Kalamazoo Christian in Saturday’s state championship at Michigan State’s DeMartin Soccer Stadium.
Liggett (14-3-4) scored both of its goals in the first half.
The first score saw Jazmin Diaz-Don’s shot deflected by Michalak, but Lea Abdul-Nour was there to bang in the rebound from point-blank range only eight minutes into play.
The Knights’ other goal came 90 seconds before halftime, as Natalie Greene played a ball through the right side of PCA’s back line that Kerith Short got on top of and shot toward the opposite side of the net.
Nevertheless, the loss doesn’t take away from what the Eagles accomplished this season, especially when many doubted they could improve upon the success last year’s senior class enjoyed.
“It was a lot to take on, but I think we deserved (the success PCA had),” Michalak said. “The work we’ve put in made us worthy of what we accomplished.”
Brandon Folsom covers high school sports in metro Detroit for Hometown Life. Follow him on Twitter at @folsombrandonj.
This article originally appeared on Hometownlife.com: Greatest season in history of Plymouth Christian Academy girls soccer ends at final 4
Reporting by Brandon Folsom, Hometownlife.com / Hometownlife.com
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
