BLOOMFIELD HILLS — A year ago, on the last Saturday in April, the Marian soccer team traveled to play Mason, some 16 miles south of Lansing.
“It was the day after our prom. We lost 1-0,” Marian head coach Danny Price recalled Saturday afternoon after Marian had little difficulty beating Mason, 4-0, on its home sod.
“I was a little bit worried. Our prom was last night,” Price said.
Eighteen minutes into the contest, Giulianna Agrusso gave Marian an early 1-0 advantage.
Whatever trepidations Price harbored were eliminated in an explosive second half on goals by Lily Robinson, Avery Williams, and Nadia Valka combined with a suffocating defense that limited Mason to only a half-dozen shots on goal, all turned away by goalie Olivia Bussa.
“We’re really hard to beat,” said Price in his second year as head coach. “We were so dominant in how we pressed and how hard we work. That’s probably one of the important things right now. I’m impressed by our consistency and effort. We’re still working on the finer details of how we attack. Defensively, we’re pretty solid.”
The Mustangs, No. 3 in Division 2, have outscored opponents 36-4 for an 8-1-1 record. The lone loss was a 2-0 shoutout administered by Division 1 No. 8-rated Troy Athens. Marian fought Oxford to a 0-0 tie.
The ultimate goal is a state championship, which Marian has won nine times. The Mustangs were runners-up in two of the last three seasons.
Other Catholic League girls soccer squads ranked include Farmington Hills Mercy (D2 No. 13), whom Marian will play April 29, and Dearborn Divine Child (D2 No. 14), who will come up against Marian on May 6.
Warren Regina is ranked No. 5 in Division 3. Royal Oak Shrine (7-1-1) is rated atop Division 4. Clarkston Everest Collegiate is No. 3, Madison Heights Bishop Foley No. 6, Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett No. 8 and defending Division 3 champ, Jackson Lumen Christi No. 15.
The CHSL championships are scheduled for May 17. The defending champions are Mercy in the Bishop Division, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s in the Cardinal Division, and Allen Park Cabrini in the Ste. Anne Division.
Other CHSL spring sports finals:
Friday, May 9: Cardinal Division boys track and girls lacrosse.
Saturday, May 10: Boys lacrosse, girls tennis and Bishop Division track.
Monday, May 12: Boys golf.
Wednesday, May 21: Ste. Anne Division track.
The dates for baseball and softball finals are yet to be determined.
Contact Don Horkey at [email protected].
