“Taylor Paradoski (13) is just one of those kids that, just on the field through her actions, is an example for the kids in the community,” her coach said.
The most recent time Rochester Hills Stoney Creek played Novi in girls soccer, nothing was decided.
Playing in late April, the teams tied at 1 at Novi.
There won’t be any ties tonight at Stoney Creek as the winner advances to the Division 1 state championship game at Michigan State.
Novi, a perennial power, travels to Stoney Creek with five championships as a school and tradition.
The previous time Stoney Creek made it this far was in 2005 as a Division 2 team. The Cougars lost to Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central in the championship game, 3-0.
“As far as going into the game, I don’t think it’s an advantage or disadvantage that we’ve played them before,” Stoney Creek coach Bryan Mittelstadt said. “We know it’s going to be a challenging game.
“Novi’s a great program. I think it helped our season because Novi is a great team. It just made us better.’’
Stoney Creek has been great defensively, allowing one goal in the playoffs while scoring nine.
With only three seniors — Megan Davis, Taylor Paradoski and Alyssa Orlando — better days could be ahead for the Cougars no matter how they fare.
Paradoski, one of three seniors, embodies the heart of the Cougars.
“It’s a great, hardworking team; it’s a great coachable team,” Mittelstadt said. “They have great chemistry together. They’re young. They are a pretty inspired group.
“All season they’ve been coming together as a team. I thought if we hit the peaks at the right time and continued to play as we were … we were always in games. We were always competing. The game of soccer can be where it turns out that way. The ball rolls the right way for you and not the other team.”
Paradoski, a forward, embodies the heart of the team.
“I think Taylor Paradoski is just one of those kids that, just on the field through her actions, is an example for the kids in community. She’s just a hard worker, and the kids feed off that.”
Novi is no stranger to the big stage with state titles in 2005-07 and 2010-11 under Brian O’Leary.
“It was a great game,” Paradoski said of the match with Novi. “They’re a great team. I think we both know each other. We know what they’re going to do, and they know what we’re going to do. I think this will come down to execution. I think being at home we’ll have a psychological advantage. The home crowd and getting everyone excited. I think it’ll be awesome coming back to our home field. Throughout this process we’ve talked about being able to come back to our home field and being the team to play there.”
■Marian regroups: It was odd for Bloomfield Hills Marian not to be in the Catholic League championship game.
“We lost to Regina in the semifinals, then we lost the next game to Rochester Adams,” said longtime coach Barry Brodsky. “I think it was the first time in 14 or 15 years that we hadn’t made it to the championship game. “This is a very typical Marian team. A lot of smart girls and talented players. We’ve had a couple of bumps in the road. Hopefully that’s something that’s good for us.”
Marian enters Wednesday’s 7 p.m. Division 2 final against Pontiac Notre Dame Prep with a 16-2-2 record and a 1-0 regular-season victory over the Fighting Irish.
“Hopefully we’re peaking at the right time,” Brodsky said. “The Country Day game in the district final was for us a must-win to at least have some success for the season. Since the Country Day game, we’ve played well against Trenton. I thought we played well against Ladywood.”
Contact Perry A. Farrell: 313-222-2555 or pafarrell@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @farrellperry.
Today’s semifinals
Division 1
At Spring Arbor: Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central vs. Canton, 7
Novi at Rochester Hills Stoney Creek, 6
Division 4
At Comstock Park: Muskegon Western Michigan Christian vs. Montrose, 6:30
At Troy Athens: Lansing Christian vs. Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett, 7
Wednesday’s semifinals
Division 2
At Hope College: Dexter vs. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern, 7
At Novi: Birmingham Marian vs. Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, 7
Division 3
At Cedar Springs: Hudsonville Unity Christian vs. Freeland, 7
At Parker Middle School, Howell: Flint Powers vs. Grosse Ile, 6
State finals
All games at Michigan State
Division 1: 4 p.m. Friday
Division 2: 4 p.m. Saturday
Division 3: 1 p.m. Saturday
Division 4: 1 p.m. Friday