According to tradition, Rats are said to have to work very long and hard for everything they may earn or have in life.
A truer statement couldn't be made to describe the Ann Arbor Huron River Rats' magical 2008 playoff run.
The River Rats finished
a dream season on June 14 beating Grosse Pointe North 4-0 at
Senior Rachel Vandermade opened the scoring for the River Rats at the 9:41 mark of the first half, nailing a free kick from 27 yards out into the goal.
"Whenever we scored first, we know that we've never lost a game," Huron Head Coach Todd Pheiffer said. "We've lost two games all year and both games we've given up the goal first. Whenever we score first, we knew we've had the confidence that we haven't lost yet. And we have faith in our defense."
The River Rat offense easily controlled the majority of the game and poured it on in the second half, as junior Helen Steinhauser, junior Lisa Masini, and sophomore Meg Boyer added goals.
Steinhauser scored from five yards out 23 seconds into the second half. Masini booted a goal to the short post on an assist from senior Nicole Campbell. And Boyer tapped in a left-footed shot from the left flank after beating a defender to a long ball.
Senior goalie Taylor Dunn stopped four shots to earn her sixth consecutive shutout in the playoffs.
The River Rats allowed only one goal during the playoffs, an 8-1 win over
"It hasn't
even sunk in yet,'' said Dunn said. "It's like a dream come true. We never thought we could get here. We'd say, '
The River Rats have steadily improved over the past several years under Head Coach Todd Pheiffer. Huron went 17-2-1 in 2006, falling in district play. The River Rats won their first district championship in 2007 before losing to Northville 1-0 in the regional semifinals and finishing their season at 16-3-2.
The route to the championship was not an easy one. The River Rats had to eliminate cross-town rival Ann Arbor Pioneer, No. 1 Northville, No. 7 Portage Central during their playoff run.
Grosse Pointe North was also playing in their first final and finished their season at 14-9.
2008 MHSAA Girls Soccer Division 1 Champion
Ann Arbor Huron
Head Coach: Todd Pheiffer (103-46-23)
Assistant Coaches: Scott Sprow, Reese Richardson, Bonnie McCann
Players
00 Taylor Dunn, Sr.
1 Lisa Masini, Jr.*
2 Beth Archer, Sr.*
3 Nicole Campbell, Sr.*
4 Meg Boyer, So.
5 Ainsley McCallister, So.
6 Beth Boyer, So.
7 Becca Pidgeo, Sr.
8 Rachel Vandermade, Sr.
9 Renee Tripon, Sr.
10 Kate Waltner, Sr.
11 Caroline Robb, So.
12
13 Molly Bond, So.
14 Emily Brunnschweiler, Jr.
15 Nneka Odum, Sr.
17 Laura Spraetz, Sr.
18 Helen Steinhauser, Jr.*
19 Ashley Sienko, Sr.
20
23 Ali Fendrick, Jr.
* Captains