MOUNT PLEASANT ― The Gaylord girls soccer team hadn’t spent much time on the losing end of the scoreboard during the 2026 season before Thursday, June 4.
GHS (17-3-1) finished the regular season with only two losses, won a district title, a share of the Big North Conference title and accumulated a 90-16 goal differential through 20 matches. With No. 7 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central waiting in the Division 2 regional finals, however, it was going to take one of the Blue Devils’ best efforts to keep a historic 2026 season alive.
Fifteen minutes into the game, it was pretty clear who was going home with the regional title trophy.
FHC scored three goals in the first fifteen minutes, showing off quality touch and crafty ways of moving the ball around an evolving Gaylord formation to eventually put away a 3-0 victory and bring the Blue Devils’ season to a close.
“There has to be a winner and a loser, and we’re on the unfortunate end of that today,” Gaylord coach Chris Adams said. “The first 15 minutes really rocked us and put us in a difficult spot.”
Rangers blitz Blue Devils in opening minutes
If you needed any proof to back up FHC’s No. 7 ranking, they gave you plenty to work with in the opening minutes of Thursday’s regional final.
Junior Jenna Stibitz scored a quick goal in one of the Rangers’ first pushes towards the net, setting the tone for the blistering pace FHC would play with in the opening half. Junior Rylee Larson scored a few minutes later, then junior Sophia Haughey scored less than a minute later. Before Gaylord could really get its footing, it felt like the game had already slipped out of its grasp.
“It’s tough to come back from that at any level,” Adams said. “There are two options in life: you can try, or you can quit. Quitting guarantees you are going to fail, while trying means you may be successful, and we never quit.”
Gaylord tried to give FHC different formations and different looks, helping hold off the scoring for the remaining 65 minutes. Still, the Rangers ability to move the ball around Gaylord’s defenders kept the ball in their possession and limited the Blue Devils chances at the net. Without chances to score themselves, the 3-0 deficit was a mountain too steep to climb.
“They never quit, they never stopped trying. They constantly gave 100 percent, and they should all be proud of themselves,” Adams said.
Madi Augustine shines in final game as a Blue Devil
With the number of opportunities FHC had at Gaylord’s net, it’s pretty remarkable that the score didn’t snowball even further. Senior goalkeeper Madi Augustine had a big part in keeping it at 3-0.
In her final game as GHS’s goalkeeper, the Defiance (OH) College commit made a number of difficult saves after the Rangers’ initial barrage, showing why she was such a valuable part of GHS’s winning formula in 2026.
“Today, she turned up, especially in the second half. She made four of five just incredible saves that not many goalkeepers are going to make,” Adams said.
Augustine is one of eight seniors leaving the program, including Hannah Titus, Abby Alexander, Kate Timperly, Callie English, Anna Aderman, Paige Moeggenberg and Emma Horsell-Sehl.
Bar raised, high hopes for GHS soccer’s future
The 2026 season just wrapped, so is it too early to look towards 2027?
While Gaylord will need to find a replacement for its departing goaltender, a large percentage of Gaylord’s lineup is set to return next spring, a year older and with a season of high-level soccer experience under their belts. While the 2026 team finishes as the most accomplished in program history, the 2027 may be able to push things even further.
“We’re going to compete next year, and we’re going to hopefully be back on these stages playing against these fantastic teams,” Adams said. “That’s going to take building from this foundation we’ve been building over multiple years.”
Contact GHT Sports Editor Dylan Jespersen at Djespersen@gaylordheraldtimes.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @dylanjespersen, and Instagram, @dylanjespersen
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Historic Gaylord girls soccer season ends in regional finals
Reporting by Dylan Jespersen, The Petoskey News-Review / The Petoskey News-Review
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Dylan Jespersen, The Petoskey News-Review | USA TODAY Network
