Girls Soccer Preview.

Written Tuesday March 14th at 12:40 AM

Here is my preview and predictions for the upcoming Girls Soccer season for the OAA. Credit to MIPrepZone for helping me through the process.


Red:

Stoney Creek

Bloomfield Hills

Adams

Athens

Rochester

North Farmington

Royal Oak

FAVORITE: Stoney Creek: The Cougars are going to be State ranked, they return a ton of talent, and not to mention they are the defending Division One State Champions. Emily Solek returns to led the Stoney Creek attack this season, along with Oakland commit Truly Hoering, Isabella Langusch, and goalie Gina Cerny. The Cougars only lost three seniors from a team that beat four state ranked teams to get their State crown last season so they will have a ton of experience back but could another run be in the cards???

NEXT: Bloomfield Hills: The Blackhawks will be deep and dangerous when you look at them. Bloomfield Hills will have plenty of scoring options to go to led by senior Samantha Ferry, junior Christina Hickson, and Sawyer Burman. Bloomfield Hills will be loaded in goal with Becca Hancock and Molly Efros and they have a solid defense led by Lyrek Skyes and Claire Beresford. The Blackhawks will be a serious contender this season, watch out.

DARK HORSE: Adams: The Highlanders have a ton of talent returning this season when you look at Maggie Rogers, Ryian Owusu, and Hannah Simard.  Adams could make some noise this season so keep an eye on them.

SLEEPER: Athens: The Red Hawks made the regional final last season before falling to Stoney Creek on their home field. Troy Athens returns senior forward Ashley Leonard. Leonard will be a key player in leading the Red Hawks whom will be young early but looking at this team, they will be in the mix come later in the season.

OTHERS:

North Farmington: has a solid core returning from a team that made a run in the State playoffs. The Raiders will be led by Patti Tcholakian and Sam Randel to go with a deep team this season for North Farmington.

Rochester: The Falcons struggled last season due to injuries to some key people but they should have some experience back from a team that was not consistent to their standards but expect Rochester to have a bounce back season this year.

Royal Oak: The Ravens have a new coach in Lisa Cotter and experience but life in the Red is not going to be an easy one for Royal Oak. They struggled last season at 5-15 so there is hope that the Ravens could turn things around this season.

OUTLOOK: I think Stoney Creek and Bloomfield Hills will be the two teams battling it out for the crown. Athens and Adams will have strong says in the division, maybe North Farmington and Rochester could have says. Royal Oak is in full transition mode. I like the Cougars to win this division.

White:

Berkley

Farmington

Avondale

Oxford

Troy

Clarkston

West Bloomfield

FAVORITE: Berkley: The Bears return a ton of experience as they will be led by Camryn Sawicki, Rachel Cantor, and Meghan West. Berkley will be very strong on the defensive end as they have Emma Green and Katie Cross leading the defense and Monika Hodges in net. The Bears will be solid and a tough out for sure this season.

NEXT: Farmington: The Falcons should have a solid team this season as they will be led by Akron commit Angelia Boyce along with Tara Arlin, Marlee Pope, and Kayla Sharp. Dorian Payne is expected to be Farmington’s top goal scorer. The question for the Falcons will be on the defensive end, I don’t think goal scoring will be an issue.

DARK HORSE: Avondale: The Yellow Jackets will have some experience back this season led by three seniors in Kathlyn Mather, Kassidy Embrey, and Laura Silverman. If Avondale can develop their young defense then the Yellow Jackets could be a darkhorse contender in the White this season.

  

SLEEPER: Oxford: The Wildcats will have some experience returning from a team that lost eight seniors to graduation last season. Oxford will be led by Kenzy Eschberger, Jade Schram, and Emma Gordon, those three will be four-year Varsity players this upcoming season. Expect Sophia Bell to get more involved for the Wildcats this season.

OTHERS:

Troy: The Colts went through a coaching transition last season but they do return an Indiana State commit in Sydney Hyatt. Hyatt will be a key player for Troy this season for leadership reasons and her goal scoring ability. Hyatt could be in line for a special season.

Clarkston: Anytime you have one of the biggest schools in the State you have to be on this list. The Wolves will be an interesting to keep an eye on because they are mentally tough defensibly. Expect Clarkston to be there until the very end.

West Bloomfield: The Lakers will be very young this season but they do return Celine Foster whom led West Bloomfield in goal scoring last season. She will need to score for the Lakers if they have any chance to compete in this division.

OUTLOOK: This was a tough division to figure out, there is a lot of parity in this division. I like Berkley to win this division because of the experience they have back. Farmington will be a tough out as well. Avondale is as dangerous as anyone and Oxford could do spoiler as well. Troy will be young but they are starting to get back to who they were a bit. Clarkston will be tough and they could surprise some folks. West Bloomfield could struggle. In the end as mentioned I like the Bears to win by a game over the Yellow Jackets and Falcons but don't be surprised if we have Co-Champs in this division.

Blue:

Orion

Seaholm

Hazel Park

Southfield Arts and Tech

Groves

Pontiac

Harrison

Ferndale

FAVORITE: Orion: The Dragons were forced down to the Blue this season and they have new coach in the process as well. Orion will be led by Paige Goodman to go along with returners Taryn Redd, Jackie Gingell, and Jordyn Marchese. The Dragons could be a serious contender this season with a very tough non-conference schedule to boot as well. It will be interesting to see how Orion does in the Blue this season.

NEXT: Seaholm: The Maples would be the favorite haven’t been that Orion dropped down from the White last season. Seaholm has some experience back in Margaret Miller, Katie O’Connor, and Madison Sparks along with Fotini Dementriou, Olivia Graham, Lauren McIntosh, Natalie Eme, Zoe Gaffney, Lauren Johnston, Mika Hamady and Cate Brown all have Varsity experience and is expected to contribute for the Maples right away.

DARK HORSE: Hazel Park: The Vikings can score with anybody. Hazel Park returns seniors Raiena Travis, whom scored 25 goals her sophomore season and Kara Martin whom had 18 goals and 44 assists her sophomore season, along with yet another goal scorer in Ashley Carlson. The Vikings are going to score a ton of goals but the question will be being is can Hazel Park get just enough defense this season??? they are going to need it.

SLEEPER: Southfield Arts and Tech: With Southfield and Southfield Lathrup merging the Warriors will rely on a ton of girls that went to Lathrup last season. Southfield Arts and Tech will be led by Sasha Ridley, Bediere Ayuk-Taylor, Vanessa Mkwe, and Laurynn Morrow. The Warriors will be a team to keep an eye on this season.

OTHERS:

Groves: The Falcons will be a team to keep an eye on this season but they are young as well. Groves will have some talent back. It will be interesting to see how the Falcons do this season.

Pontiac: The Phoenix are an up and coming team. Pontiac will return Leslie Ortiz and Virginia Herrera will be key girls to lead the Phoenix attack. They must address defense and goaltending and if they do that then Pontiac will be all right.

Harrison: The Hawks could struggle again this season. With the closure in two seasons of their school it could be a long season at Harrison.

Ferndale: The Eagles will be competitive this year but facing the upper division could be a tough road for Ferndale this season. The Eagles will be a team to keep an eye on later in the season.

OUTLOOK: This division is clearly the Dragons to lose, when you look at whom Orion had back in talent, they will be a dangerous team this season. Seaholm, Hazel Park, Groves, and Southfield Arts and Tech will be solid teams while Pontiac, Harrison, and Ferndale could struggle a bit. At the end of the day as mentioned, this division is the Dragons to lose.