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Game Write Ups:

May 23, 2012

We have dreamed of reading this write up for several years. After near miss and near miss the Huskies are now Conference Champions as they defeated crosstown rival PC 3-0. Go ahead pinch yourself, it is not a dream, but a dramatic, joyful victory earned by much blood, sweat, tears, concussions, torn ACL's, Broken Hands, and every other injury imaginable. These girls came into the contest battle scarred, and full of the memories of many close misses of previous years in this position against PC....but this time they came in with a mission. The game was played with high intensity most of the first half with the Huskies having multiple opportunities. Finally, with about 10 minutes to go Chelsea ( Oh we are so glad you returned your Senior Year) served in a beautiful ball that was headed backwards by PC for an own goal. We take em any way we can get em, and we took this one to a 1-0 halftime lead. The second half saw the Huskies start a bit slowly, but eventually we tilted the feild to our favor and started pounding in opportunity after opportunity with some especially hard work by Hannah, Shelby, and Casey. A foul was given to the Huskies about 25 yards out and Casey calmly found the only slot open and shot the free kick by the diving Keeper...2-0 Huskies. Then as play progressed and the chances increased Shelby took possession and spun on the defender from 20 yards and buried a left footer for the final goal. The entire team played their collective hearts out this day, as was evident with an the tears and emotion after the game. The Back 4 on defense...Bre, Danielle, Morgan, and Chelsea shut down almost every opportunity PC could muster, and had the ball back on the attack every time. These 4 preserved the shutout and never left the field for a minute the entire game. Finally, Rachel Evans, Wow!!! Coming out of nowhere to become our Keeper extrordinaire. The few quality chances PC did have were quickly snuffed out by Rachel. Awesome job girls, and by the way the tears were not only seen in your eyes, but the eyes of every proud parent and fan that was rooting on the Huskies, this was one sweet, well deserved victory! On to Districts and GO HUSKIES!

And a bonus to the Write Up, the Huskies give Coach Andy Fuehr the Ultimate Birthday Present with the Victory on his 33rd! Happy Birthday Andy!!!

2012 SMAC Conference Champs Portage Northern Huskies

Casey's Free Kick for the 2nd Goal	BreAnne Sends the Ball down the field
PC defender doing anything to stop Shelby	Rachel Making another Save
Karli Carries the Ball on the attack	Hannah Winning the Ball
The Thrill of Victory	Beautiful....

The Husky Boosters would like to thank all the Players, Families and Friends for another successful Car Wash and Pop Can Drive. The final tally is not yet in, but we have again raised well over 1000$ for the Husky Soccer Program. A special Thank You goes out to Senior Parent Mike Prior who again organized and did all the leg work for this event.
The weather was very cooperative and according to Mike cars were as much as 12 deep the entire length of the Car Wash. The Girls and Parents had to work hard and fast to get several hundred cars through the car wash line. A special treat was offered by PN alum and Parents as Pizza and Popsicles were delivered throughout the event out of the kindness of these individuals’ hearts. Brings a tear to a Husky eye…but this is the real tear jerker. An elderly woman pulled into the car wash. She was a bit embarrassed but said she had a bag full of coins she wanted to donate and not a 5$ bill. We happily washed her car, and Mike said after he counted the bag of coins that night it ended up being our biggest single donation of the day from the person who probably could afford it the least. We had many donations without getting their car wash also that was greatly appreciated.  Then just after noon Ms Vizard who was watching her son play in a baseball game at the Northern field texted Cassie Vandersloot and mentioned there were a number of people wanting their car’s washed but could not leave the game. 4 of the licensed varsity players picked up, washed and delivered clean cars back to the PN Baseball parking lot. Now that is service!
Again Thank you everyone for the successful fund raiser.
Again we are looking for a Parent to head up this event next year as Mike Prior’s daughter is graduating….Again a Huge Husky thank you to Mr. Prior!!!!!

Another Succesful Car Wash

 

 

May 18, 2012

On a beautiful night to honor our seniors the Huskies road to another victory in tonights Non Conference matchup with East Grand Rapids.

Portage Northern girls soccer coach Andy Fuehr admits it could be bit tricky scheduling a non-league game with East Grand Rapids in the middle of the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference conference tournament. In the end, however, Fuehr said it's worth it. "East Grand Rapids is a fantastic team which has beaten us handily," Fuehr said. "To get a win against them gives us confidence. "We thought if they can (schedule a game), let's do it. I'm not one to tell the girls we're afraid to play anyone. The more games you play, the better off you'll be for the state tournament." Friday's game with East Grand Rapids included touchy scheduling. Portage Northern will host Mattawan in the conference tournament semifinals Monday at 6:45 p.m. The other semifinal is Portage Central and Kalamazoo Central.

Hannah Scafaria scored three goals for Portage Northern, now 12-7.

May 16, 2012 SMAC Conference Quarterfinals

Portage Northern scored twice in the first half and twice in the second to advance to the semifinal of the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference tournament against Loy Norrix. .Hannah Scafaria and Kelsey Lewis scored Portage Northern's first-half goals, and Lauren Bye and Emily Juzwiak added goals in the second half. The Husky defense kept Norrix away from any big challenges all evening, and the offense kept steady pressure on the Knights who were reduced to playing "pack the box" defense. Keeper Rachel Evans picked up the shutout win for Portage Northern, who will play Mattawan in the SMAC tournament semifinal on Monday.

In the opening game of SMAC tournament play, the Portage Northern Huskies cruised to a comfortable victory over the visiting Loy Norrix Knights by a final score of 4-0. Riding a wave of solid possession and crisp passing throughout, the Huskies were largely able to keep the Knights pinned to their own end, limiting them to just one shot in the contest, an errant free kick in the 52nd minute from midfielder Mia Leibold that sailed well over the crossbar and was never a threat. The Huskies, though, were always threatening, shooting early and often, but despite having the bulk of possession could convert just four times. The Huskies opened the scoring in the 23rd minute, when junior Hannah Scafaria was played through the middle of the Knights defense into the penalty area, where she easily slotted home from close range. Just three minutes later, the Huskies added a second when a bad bounce to the left of the Knight penalty area allowed Scafaria in behind defender Lillian Jackson. Scafaria’s initial effort from a tight angle was easily covered by goalkeeper Alexis Welsh, who tipped the ball into the air and into the path of the Huskies Kelsey Lewis, who knocked the ball home. The second half began much as the first, with the Huskies on the front foot but otherwise unable to hit the target. It wasn’t until the 53rd minute when the Knights substitute goalkeeper, Brandi Batten, spilled a routine cross from a wide position into the feet of Lauren Bye that the Huskies could tap in for their third. The Huskies completed the goal scoring in the 78th minute when Emily Juzwiak picked up a weak clearance just outside the top left corner of the Knight penalty area and casually fired home the goal. Despite being held to one shot in the contest, Loy Norrix had one final chance in the game to muster a little pride, in the final minute of play. Picking up the ball thirty yards from the Huskies goal, midfielder Czoey Hohler easily dribbled around two defender and looked to put a left footed effort on frame, only to see her shot snuffed out by the recovering defense.

Following the contest, both teams now look to Monday night matchups as the SMAC tournament continues. Portage Northern will play Mattawan.

May 14, 2012

Both teams scored a goal in the first half. Shelby Adams got an unassisted goal for Portage Northern at the 31:05 mark. Richland Gull Lake tied the game with 25 minutes left as Kelsey Adamski found the back of net with an assist from Carley Rice. Hannah Scafaria started the second half scoring with a goal at 36:00 with Adams getting the assist. Richland Gull Lake tied the game up once again thanks to Rachel Fouts’ unassisted goal at the 26:33 mark. Adams put Portage Northern back in the lead less than four minutes later with her second goal of the game on a nice header served in by Casey Shauman. Karli Fisher stretched the Huskies’ lead to 4-2 with an assist from Nicole Berry at 23:22. Shots on goal were in favor of Portage Northern, 9-6. Rachel Evans had four saves for Portage Northern while Maggie Harma stopped five shots for Richland Gull Lake. “We kind of wore them out in the second half,” Portage Northern coach Andy Fuehr said. “We have a lot of veteran players who know what it takes to close out games. Gull Lake is a resilient team and gave us all we could handle tonight.”

Portage Northern (10-7) hosts Kalamazoo Loy Norrix in the Southwestern Athletic Conference quarterfinals on Wednesday.

May 11, 2012

Another beautiful night at the Home Husky complex brought last years Division 2 State Champions Plainwell to our home Pitch. The Huskies coming off the big PC win tried to start the game the same way as Hannah almost scored on a nice first feed from Casey....it would have beat the 46 second mark easily. That was the theme of the first half, near misses by both teams and a back and forth physical battle the ended with a nailbiting 0-0 tie in the first half. The second half brought more of the high intensity battle from both teams. Plainwell broke through first on a nice cross that was headed in by an unmarked Plainwell Player. After the goal the Huskies got very fired up and controlled most of the second half from there. On an attack that seemed to roll harmlessly to the Plainwell Goalie, Casey charged the goalie and as so many have before, she misjudged Casey's lightning speed. Casey gets a foot on the ball on a nice deflection to Hannah who buries the tieing goal. The Huskie Faithful were on thier feet pushing for the next goal.The Huskies thought they had the leading goal a few minutes later on another very nice Hannah/Casey combination play, but a unique interpretation of the offsides foul and the goal was negated. Plainwell pushed forward for a few minutes and after a scrum inside the box Plainwell scored thier second goal to take the 2-1 lead. PN had many other opportunities but they did not seem to find the back of the net as Plainwell held on for the 2-1 victory. It was an emotional week for the girls and they are primed and ready to go for the SMAC tournament.

 

May 9, 2012

So the biggest Rivalry in Women's High School Soccer game brings out many fans and interested parties alike. But from the Game Write Up Hall of Fame, it brings out Ed Stinson and His Write up is Below. Pictures will Follow soon.

Out of retirement:

"After seven seasons of Portage Northern men’s and women’s soccer, and approximately 150 game recaps, last year I was summoned into retirement by the home front. Not only did I relinquish those recaps, but also sent my lucky orange game underwear into the dumpster. My undersized Northern sweatshirt and other Huskie paraphernalia drew dust over this past year in the basement Goodwill pile. I have found other things to keep me busy, like doing laundry and taking out the garbage. But, like Michael Jordan, I struggled with retirement. So at the urging of many friends… well, actually one friend (thanks Denny), I am coming out of retirement for not one, but two paragraphs.

I went to the Rivalry game with none of the normal chest pains and shaky leg syndrome that came with having a daughter actually playing. But as the game got going, some of those old feelings came back. Like whenever or wherever Taylore Peterson would touch the ball, I would hold my breath until she got rid of it. And that a two goal lead is a dangerous lead, especially when it is a lead over Portage Central. But a gutsy effort by this Northern squad gives the seniors a nice gift and memory, and the mind is a beautiful thing when it comes to memory. It weeds out losses and memorializes big wins. So this is another victory to be cherished. Thanks for allowing this “semi-retired” game recapper to sneak into the basement and pull an orange Huskie sweater out of the Goodwill pile to wear while I write a final game recap. That is until the next BIG victory." To see Gazette article on Mlive, click here.

#1 Seed in the SMAC West

The View from the 47th Second of the Game	Frame #1 Casey Seves in the Ball.	Frame #2 Hannah receives with her back to the Goal
Frame #3 The Central Defender tries everything to stop Hannah's progress	Frame #4 Hannah wins the Battle and fires a shot for the 2-0 lead	Shelby goes up high for the Header off the corner
Casey Taking on the Defender	Chelsea bring the ball down field	Lauren with Control driving on goal
Erin Drives the Ball in for the Final Goal	The Super Fans were in attendance	The tears of Victory were flowing!

May 2, 2012

A Beautiful night of soccer brought out the Huskies best impression of the Fast and Furiuous. Playing against one of the best players in the area, and a player the Huskies have had trouble shutting down in the past (Ms Russo), the Huskies came out confident, skilled, with their feet on the gas, and firing at the net. A 7-0 victory was in hand by the end of the night and all available players saw substantial field time. The game ball goes to the defense for another shut out by the dynamic goal tending duo of Rachel Evans and Maggie Wooley. Bre Bye took on the task of marking KC's dynamic player and made sure she was a non factor on this day. The rest of the defense shut down every potential attack and held the Maroon Giants to 3 shots on Goal. All were involved in this impressive defensive effort. The Goals scored were Karli Fisher on a nice header, Casey adding 2 more and 2 assists to her growing yearly total, 2 by Hannah who carved the KC defense as she does so well, 1 by Bailey on a nice rebound goal, and the final by Kelsey who lofted a pretty left footer over the outstretched hands of the KC keeper from a ridiculous angle. The starters received much needed rest most of the second half, and everyone saw valuable Field time. Next week brings 2 of the Huskies biggest rivalry games. PC on Wednesday, and Plainwell on Friday..Only one thing to say ...GO HUSKIES!!!!!!!!!!

2012 HUSKY SENIORS

Hannah Scores on an Early Chance	Shelby Fights for the Ball
Everyone up for the header	Rae awaits the pass
Abby Drives the ball upfield	Even a 7-0 win brings about Excedrin Headache #5 at times

 

 

April 30th, 2012

Well the old saying that April Showers brings May Flowers has a little different meaning in Niles,MI. April Showers brings one Muddy Goal mouth on Niles High School's home pitch. The Raind eased up after a day long deluge just in time for the opening whistle but the water stayed on the field for the duration. Again the entire Husky team saw the field with a few firsts for the year. The first double Hat Trick in a game this year by Kelsey and Casey, the first Goal by Emily and Karli, the First Shutout by Maggie Wooley and the first Yellow Card by Morgan. Other than that I will leave the following pictures to pictorally conclude the write up and field conditions. The JV Girls Finished with a mercy 8-0 win over Niles on this day also.

The Mud Sisters

Karli and Hannah Sporting thier new Mud Look	Savanah Surveys the field
Hannah Sends the Ball In	I Swear Maggie started out in Orange Shorts
Josie and her Bionic Knee	Kelsie on the way to another Goal

 

 

April 27th,2012

Friday Night saw b-e-a-u-tiful soccer weather finally for the Huskies constest with BC Lakeview. With all the Husky Boosters drooling over probably the best grass pitch in the area the Huskies took the field against BCL after a spirited effort by the JV girls that just came up short. The Huskies came out fireing on all cylinders and created multiple early opportunities. Many were thwarted by the second quality goal keeper PN faced in the week, affectionately known as "Mad Dog" by her team mates. While the defense kept BCL at bay at will, Casey found a streaking Hannah on a nice assist and Hannah beat the keeper in the 1v1 situatation for the first goal. With all the pressure put on by the Huskies the bet with the Husky faithful was the scoring would continue, but Mad Dog lived up to her nickname and attacked quality shot after quality shot with some tremendous saves. The second half saw the Huskies break through again on a beautiful slot ball from Karli to a streaking Morgan down the left side who caught Mad Dog out of her cage and buried the second goal. A late goal was added by BCL to bring the score to 2-1. The entire bench received valuable play time leading up into the tail end of the season.

April 23rd, 2012-

Sometimes History repeats itself. On a cold night 2 years ago at Lakeshore stadium the Huskies managed to eek out a 1-0 victory after many opportunities were missed to cushion the score. As in the last visit the Huskies had man opportunities thwarted by the Lancers. Lakeshore's goalie made half a dozen stops on sure goals in the first half. After she stopped a sure goal in the upper left 90 on a rocket launched by Casey Shauman, she must have thought to herself " this is like shooting on Hope Solo." But the Huskies were tenacious and off a long punt by Goalie Rachel Evans with the wind, Morgan Muchez found herself 1v1 against her club goalie. Morgan made the right choice a slipped a nice ball past the diving keeper for the 1-0 lead. Lakeshore proceeded to pack in the box, and hope for a quick counter attack but every chance they had was quickly snuffed out by the defense. Rachel Evans continued her learning curve in the box with another shut out, some very nice saves at point blank, and a mark on the stat sheet with an assist on the lone goal....something you don't see to often. The Huskies Travel to Lakeview in Battle Creek on Friday.

The JV played Otsego onWednesday teh 25th and recorded a nice 8-0 mercy victory.

Morgan Drives down the Field	Rachel with another Save
Hannah Controls the Ball	Casey Sends in another Rocket Shot
Nicole with her best Meridona impersonation	Erin Fights for the Ball

 

 

April 20th, 2012

Friday night saw a blustery competition, and a final game of a stretch some of the girls affectionately call "Hell Week." After playing 6 games in the span of 7 days and against 4 of the top teams in the state the Husky Ladies have definitely earned their stripes. The Huskies played their collective hearts out Friday against perennial power house Forest Hills Central and went into the second half tied 0-0. After an inspired effort the Huskies ended up on the losing end after the end of the second half 3-1. Hell Week is over, and now they are well prepared for the Challenges of the SMAC West.

 

April 18th, 2012

A beautiful day for Soccer for this time of year, starting at almost 70 when the JV game started and cooling off a bit towards the end of the Varsity game. Who would of thought that the weather pattern would predict the game pattern. The Huskies came out blazing as Casey scored a quick goal to put the Huskies up 1-0. Then Erin Prior did her best Whirling Derbish imitation to put the Huskies up 2-0. A Nice goal from Hannah, and Shelby Adams beating the goalie on a break away and then feeding a streaking uncovered Kelsie Lewis resulted in the 4th goal and a 4-0 halftime lead. Bre, Felica, Morgan and Chelsea defensively shut down Mattawan on all chances in the first half for a nice defensive half of play. After the first half of play Husky fans were anticipating an early ending, but as the weather cooled the Huskies cooled also as thier many second half chanced could not seem to find the net. Mattawan scored on a scrum inside the six spoiling Rachel's second shutout of the year. The Huskies come out victoriuous on their home field 4-1. On to another top 10 opponent in the State Friday as the Huskies travel to Forest Hills Central.

Hannah Takes on the Goalie	Shelby goes High for a Header
Breanne serves into the box	Erin passing the ball
Bailey heading downfield	Huskies!

 

April 16th, 2012

As I was unable to make this game our write up today is presented by Michiganprepsoccer.com

Forest Hills Central, East Kentwood, Unity Christian, Caledonia…sound familiar? Those are the top teams in Michigan Prep Soccer's Grand Rapids Top 10 And, every single one of them is on Portage Northern’s schedule this season. This doesn’t even factor in top-notch squads like Okemos and Ann Arbor Skyline who the Huskies have also faced. Wins have been hard to come by for the Huskies, who are still pegged as frontrunners in the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference this season. They continued to take their lumps against brutally tough competition on Monday night with a 4-1 home loss against East Kentwood, dropping them to 2-5.Coach Andy Fuehr’s spirits were still high.

“We’re the best 2-5 team around,” he said with a bellowing laugh. “If there were rankings for 2-5 teams, we would definitely be at the top.”Really, Fuehr has no reason to be too bent out of shape. Stocking a portion of the schedule that essentially means nothing with top caliber teams is what Fuehr expects could give his team an edge come conference time.

But, will this potentially demoralizing stretch of the early season pay dividends when it counts?

“If teams really want to find out if they’re championship worthy, they have to play the best,” Fuehr said. “You can play a bunch of cupcakes and get a lot of wins that don’t mean anything but you won’t learn anything. I think our girls are learning some great lessons. I think a lot of them are saying ‘Wow, I have not been playing at the level I should be’.”

The Huskies had upset on the brain on Monday by striking first. Casey Shauman buried an assist from Hannah Scafaria to give Portage Northern a 1-0 about 10 minutes in. Both girls, along with Shelby Adams, are expected to carry the Huskies this year on offense.East Kentwood erased the deficit to take a 2-1 lead at the break. The Falcons found goals from Casey McMillan, Casey Westveer, Izzy Leon and Rachel Neverhoed.

“I thought we hung with them at times, but they just had so much skill everywhere,” Fuehr said. “That McMillan is the real deal, too. She’s everything that everyone says she is.”The nonconference slate doesn’t get any easier for Fuehr and his girls with Forest Hills Central around the corner. “Sometimes you get a false sense of security when you win all the time,” Fuehr said. “I can guarantee you, there is no false sense of security here right now.”

April 14th, 2012 3 for 1

The annual 3 for 1 saw all Husky fans watching the forecast as a day of Rain was in the mix. Luckily for all the Girls and Fans the rain held off for the most part. Unluckily the Huskies got to face 2 top 10 teams in the state in Midland Dow and Okemos early in the morning. The Huskies fought Hard but fell 3-0 and 4-0 respectively. The finale was played against Traverse City and the Huskies game away with a win 6-0 on the final game of the day.

 

April 12th, 2012

After an extended time off the pitch courtesy of Spring Break the Huskies officially opened business against Jackson's Parma Western. The Huskies were suffering through a bit of a sluggish start/ Spring Break hangover when Parma Western was issued a red card foul in the box on a break away by Hannah. Shelby Adams buried the PK and from there the scoring fest was on with goals by Shelby, Casey,Hannah, Rae, Danielle, and Kelsey. The final goal was a Bye Bye Birdie goal as Breanne Bye scored on an indirect kick that was first touched by sister Lauren Bye. Rachel Evan forced into action for her first entire game recorded her first shutout. Thank you Rachel for choosing the beautiful game this spring.

MLIVE Article on Parma Western Game

Huskies getting Fired Up Before the Game	Coaches
Shelby Drives a Volley Towards the Net	Erin prepares to control the ball.
And I run to the free Candy at halftime!	Hannah ended up on the Ground after this Red Card Foul.
Josie and the Bionic Leg Head Upfield	Kelsie takes on a defender

 

 

March 27th, 2012

The JV and Varsity opened up Husky Field as early in the Season as anyone could remember with scrimmages with an old Rival Hacket Catholic High School. With the weather Clear and not terrible (what a bonus) many new faces on the JV played Hacket's JV to a 2-2 tie. The new faces to the Huskies got their first taste of the Husky home field, and some their first taste of Chez Husky after the contest.

With the grass a little longer than the girls liked the Varsity played through a little slower than they typically like. Hackett scored first on a nice through ball and strike outside of the 18 with a big assist from a strong tail wind. The goal was the boost the Huskies needed and the Huskies rebounded quickly as Lauren Bye scored on a rebound. Hannah then took on what seemed like every Hackett defender and scored the second goal to give the Huskies the lead. Hacket then scored on a corner that the blowing wind helped curl into the net and off a Huskies back for an own goal. The Huskies came back in the second half to score the go ahead goal on a nice turn from Shelby and strike from about 20 yards. A late goal sealed the 4-2 score in the scrimmage today. The Huskies make it to the Spring Break with no major game njuries, so rest and relax girls, The season starts in earnest on your return. I can smell the food from Chez Husky as I type!

Emily Dribbles Downfield	Casey Sends the Ball into the mix
Grace Shielding the Defender	Nicole Driving Up the Field
Erin Goes up High for the Header	Maggie Punting the Ball

March 24th, 2012

A beautiful day for Soccer at the Plainwell Invite greeted Huskies on this day. Although a bit west and misty at times the weather was more than anyone could ask for this early in the season. The Huskies started out thier "official" season against Ann Arbor Skyline. After a back and forth battle and many missed opportunities by the Huskies a wet ball slipped through the Husky goal keeper's grasp for a 1-0 Skyline Victory.

The second game of the day came against highly touted and perineal State Champion Unity Christian. The Huskies hung tough most of the game but the deep bench of Unity finally got the best of the Huskies as the girls came up short 4-1.

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Senior Captain Casey Shauman Signing to Play with Ferris State

Congratulations to our Senior Captain Casey Shauman as she signs her letter of intent to play College Soccer at Ferris State.