There is a well-known saying in the “world” of sports that says it’s hard to beat a good team three times in a season. There is a more “local” saying that says you never want to meet a Jane Nixon coached team in a championship game.
The Skyline field hockey team could “say” both are true.
The top-seeded Eagles came into Saturday’s Division 1 Field Hockey State Finals championship game against Nixon’s Pioneers as the favorites. Skyline fielded an experienced team of 13 seniors, several of the top players in the state, an outstanding coaching staff of its own, and a perfect record that included two wins over Pioneer.
But games are played for a reason, especially with a championship on the line.
Skyline took a 1-0 lead and looked primed for a strong finish to a strong season but the Pioneers had other plans. They tied the game at 1-1, and then in the fourth quarter, scored the eventual game winner for a 2-1 win over the Eagles on Saturday at The Hawk in Farmington Hills.
Two years ago, the Eagles landed their first Division 1 field hockey state title with a tough victory over the Pioneers in the finals. Last year, Pioneer knocked off Skyline to win another Division 1 state championship.
So, Saturday was the rubber-match and it was a well played game between two elite programs with maximum effort and skill on display from start to finish. When the final whistle blew, the Pioneer players celebrated with huge smiles and shouts of joy – and maybe even a trickle of surprise. It wasn’t a shocking upset, but considering the quality of team they beat, an impressive one for the Pioneers, who were making their sixth consecutive state finals appearance.
With 49.3 seconds left in the first half, Skyline senior Lilly Shannon scored with an assist from senior Sadie Schultz to give Skyline a 1-0 lead. They led 1-0 at halftime.
Both teams had chances to score in the third quarter but couldn’t get the ball in the net.
With 10:50 left in the game, Pioneer evened things up. Senior Lily Soldan scored to tie the game at 1-1. And just a few minutes later, with 7:31 left on the clock, Soldan scored again to make it 2-1.
The Eagles pressed in the final minutes to try and get the equalizer but the Pioneer defense and goalie Maddie Grand kept them off the scoreboard.
The two teams met twice in the regular season with Skyline winning both – 5-1 and 6-4.
The Eagles, the No. 1 seed, were dominant in the postseason, winning all three games by 8-0 scores. They opened with an 8-0 win over Forest Hills before beating Rockford 8-0 in the quarterfinals and Novi 8-0 in Wednesday’s semifinal game.
Pioneer came in as the No. 3 seed and defeated Clarkston 8-0 in its playoff opener. The Pioneers knocked off West Bloomfield 8-0 in the quarterfinals and Saline 4-2 in the semifinals.
