MICHIGAN GIRLS SOCCER: Byron Center cashes in with first-half goal to upset No. 1 ranked Saline and win first state crown
- Jonathan Turner
- Jun 14, 2025
- 6 min read
NATIONAL SOCCER NEWS: www.nationalsoccernetwork.com
Bulldogs shut down high-powered hornets for fifth 1-0 postseason victory
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Sometimes soccer can be a game of inches.
Byron Center and Saline both understand that.
Byron Center scored a first-half goal in a tight space, then watched Saline hit a second-half post after several waves of attacks in the second half.
In the end, it was 12th-ranked Byron Center that stunned Michigan top-ranked and nationally-ranked Saline 1-0 in the Division 1 state finals at Michigan State University DeMartin Stadium.
It was the first and only loss of the season for Saline, which was ranked No. 1 in the state the whole season and also ranked 12th in the U.S. by the United Soccer Coaches. The Hornets, making their second appearance in the girls soccer state finals, trailed for only the second time this season in this game and were kept off the scoreboard for just the second time this season. The side battled nemesis Ann Arbor Skyline to a 0-0 draw back on April 29.
Chances were at a minimum in this tightly-contested battle that featured two teams that were in the top three in Division 1 in both offense and defense this season. Saline came in with a 115-5 scoring edge and 19 shutouts. Byron Center outscored its opposition 99-11 with 17 clean sheets.
Byron Center finished the year on a 18-game win streak. The first-time finalists posted a 11-1-3 record this year against teams that were ranked or listed as honorable mention at times this season in either Division 1 or Division 2 and set a multitude of school records along the way.
“It’s all them,” said fifth-year Byron Center John Conlon. “They put their heart and soul into this.”
It was the first girls soccer state title for Byron Center and Conlon, who spent most of his prep coaching career over at nearby East Kentwood in charge of the boys soccer program. Conlon was 5-1 in state title games at that school and had several other deep runs in the postseason before stepping down four years ago.
Byron Center suffered a loss to East Grand Rapids (1-0) back on March 29 in the second round of its own weekend tournament – and the side started 0-1-2 and outscored 4-3 in that early-season stage before really taking off. The Bulldogs defeated five opponents in the postseason 1-0, defeated four top-15 squads in the tournament and played another school that was honorable mention in the polls but reached the state semifinals last season.
The only goals Byron Center allowed in the tournament was against sixth-ranked Midland in the regional finals, a 3-2, double-overtime victory. The Bulldogs outscored their six tournament foes, 8-2 with five shutouts.
“We talked about this back in March that soccer is a sport that is fickle. You can dominate and lose 1-0 or you can dominate and win 1-0. You just have to be comfortable with that,” said Conlon. “I don’t think they understood that at first, but they do now. They grinded out some big wins against some big teams.”
In fact, seven of their final 10 games ended with a clean sheet and several were against top-tier opponents. The victory over highly-touted Saline was the biggest of them all and on the biggest stage.
”Saline is a great team with a great coach. I was a little concerned that we might become lackadaisical after we scored. You’re always susceptible after scoring and I did think we did (face pressure) after we scored,” said Conlon. “But once we got through that we got to halftime, (and we) got to re-organize. Saline started to put pressure on us, but we held strong and (we’re) happy to get out of here with a win.”
Both teams only collected nine shots apiece and both teams recorded just five shots on goal during the match. Byron Center held a 7-4 edge off cornerkicks.
It was a cornerkick that set up the game’s only goal with 9:39 remaining in the first half and it involved a midfielder and two center backs combining for the game-winning play.
Junior midfielder Jadyn Glover served a cornerkick from the right side and into the mixing bowl. Sophomore center back Carli Alexander flicked it backwards to freshman center back Ashtyn Stuck, who volleyed home a six-yard shot in congested traffic inside the left goal post.
Alexander, Stuck and the rest of Byron Center’s defense helped stymie the Division 1 top-ranked offense that came in averaging 5.00 goals-per-game and had scored the aforementioned 115 goals over Saline’s previous 23 matches.
“I love to play defense but when I get to play up there on corners it’s awesome. I love helping out the team,” said Alexander, who drew the assist on the goal and anchored the Byron Center back line that kept Saline’s dynamite line of attackers off the board, including Sienna Snyder, Sadie Walsh (University of Toledo commit), MaKena Means and a host of others off their usual game of putting up big-time numbers.
“(Saline) is really good at offense. We just had to work super hard for defense. We had to work as a unit. We had to stay back and not go up as much, but stay back so we could press them,” continued Alexander. “Also just go at them (hard) and anytime they had a bad touch or (did) something wrong. We just went in there (to steal the ball). And when we had the chance to go up on offense, that’s what we would do.”
Freshman Nora Schans earned the clean sheet in net for the Bulldogs, where she recorded five saves to move the needle up to 18 shutouts which is by far the most in school history for team clean sheets. The team goals-against-average ends at a 0.44 clip.
The win came eight months after Byron Center’s boys soccer team reached the Division 1 state finals where they dropped a 2-0 decision to Rochester Adams.
The goal was only the sixth conceded by Saline all season, as the team finishes 21-1-2 with 19 shutouts and a 0.25 goals-against-average. The sixth goal allowed by the Hornets turned out to be a lethal dose.
Still, Saline seventh-year coach Leigh Rumbold was nothing but proud of what his side accomplished and also understood that this was a clash of titans and one team would win and another would taste defeat.
“Yes it is (a game of inches),” sighed Rumbold. “I think if we’re honest with ourselves, I don’t think we played the best that we could today. There were little glimpses and I think the size of the field, the heat, that affected us a little bit. But no excuses. Byron Center did what they do well,” said Rumbold. “They get the ball forward and we probably gave it away too cheaply at times and had to transition backwards. We didn’t really get into our game until we were (down 1-0) and they are a tough team to break down. I can’t fault the effort from the ladies. They gave it everything that they had. It’s just unfortunate our one loss on the season comes on this stage.”
Salne only trained once before this season, as the Hornets were down 1-0 early to Division 2 state runner-up New Boston Huron before regrouping for a 5-2 non-league triumph on April 3 in both teams’ second game of the season.
This time Byron Center took Saline out of its game for stretches and the Hornets just couldn’t capitalize on any of its opportunities. They even hit a goal post in the final 20 minutes and added three cornerkicks in that time frame.
“(Byron Center) runs with three (forwards) and they stretch your back line a little bit,” added Rumbold, who will only graduate five players. “With a field this size, you kind of make one mistake and you have to transition another 20 yards and you have to build up again. We kind of started to force it a little bit. That isn’t necessarily our game. We like to control the game and we didn’t do that consistently. That’s a learning curve for us.”
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