The Dexter field hockey team won its second consecutive Division 2 State Championship on Saturday with a convincing 3-0 win over Chelsea at The Hawk in Farmington Hills. The Dreadnaughts controlled much of the game and finished an amazing season with a strong final effort and another state championship.
It was the program’s fifth state title – two in D-1 and now three in D-2 – since its inaugural season in 2010. Dexter won back-to-back titles in Division 1 in 2019 and 2020 before the classification was based on school size. They defeated Pioneer 2-1 in the championship game in 2020 after beating the Pioneers the previous year 3-0. Dexter defeated University Liggett 2-0 in last year’s D-2 state finals.
And like the previous winners, the success started with the seniors.
“We were fortunate to have a great group of seniors who showed great leadership throughout the season and it created a great team culture,” said Dexter Coach Keely Tamer. “They led by example by working hard every day so it’s truly a gift when you have players who work like that.”
It’s a gift that keeps on giving for Dexter.
“This team had incredible depth and there are players who would have been starters on previous Dexter teams which shows just how deep we were this season,” Tamer said. “Like in all sports, sometimes you are fortunate enough to have great depth and this year we had that and we could rely on anyone to step up. We also worked really hard this year to understand the game and I think that showed at the end of the year because we were doing things at the end we couldn’t do at the start.”
The Dreadnaughts may have saved their best for last – and beating rival Chelsea to win the state title is always an added bonus.
“I think we were a little nervous in the beginning,” said Tamer, a two-time captain as a player at Michigan and Executive Director for Great Lakes Regional Field Hockey. “Chelsea put some pressure on us early in the game and we weren’t moving the ball like we are capable of doing. But once we settled down, we started to play our game and that first goal gave us a big lift.”
That big lift came in the first period on a goal by sophomore Aiden Weinmann with an assist from senior Brooke Alexander.
With 4:03 left in the second quarter, sophomore Alli St. Amour scored to push Dexter’s lead to 2-0.
The only goal in the second half came with no time on the clock at the end of the third quarter when Dexter senior Bailey Kreuger scored to make it 3-0.
Chelsea played hard and had a few scoring chances in the game, but the Dexter defense was solid and kept the Bulldogs off the scoreboard. Sophomore goalie Audrey Owen-Smith recorded the shutout for the Dreadnaughts.
The Dreadnaughts, the No. 1 seed, dominated the postseason, opening the playoffs with 8-0 wins over St. Catherines and East Grand Rapids. They faced Detroit Country Day, the fourth seed, in the semifinals last Thursday in Farmington Hills and scored an impressive 7-0 victory.
Dexter finished 20-1-2 on the season. The only loss came to Skyline 7-2 on Sept. 27. They tied Skyline 3-3 and Huron 1-1 during the regular season.
The Dreadnaughts might not be done winning State Titles. Their roster did include six talented seniors but it also featured three freshman and eight sophomores so Dexter will field another strong team next year.
