A look at the upcoming 2023 postseason
A breakdown and prediction for each district
Another girls soccer season has gone by quickly, as it so often does. The playoffs are here already, and once again Oakland County is loaded with teams who could be making deep runs. At the top of that list would be the Rochester Falcons. The Falcons brought back most of their key people from last year’s team that made the state semifinals and have gone unbeaten on the year. The Falcons are currently ranked number one in Division 1.
The OAA in general was very deep this year. Five teams from the OAA Red were ranked in the coaches’ poll in mid-May. And several of the top OAA White teams held their own against highly ranked squads in and out the league. There should be no
doubt any more as to what the top soccer league in the state is for girls high school.
Elsewhere, despite some obstacles, Marian once again repeated as Catholic League Bishop Division Champions and
have been ranked at or near the top of Division 2 all year. Notre Dame Prep once again played a tough schedule full of Division 1 and D2 schools and appears battle tested for the playoffs in Division 3. And in Division
4, Bishop Foley and Royal Oak Shrine appear to be coming on at the right time. In the last two years, seven of the eight state finals have featured a team from Oakland County and it appears the county should be well represented again this year.
As always, there are a couple of “district of death” candidates near here that could thin out some of the better local teams early, but that shouldn’t prevent the survivors from making runs.
District 6
Host: Clarkston
Teams: Clarkston, Davison, Flushing, Grand Blanc, Lapeer, Oxford, Swartz Creek
Analysis: This is a solid overall district. Grand Blanc got the top seed and Clarkston just edged out OAA White Champ Oxford for the second seeded
place. Everyone here is near or above .500 so there are no real pushovers either. This probably comes down to Grand Blanc, Clarkston or Oxford though, and pretty much anyone could beat anyone here. But Clarkston has home field and survived in the brutally tough OAA Red.
Pick: Clarkston
District 7
Host: Lakeland
Teams: Milford, North Farmington, Walled Lake Central, Walled Lake Northern, Waterford Mott, West Bloomfield, White Lake Lakeland
Analysis: Walled Lake Northern and Milford are the class of the Lakes Valley Conference, finishing first and second in the regular season and then meeting again in the LVC playoff championship game. The teams split the two regular season meetings, each winning at home. Neither of the OAA teams looks likely to factor into this as they both went just 1-2 against the LVC in the regular season. The difference between Northern and Milford is very thin and could come down to who heals up the most between now and the district final.
Pick: Milford — in penalty kicks.
District 8
Host: Novi
Teams: Farmington, Farmington Hills Mercy, Livonia Stevenson, Northville, Novi, South Lyon, South Lyon East
Analysis: This is Northville’s district to lose. The Mustangs are unbeaten and have been ranked in the top two all season. Livonia Stevenson got the second seed here — but already lost 3-0 to the Mustangs earlier this month. Mercy has been hot for much of the second half and South Lyon East finished third in the LVC, but it’s hard to see either of them beating the Mustangs. Novi’s record belies a solid team, and the Wildcats have played their rivals close twice already, losing by just one goal each time. It’s tough to beat a team three times in the same season, but …
Pick: Northville too talented.
District 13
is just
Host: Royal Oak
Teams: Berkley, Birmingham Groves, Birmingham Seaholm, Bloomfield Hills, Royal Oak, Troy
Analysis: This is a pretty balanced district. The two OAA Red teams — Troy and Bloomfield Hills — got the two seeds, but the OAA White has been very competitive this year, even against the best teams. Seaholm has drawn Troy, for example, though the Maples have generally struggled down the stretch. Meanwhile, Berkley and Groves have also picked up wins against quality non-league opponents, so there won’t likely be any intimidation factor here. Even though Royal Oak got ranked last in this district, any team that can beat Novi has to be considered dangerous.
Pick: Troy comes in hot. So I’ll take the Colts, but this district seems ripe for an upset or two.
District 14
Host: Utica
Teams: Lake Orion, Rochester, Rochester Adams, Rochester Hills Stoney Creek, Romeo, Utica, Utica Eisenhower
Analysis: This is the deepest district in the state. All three Rochester schools come in ranked in the top10, and Eisenhower checks in at 14. Romeo has 13 wins, and Lake Orion has beaten Romeo and went 11-4-4. EVERYONE is good here. It’s hard to even say for sure what “chalk” would be other than a Rochester vs Stoney Creek final. Rochester is unbeaten. Stoney Creek has one loss — to Adams, who are on the opposite side of the bracket.
Pick: Rochester in a couple of squeakers.
District 15
Host: Troy Athens Teams: Clinton Township Chippewa Valley, Fraser, Sterling Heights, Sterling Heights Stevenson, Troy Athens, Utica Ford, Warren Cousino, Warren Mott
Analysis: Troy Athens gets to host a bunch of Macomb County teams, most of which struggled this year. Only Fraser and Utica Ford had decent regular seasons besides the Red
Hawks, who turned in another quality year. Everyone else here came in well under .500 and likely will not factor in. But this could be a trap for Athens. Utica Ford has a long history of punching above its weight — especially in districts. This is not a given for the Red Hawks, though they should win it if they stay focused.
Pick: Troy Athens
District 23
Host: St.
Lake Shore
Teams: Grosse Pointe North, Hamtramck, Madison Heights Lamphere, St. Clair Shores Lake Shore, Warren Fitzgerald, Warren Woods Tower
Analysis: This is an interesting district. Lamphere has the best record and the top seed. But Grosse Pointe North played a much tougher schedule by being in the MAC Red whereas Lamphere was two divisions below them in the Blue Division. Tower and Lake Shore also have good records in lower divisions. Lake Shore hosting could help them, but it’s hard to overlook how battle tested North is.
Pick: Grosse Pointe North
District 24
Clair Shores
Host: Cranbrook
Teams: Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, Birmingham Marian, Detroit Renaissance, Ferndale, Livonia Clarenceville, Walled Lake Western
Cranbrook and Marian are easily the class of the district here. Both are top10 in the state and have been for much of the year. Marian repeated as Bishop Division champs in the Catholic League while Cranbrook repeated in the Cardinal Division. After that, Ferndale was improved this year, but neither they nor Walled Lake Western appear ready to handle either Marian or Cranbrook. Last year, Cranbrook came close, losing just 1-0 to Marian in the district final. The Cranes can score and play a style that could give Marian trouble. The Cranes are also a veteran team while Marian is a bit young this year, especially after injuries. But Marian just keeps winning despite a tough schedule.
Pick: Marian 1-0 again.
District 26
Host: Goodrich
Teams: Auburn Hills Avondale, Goodrich, Holly, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, Ortonville Brandon, Waterford Kettering
Analysis: St. Mary’s and Goodrich got the byes here. Avondale and Kettering will play each other in the opening round while Brandon and Holly will renew acquaintances as well. The winner of that game might have an upset in them. Still, Goodrich beat both Holly and Brandon earlier this year while Kettering and Avondale really struggled, so this probably comes down to the top two teams. It’s impressive what St. Mary’s has done in the first two years of the program’s existence, but Goodrich looks to be the best team here. The Martians have six losses and all but two are to ranked teams, while another is to OAA White champ Oxford. They also come in hot having won 10 of their last 11 after taking a few losses early to some top teams.
Pick: Goodrich
District 40
Host: Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard
Teams: Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard, Canton Prep, Dearborn Heights Star International, Romulus Summit Academy, Taylor Prep, Wixom St. Catherine
Analysis: Wixom St. Catherine gets sent west. Other than Canton Prep at 5-1-3, everyone here struggled. St. Catherine went 2-9 but still got the second seed on strength of schedule because everyone else also won two games or fewer. The difference here is that the Stars went 2-9 against a better schedule. There is a real chance here that St. Catherine doubles their win total here and wins the district after a rough regular season.
Pick: Wixom
District 41
St. Catherine
Host: Notre Dame Prep Teams: Clawson, Dearborn Advanced Tech Academy, Dearborn Henry Ford Academy, Detroit Country Day, Hazel Park, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep
Analysis: Once again, Clawson, Country Day and Notre Dame Prep get drawn together. Hazel Park also got put into this group. The Vikings had a nice year, winning 10 games. But this probably comes down to Country Day and Notre Dame again. Both played very tough schedules full of strong Division 1 and Division 2 teams. Country Day is better than their record. But the teams have several common opponents and Notre Dame got consistently better results in those games.
Pick: Notre Dame Prep
District 56
Host: Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett
Teams: Bloomfield Hills Roeper, Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett, Madison Heights Bishop Foley, Royal Oak Shrine, Southfield Christian
Analysis: Liggett hosts a group of Oakland County teams. The Knights will have to play without their best player but have been solid down the stretch anyway. Still, this feels like an opportunity for both Royal Oak Shrine and Bishop Foley, though Shrine has really struggled the last couple of weeks. Roeper and Southfield Christian had their moments this year, but neither seems likely to factor into the final.
Pick: Liggett still looks to be the best team here, though it will be close.
District 57
Host: Auburn Hills Oakland Christian
Teams: Auburn Hills Oakland Christian, Brighton Charyl Stockwell Prep, Brighton Livingston Christian, Clarkston Everest Collegiate, Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest
Analysis: Oakland Christian and Everest started the year playing each other and likely will face each other in final. Lutheran Northwest is the third seed but didn’t fare very well against Oakland Christian, who will get Stockwell Prep, a team they mercied in the regular season, in the other semifinal. The MIAC was not a very strong league this year, but Oakland Christian won the league with an unbeaten league record that included a win over No. 2 Plymouth Christian a couple weeks ago. Everest’s record is not very good, but much like St. Catherine they could still win a district title if they can play to form.
Pick: Oakland Christian has home field and believes. They’ll find a way.