MICHIGAN GIRLS SOCCER: Fourth-ranked New Boston Huron still chasing title dreams with loaded roster
- Dan Stickradt
- Jun 3
- 6 min read
Updated: Jun 10
NATIONAL SOCCER NEWS: www.nationalsoccernetwork.com
NEW BOSTON, Mich. – Is there such a thing in sports as a good loss?
Perhaps for New Boston Huron there is.
Both of their losses the last two years were against very good teams and many lessons were learned from those defeats.
A year ago, the Chiefs carried an unbeaten record into a Division 2 district finals before suffering their first and only loss of the 2024 campaign. Huron dropped a 2-1 heartbreaker to Trenton in a game that reached double overtime and a shootout. Both teams were ranked in the top 15 in the state entering the postseason.
Trenton went on to reach the regional finals before losing to powerhouse Birmingham Marian 1-0. New Boston Huron went home thinking about big things for this season.
New Boston Huron opened up the 2025 campaign with a 0-1-1 record. The Chiefs tied Division 1 Canton (1-1) in their opener and then in their second game lost to Division 1 top-ranked Saline (5-2), and that same Saline squad has been ranked No. 1 in the state all season long and is unbeaten.
“I don’t consider that loss to Saline as a bad loss. Look at what they've done this season,” admitted Matt Lividini, New Boston Huron’s third-year head coach. “Even last year we lost in a shootout to Trenton (in the district finals). That was a very close game and we just came up short.”
But New Boston Huron has not lost since that defeat to Saline back on April 3 of this year which was just the second game of the 2025 campaign for the Chiefs. In fact, Huron added to its school-record win streak on Saturday by downing Chelsea (4-1) in a Division 2 district championship match for their 18th straight win – the longest in the state all divisions combined.
Last year, New Boston Huron finished 14-1-3 with perhaps its best team to date at the time. The Chiefs finished 9-0-1 to win the Huron League and outscored the opposition 80-7 with 14 shutouts. Not known as a state power, Huron was ranked in the top 15 for over half of last season which was a rarity for the program.
Previously, the program’s furthest venture into the state tournament came in 2021 under then-head coach Dan Rossow, who guided them to the Division 2 regional finals before the Chiefs lost to perennial powerhouse Birmingham Marian (1-0).
Those 2021 and 2024 teams were good. But the Chiefs only graduated six players and only two of them were regular starters from the 2024 squad. With nine starters back and with 16 varsity veterans returning, expectations were as high as they ever have been.
New Boston Huron has not disappointed.
Ranked an all-time best fourth in the state entering the postseason – trailing state powerhouse programs Hudsonville Unity Christian, Birmingham Marian and Richland Gull Lake in the rankings.
“We only lost a small group of girls to graduation and really only two were starters, so we basically have the same team this year,” added Lividini, who himself was a standout player in Michigan for Riverview Gabriel Richard, finishing fifth in the Mr. Soccer voting back in the fall of 1991. “We have most of our team back and a group that is used to playing with one another."
An experienced group with great chemistry, the Chiefs have lived up to expectations.
New Boston Huron is 18-1-1 through district play, outsourcing the opposition 97-11 with 13 shutouts. That’s 27 shutouts over two seasons to showcase the consistency and defensive prowess of this team. In the 18-game win streak, the Chiefs have outscored their foes 94-5.
The team is averaging 4.85 goals-per-game while holding the opposition down to just 0.55 goals-per-game. Other than the Saline loss, no team has scored more than one goal on the Chiefs this season and only seven opponents have even scored on the team entering regional week.
Inside the Huron League, New Boston Huron defended its league title this season with some staggering results. The Chiefs went a perfect 10-0-0 against league competition, going 7-0-0 in the first round and 3-0-0 in the postseason round-robin tournament against the other top four finishing schools in the Huron League. In those conference games, New Boston Huron outscored the opposition 54-2 with eight clean sheets, as only Milan and Carleton Airport were able to score single goals on its stingy defense.
“We do take pride on the (low) number of goals that we conceded this year,” said Lividini. “We’ve improved in that area. I think our defense has been great this season, other than against Saline. But (Saline) has done that to a lot of good teams this year.”
The Chiefs returned five players this season that earned some type of All-State recognition last season. Senior Addison Dolencic (All-State Second Team), senior Rylie Cassette (All-State Third Team), junior Ava Banko (All-State Honorable Mention), junior Maggie Mentzer (All-State Honorable Mention)and senior Gabriella Emelian (All-State Honorable Mention). When the postseason honors are released (league, district, regional and All-State) in the upcoming weeks, the Chiefs expect to have several players acknowledged on those lists.
Dolencic plays center back and is the anchor of that stout back line. Senior Shaylyn Carter also plays center back, while junior Nhi Vo and senior Callie Eaton retuned at the outside marking back positions this year and have shut down some very talented forwards and midfielders this season.
Junior Brooklyn Burke also returned as the No. 1 goalkeeper and rarely comes off the field this season. She’s collected 13 clean sheets in 20 appearances.
In the attack, the Chiefs have several players that have racked up some notable numbers in terms of goals and assists.
Sophomore forward Miley Skamiera had 23 goals through district play. Cassette has 19 goals and 20 assists from her forward position, Mentzer, a midfielder, has nine goals and nine assists, and Bland, another gifted midfielder has eight goals and seven assists, while junior midfielder Avery Turk has collected 19 goals and 13 assists.. Most of the team has registered points this season, including four freshmen that come off the bench.
In terms of experienced veterans, seniors Addison Bozynski, Ava Plackowski and Sarah Stewart junior Maddison Wilson also returned this year and have contributed in many ways on this deep team.
“We do have some depth and a lot of these girls played a lot last season and this season,” noted Lividini. “I think that’s one are we’re really strong on is our depth. We have a lot of players who have scored a lot of goals or have a lot of assists, and we can play a lot of girls without a drop off.”
Collectively, the Chiefs have bigger goals in mind.
“We would love to get to the regional finals. We've never won a regional before and I know this team has the talent to compete for that,” added Lividini.
The Chiefs will play in the regional semifinals Wednesday (June 4) at 5:30 p.m. against unranked Madison Heights Lamphere. A pair of squads listed as honorable mention in the polls, Farmington Hills Mercy and Dearborn Divine Child, play in the other game.
Previously, Mercy upset second-ranked Birmingham Marian in the district finals.
POSTSEASON UPDATE
New Boston Huron defeated Madison Heights Lamphere (6-0) and honorable mention Farmington Hills Mercy (3-0) last week to win the school’s first-ever regional championship in only its second regional finals appearance.
The Chiefs are now on a 20-game win streak, posting a 20-1-1 overall, have posted 15 shutouts, have never been shut out, and have outscored the opposition 106-11 this season.
New Boston Huron has averaged 4.82 goals-per-game while allowing 0.50 goals a game defensively.
The Chiefs play in the Division 2 state semifinals at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Waterford Kettering High School.
NATIONAL SOCCER NETWORK: www.nationalsoccernetwork.com
MICHIGAN SOCCER NEWS: https://www.nationalsoccernetwork.com/michigansoccernews
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Have a story suggestion for the Premier Media Group and the National Soccer Network regarding club/youth soccer, high school varsity, amateur soccer, collegiate soccer or professional soccer involving teams, players or coaches with ties to a particular state or states, contact Web and Content Editor/Director of News Dan Stickradt via email at dstickradt@thepremiermediagrp.com and news@nationalsoccernetwork.com, or call 248-525-2349.
PREMIER MEDIA GROUP / NATIONAL SOCCER NETWORK /
NATIONAL SOCCER NETWORK ON FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561215500230
— All Rights Reserved, Premier Media Group / National Soccer Network
Comments