GIRLS SOCCER: First time Division 3 state semifinalist Almont gaining momentum
- Dan Stickradt
- Jun 10
- 3 min read
NATIONAL SOCCER NEWS: www.nationalsoccernetwork.com
Raiders topple Armada, Williamston and Frankenmuth in succession to reach Final Four, have a 111-23 scoring edge
LANSING, Mich. – Almont has finally broken down the door.
A decade-plus of frustrations of being knocked out in either the districts or regionals by state-ranked opponents, the Raiders finally cleared a major hurdle last Thursday.
Almont, listed as honorable mention in the Division 3 state rankings, overcame an early 1-0 deficit and rallied past sixth-ranked Frankenmuth 2-1 in a Division 3 regional finals match at Lansing Catholic Central.
The win gave the Raiders their long sought-after first regional championship in school history in the sport of girls soccer.
Almont will take on No. 13-ranked Warren Regina in a state semifinals clash at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Romeo High School.
The game will make Regina’s fifth all-time state semifinals appearance. For Almont, which didn’t win its league this year, this will be some pioneer territory as it has finally reached the Final Four.
Against sixth-ranked Frankenmuth – a team that was ranked nearly all season – the Raiders had to claw back after being down 1-0 early in the first half.
Senior Emily Witbrodt, a forward who has signed with NCAA Division II Northwood University and scored a single-season school record 42 goals this season, staked Frankenmuth (15-4-2) to the early 1-0 lead.
It wasn’t until the 34th minute where Almont finally netted an equalizer when Callie McCarthy scored a close-range goal to tie the game at 1-1.
The two teams fought tooth-and-nail before McCarthy sent a cornerkick into the box and Lola Battaglia volleyed it home to put her side up 2-1 in the 60th minute.
Almont (17-4-1) fought off Frankenmuth’s high-powered offense to win the game and take home that elusive regional trophy.
Almont finished second in the final Blue Water Area Conference stands behind rival Armada, as Armada (12-1-1) held a 37-36 edge in final points in the BWAC standings over Almont (12-2-0). Armada defeated the Raiders 4-2 back on April 28, but Almont had the last laughs by hammering the Tigers 7-1 on May 16 to snare second place and then again defeating Armada 2-0 in the district finals on May 29.
Both Almont and Armada were honorable mention in D-3 for stretches this season.
Almont started the season 1-3-0 with a league loss to Richmond (1-0) and non-league losses to Holly (2-0) and Pontiac Notre Dame Prep (8-0). Holly was ranked in Division 2 for over half of the season while Notre Dame Prep was ranked all season in Division 3.
Despite its early-season woes, Almont started to gain players back from injury and are now on a nine-game win streak where the Raiders own a 51-6 scoring edge with five shutouts. Over the last 14 games, Almont is unbeaten at 13-0-1 – a stretch where they righted the ship with a 78-8 scoring edge and eight clean sheets.
In the postseason, Almont is 5-0 with three shutouts – all during district play – and a 22-2 total scoring edge in those five wins.
Against teams that were ranked or honorable mention in one of the state’s four divisions this season, the Raiders are 4-3-0. Almont also defeated state-ranked Williamston 5-1 in the regional semifinals last week.
Overall on the season, Almont has a 17-4-1 record, a .773 win percentage, 12 shutouts, been shut out three times and have one of the top offenses in all of Division 3 with a 111-23 scoring edge over 22 games. The Raiders have averaged 5.14 goals-per-game while posting a team goals-against-average of 1.05.
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