MICHIGAN GIRLS SOCCER: Rogers’ late goal helps Adams deflate Romeo in overtime; Eisenhower ousts Rochester
- Dan Stickradt
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
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ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. – Sade Rogers came through in the clutch Wednesday.
In the most opportune time.
And in the rain.
All while working some overtime.
The Rochester Adams senior midfielder and multi-sport athlete scored the game’s only goal with three minutes left in the second overtime period, as Division 1 ninth-ranked Rochester Adams – the defending state champions – registered a 1-0 shutout over 14th-ranked Romeo in a district semifinals showdown at Adams.
And it came on a night where four top 15 teams competed on the same turf at Rochester Adams.
Adams (13-4-1) went through a stretch this season where they lost three of four games and only finished fifth of seven teams in a loaded Oakland Activities Association Red Division but have apparently switched gears. The state powerhouse Highlanders will face Macomb Area Conference Red Division champion and fifth-ranked Utica Eisenhower in the district finals Saturday at 12 noon at Adams.
Eisenhower pulled away from fourth-ranked Rochester in the first district semifinals clash Wednesday at Adams to set up the date with the Highlanders.
This particular district has sent a team into the Final Four each of the last three years, with the last two Division 1 state champions coming out of this district with Rochester Stoney Creek (2023) and Rochester Adams (2024) emerging as the state champions. Rochester reached the state semifinals in 2022.
On the game-winning goal against MAC-Red Division runner-up Romeo (11-4-2), first-time high school-playing junior Layla Tomezak (Penn State commit) sent a ball down the left side with sophomore Alexis Cusmano corralling the ball and dribbling further downfield before sending a left-footed cross into the center of the park. Rogers, an All-State Second Team player last season, had just enough space to chip a shot over the head of charging Romeo junior goalkeeper Isabelle Stojanovski and into the back of the net.
The Highlanders defense made it stand down the stretch.
Adams has two of the best goalkeepers in the state, with senior Illinois State signee Brooklyn Harding standing tall between the pipes to register her team’s seventh shutout of the campaign. Harding is another first-time high school player who has shared time in goal with junior Lexi Calamuggio, the goalkeeper during last year’s state title run.
The Highlanders are now 4-0-1 in their last five games with a 14-2 scoring edge and 8-1-1 over their last 10 matches with an all-star roster of numerous NCAA Division I and Division II recruits. Adams has outscored its opposition 46-15 this season, including 25-6 in its last 10 games.
UTICA EISENHOWER 3, ROCHESTER 1: Fifth-ranked Eisenhower scored a goal in the first minute then tacked on two late goals when the game was tied 1-1 and ended up advancing to the Saturday’s district finals.
Less than one minute into the game, senior forward Lily Pantaleo (Virginia Tech University) knocked home a cross from senior Devyn Richmond (University of Akron) to stake Eisenhower to an early 1-0 lead. The play developed near midfield where Raymond slipped a low pass through a gap on the defense and Pantaleo tracked down before uncorking a left-footed shot past Rochester goalkeeper and career shutouts leader Alice Max (Grand Valley State).
Both Pantaleo and Raymond are first-year high school soccer players.
The Falcons (14-2-4), who have spent essentially the last five seasons ranked in the top 15 in Division 1, battled back midway through the half. Junior Stella Marlow, who had missed the last seven weeks due to an injury, netted an equalizer off a pass from freshman Izzy Greenslade.
Eisenhower (17-2-0) was able to break the game open with two second half goals after Rochester picked up a red card.
Junior Ellera Jakubowski finished off a cross from senior Julia Aniel and Raymond converted a penalty kick with severe pace to cap the scoring for the Eagles (17-2-0).
Rochester outscored its foes 40-15 this season even though two of its projected goals scorers missed most of the season. The Falcons recorded 13 shutouts in 20 games but conceded three goals in a game for just the second time this season. Rochester had competed in the district finals the last three seasons only to come up short of that match this season.
Eisenhower will face Rochester Adams in the district finals showdown Saturday at 12 noon also at Adams. Eisenhower lost in the district finals two straight years in 2018 and 2019 – both to Rochester Adams and both 2-1 defeats in games decided by shootouts.
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