BY DAN STICKRADT
WEB AND CONTENT EDITOR
Twitter: @MiSoccerNetwork
BIRMINGHAM, Mich. – Jenna Taylor had to make a position change three weeks ago.
After her twin sister Sydney Taylor, another fourth-year varsity player who earned All-League and All-District honors last season, went down with a season-ending injury, Jenna Taylor had to shift back from her holding midfielder position over to center back to anchor the backfield.
Despite having to make a late-season change, Jenna Taylor and her state-ranked Troy teammates have banded together for quite a season in 2024 – a season that will continue next week.
Taylor and the Division 1 third-ranked Colts handed arch-rival Troy Athens a 4-1 defeat in a district finals match Thursday night at Birmingham Seaholm for their first district championship since 2021 and will keep their dream alive of playing on the season’s final day. Troy advances to the Rochester Stoney Creek-hosted regional next week, where the Colts will face unranked but unbeaten St. Clair Shores Lakeview (18-0-2) on June 4 at 7 p.m.
Lakeview won its first-ever district crown Thursday with a 1-0 victory over Fraser.
“We’re trying to win it for (Sydney),” offered Jenna Taylor of her twin sister Sydney who is on crutches for the next few months. “I feel bad for her because she was a big part of our (success) and she wants to be out there. I know what it’s like because I had the same knee injury when I was a sophomore. But someone had to move back to take her spot on defense and I did it because I want to help my team.”
Troy has been on quite a roll all season and hope to add some more chapters to its success story. Another chapter was surely added Thursday night.
Since tying Athens 1-1 in a weather-shortened match on May 7 and taking a 2-1 loss at top-ranked Hudsonville on May 11, Troy has been surging and picking up steam. The Colts (13-1-3) have won four straight games where they have outscored the opposition 15-4 in that span, including the two state tournament victories where they hold a 9-1 edge on the scoreboard.
In that recent tie with Athens, Troy watched the Red Hawks score an early goal before taking control and tying the game up before inclement weather rolled through the area and cancelled most of the games across Metro Detroit. That game was ruled official as at least 40 minutes have been played, but the Colts did finish with a 4-0-2 record in the Oakland Activities Association-Red Division and captured their first league crown in 20 years.
This time it was Troy which came out the aggressor and kept Athens on its heels for the entire night.
“We came out hard, fast and aggressive and that’s our game,” smiled Troy coach Dan Troccoli. “I’m proud of them. They follow the game plan to a T. I knew if we followed it, we’d be fine – and we were.”
After just scoring 34 goals as a team last season, the Colts have now outscored their opponents 48-15 on the campaign with only three opponents scoring two goals on Troy’s stout defense (Hudsonville, honorable mention Rochester and honorable mention Northville). The Colts hold a 0.89 team goals-against-average despite playing a brutally-tough schedule.
Of the 17 games the Colts have played, only two games were against a school that finished below the five-hundred mark this season.
Troy never trailed against Athens, leading 3-0 at the half while holding the Red Hawks to only two shots on frame the entire first half. The Colts scored their fourth goal early in the second half to further their command.
Athens suffered a blow when senior marking back Nichole Russell picked up her second yellow card on the night with 38:34 remaining in the second half and was sent to the bench. That forced Athens to play a man down for the final 38 minutes and change. By that time, some serious damage had already been done.
Junior Ava Fleming scored on a breakaway feed from sophomore Olivia Jasiewicz just 1:23 into the contest, and Jasiewicz, a transfer from Windsor (Ont.) Lajeunesse was quite active again Thursday night.
The Colts’ leading goal scorer this season, Jasiewicz finished with a goal and two assists, scoring her team’s second goal off a cornerkick from the aforementioned Jenna Taylor with 26:22 still to play in the first half for the 2-0 advantage.
The Colts scored again just 3:50 before intermission, this time with Jasiewicz chipping the ball into the box and sophomore Sabrina Gaul getting on the end of it before slipping home a close-range shot.
Having Jasiewicz in the lineup this year – she replaced All-State Dream Team honoree Lizzie Bultynck who is now at Bowling Green State University – has made a serious impact for the Colts’ attack.
“People, they don’t know how to defend her,” noted Troccoli. “(Athens) was man-marking her at the beginning of the game, basically put two people on her and the first two goals came with her beating two people. She’s now around 17 goals and 10 assists this year and you know the schedule we play.”
Troy came out again on fire to open the second half, and freshman Kaylee Worrell finished off a pass from Gaul with 33:16 to go and the Colts hung on from that point.
Despite playing almost the entire second half shorthanded, 10th-ranked Athens did not give up and actually spoiled the shutout with 32:52 remaining. Senior Alex Haggerty scooped up a perfectly-slotted ball by junior Lauren DeJonckheere and blasted a shot from the left corner of the box under the crossbar.
The Red Hawks (13-4-3) couldn’t locate the back of the net again.
Troy ended up scoring on all three of its shots on frame in the first half and posted a 9-6 overall shots advantage in the contest. The Colts also held a 6-5 differential with shots on frame and even doubled up the Red Hawks on cornerkicks, 4-2.
“Troy had us on our heels the entire game right from the start, so we had to make adjustments from the first goal, really,” offered first-year Athens coach Jason Clark. “We were trying to make as many adjustments as could and clasw our way back into the game. Play for our school, each other, and for pride. Just one goal at a time (and) try to claw our way back (into the game).”
Still, Athens could not stall out the Colts until they were in a four-goal deficit.
“It’s a heated rivalry. Two great (Oakland Activities Association) teams, so especially with this much at stake, there’s going to be goals (scored),” added Clark. We told the girls at halftime, ‘one goal at a time. Don’t try to get them all at once. It’s not possible.’ But you get one, it turns the momentum a little bit.”
Troy junior Sophia Peronis, who returned to playing goalkeeper this season after not playing in net since middle school, made just four saves on the night.
Senior Ashley Miller made two saves for Athens, who are sending five players onto the collegiate ranks and will graduate 12 players overall.
(Have a story suggestion for the Premier Media Group and the Michigan Soccer Network regarding club soccer, high school varsity, amateur soccer, collegiate soccer or professional soccer of teams or players with Michigan ties, contact Communications Specialist/Web and Content Editor/Director of News Dan Stickradt via email at stickradt@michigansoccernetwork.com, or call 248-884-1051. Dan Stickradt is a 31-year veteran of the Michigan Media circles and recently joined the staff full time in March of 2024. Want to schedule a broadcast game or live show, contact PMG/MSN Director of Broadcasting Jonathan Turner for availability and pricing at jonathan@michigansoccernetwork.com.)
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