Jeff Chaney
Sports Scene
Rachel Marble and the Midland Dow girls soccer team don’t want to go through the summer wondering ‘What If’.
But it may be hard not to, considering how the Chargers’ season came to an end.
Midland Dow was one of the best Division 1 teams in the state, almost setting a new state record for consecutive shutouts.
The record is 17, and Dow made it to 15 straight before dropping a 2-1 loss to Davison.
Right about the time of that Davison game, injuries began to besiege the Chargers – injuries that would affect the team in the state tournament.
Two of the team’s star players, defender Katie Vossen and striker Kelly Wilson, were lost for the season, Vossen with an injured knee, and Wilson with a bad back.
And other players, like talented junior Marble, were hobbled but still played in the state tournament.
Marble was dealing with a hip flexor.
The injuries caught up with the Chargers, and they fell in the regional final to Rochester Adams 2-1 in overtime.
“We really thought we could have made it farther,” Marble said. “If Kelly and Katie were fully healthy, and I was healthy and ready, I thought we could have gone farther. It was hard when we lost, because we really thought we had the team to go farther. And it’s hard to lose in overtime.”
Midland Dow ended its season with a very respectable 21-2-1 record, but wondering ‘What If’.
“We had some other people injured in the tournament, and we felt if we were healthy, we were the best,” coach Gary Strickler said. “With what we saw, we felt we were the best. With Katie and Kelly missing, we just didn’t have enough depth to replace them. Other teams were playing injured as well, but not like we were, missing Katie and Kelly.”
No matter the ending and dealing with all the injuries, Strickler is still happy with his team’s performance all season.
“We are not disappointed,” Strickler said. “To win the tournament, all the pieces have to fall in place. We had two great scoring opportunities to beat Adams and gave up two scoring opportunities. Our goalie had her hand on both their goals, and she was pretty sure-handed all season.”
The bad news is that Dow will lose some talented seniors like Kelly, Lindsey Lee, and Shauna Stadelmaier.
But the Chargers do return great players like Marble, who admits that there may be a chip on the team’s shoulder next year.
“We will definitely use this year as motivation,” Marble said. “It will be hard with the girls we lose, but I know the younger girls will step it up.”
Strickler agrees. “We have a pretty good group coming back,” he said. “We have eight starters coming back, so next year looks good.”