'Relentless' St. Clair girls soccer team powers past Imlay City in district final

NORTH BRANCH — Every team's intensity is heightened during the postseason. But when elimination is just one loss away, few can match the level of the St. Clair girls soccer team.

The Saints overwhelmed Imlay City, 8-1, in a Division 2 district final at North Branch High School on Thursday.

Kennedy Hollerbach scored five goals for St. Clair, which improved to 14-2-1 overall and advanced to Tuesday's regional semifinal against Goodrich. As for the Spartans, they finished the season at 7-11-1.

"I just wanted (our players) to be relentless," said St. Clair coach Cliff Freeland, whose team won its third district championship in as many years. "And they were. I wanted a lot of energy. Our goal is just to get ready for the next round. I thought we would do well, I just didn't want to have a letdown before regionals. So (our girls) stepped up."

"From where we started to where we progressed, all of our players made an impeccable amount of growth," Imlay City Bailey Boyer said. "Even though we didn't get the result we wanted today, I'm really happy with the amount of growth we made throughout the season. I can't be any more proud of them."

After the Saints jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, Imlay City responded with a goal from Jessica Peters. But St. Clair quelled the Spartans' momentum by adding two more goals before halftime.

In addition to the five scores from Hollerbach, Lilah Cron, Allie Komarowski and Kaylen Walker all finished with one goal for the Saints.

It was the fifth time this season (and second in the past three days) that St. Clair scored more than seven goals in a game. Six different players found the back of the net in Tuesday's 8-0 win over Croswell-Lexington in the district semifinals.

"It's so balanced," Freeland said of the Saints' offense. "It's the most unselfish soccer team I've been around. And when you play that way ... the unselfishness makes a big difference."

"Everyone had opportunities to score," senior Ella Farkas said of the two district tournament games. "We weren't just relying on one person. Being able to rely on the whole team really helped a lot with this district (title)."

"We have that bond and chemistry where we can play (off) each other so well," Hollerbach said. "Anyone can finish, anyone can score and we just trust each other."

That synergy has the Saints confident heading into the next round.

"This is just the start," senior Samantha Harwood said. "Regionals are going to be a challenge. But this (district title) was to get us ready for that. We came out with two big wins to show everyone that we're coming."

"It's set a precedent that we're not stopping," Hollerbach said. "We're going to keep going through this tournament and pushing ourselves to our limits."

St. Clair will face Goodrich (13-6-1) in a regional semifinal at Linden High School on Tuesday. Game time is 5 p.m.

"I'm looking forward to showing the bigger schools that a small-town school can make it big," Harwood said. "If we all work together, we can get to the goals we want to achieve."

"We have big goals this year," Freeland said. "And I think this is the team that can go really deep."

The Saints were determined to get back to a regional semifinal, which is where last season ended. Now, they're focused on going even further.

"(I want) to show that we can compete with anyone," Hollerbach said. "And that we can rise up to whatever challenge we face. I'm looking forward to us making history and winning our first regional championship."

Contact Brenden Welper at bwelper@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrendenWelper.

This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: 'Relentless' St. Clair girls soccer team powers to district title