Haslett soccer makes statement with 8-0 win over DeWitt in district championship game
Thursday's Division 2 district championship game between seventh-ranked Haslett and 14th-ranked DeWitt was expected to be a close battle between two rivals that played to a draw in their regular-season contest.
Instead, the CAAC Gold Cup champion Vikings made a big-time statement against one of the area's soccer powers.
Haslett scored three goals in the first half and five in the second, the last one coming with just under six minutes left in the match, to give the Vikings an 8-0 mercy-rule win over the Panthers – the same program that had beaten them in the district final the past two seasons.
“DeWitt has had a great program over the years. They’re such a great-coached team and have very talented people. I’m really surprised it got to that point,” said Haslett coach Dave Littleton. “This is a special group of girls and it's a joy to coach them and a joy to be around them, and I’m kind of lost for words.”
The Vikings (15-1-1) – who hadn’t won a district title since 2014 – didn't need very long to take the lead at Eastern High School.
Twenty-two seconds, to be exact.
Senior Kaema Amachree received a throw-in inside the 18-yard box, split a couple of DeWitt defenders and then shot far post for a 1-0 lead before fans could even get settled.
“The feeling’s unbelievable, winning by so many goals and being able to score the first goal in the first 20 seconds. It really set the tone for the game,” Amachree said. “It’s a surreal feeling, honestly.”
Three minutes later, the Vikings were ahead 2-0. This time, it was Amachree delivering the assist, dribbling 20 yards down the middle of the park and then threading a through-ball to Ireland Jacob on her left. Jacob’s shot toward the right post beat a hard-charging DeWitt goalkeeper for a 2-0 lead and the Vikings were off to the races.
Amachree and fellow senior Maddie Fant both had hat tricks for the Vikings.
"I talked to Maddie at the beginning of the season and said with Kaema coming aboard and being that striker, I’m going to need you to go wide and play that wing,” Littleton said. “And I think she has excelled at that and has taken the role for herself. She’s really coming into her own.”
Fant’s first goal came in the 17th minute, heading home a corner kick off the boot of Carly Doran. Fant’s other two goals came a minute apart in the second half, the latter making it 6-0 after Sophie Novak whipped in a free kick from near the right midfield touchline that got all the way through to Fant at the far post.
“I just followed it and saw it was going through the defense,” Fant said. “I followed it and the shot went in the goal.
“(The win) feels amazing. It was just the mindset going into it.”
This was Haslett’s third consecutive 8-0 win, beating Lansing Catholic by that scoreline in the regular-season finale and then Swartz Creek in the district semifinals on Tuesday.
The Vikings have been on a tear since a May 4 loss to Williamston, winning seven straight matches and outscoring their opponents 50-1 in the process. That lone goal conceded was in a rematch against Williamston in the CAAC Gold Cup final, which Haslett won in penalty kicks.
Haslett’s players and coaches credit that May loss to the Hornets with focusing the team on what they need to do in practice and matches in order to make a deep postseason run.
“It was definitely a wake-up call that we just need to get our heads in the game from now on and not have any more losses on our record,” Amachree said. “We really stepped up as a team and we’ve been really focusing in practice so that we can make this run into states and do what we did tonight."
Audrey Archambault also scored for Haslett. Amachree scored the match’s final two goals in the 69th and 75th minutes.
Haslett, ranked seventh in the coaches’ poll, is No. 2 in the MHSAA.com Michigan Power Ratings. The Vikings will be the favorite in next week’s regional at Fenton, but it’s not an easy field. They’ll play either Clio or Goodrich in the semifinal, with No. 13 Linden taking on either No. 10 South Lyon East or Pinckney in the other semifinal.
“We wanted to come out and show that we can play against hard teams and successful teams,” Littleton said.
Contact digital sports reporter Phil Friend at 517-377-1220 or pfriend@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @Phil_Friend.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Haslett girls soccer stuns DeWitt, 8-0, in Division 2 district final
