By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
FENNVILLE—The Saugatuck girls soccer team added another chapter to its historic season Tuesday, June 4.
With a 5-1 victory over St. Joseph Michigan Lutheran in a Division 4 regional semifinal, the Trailblazers earned the first regional soccer victory in school history, regardless of gender.
“This was huge for us because we’ve never won a regional game,” Saugatuck coach Neal Phillips said. “That’s kind of where our sights were at the beginning of the season. We wanted to see if we could push the record, push the envelope a little bit farther.”
The Trailblazers did just that, using a balanced offensive attack and a pivotal late first-half goal to seize control.
Leading 2-1 with time winding down in the opening half, Saugatuck earned a corner kick with less than 10 seconds remaining.
Neave Rewa raced toward the corner to put the ball in play before the halftime horn, even colliding with a teammate in her haste to get there.
She quickly recovered, delivered a dangerous ball into the box and watched as Jordan Sanders found the back of the net with two seconds remaining to give the Trailblazers a 3-1 advantage.
“That was really chaotic,” Rewa said. “I could kind of hear everyone counting down. We have a lot of people on our team who are really good at heading and finishing corners, so I knew we had to take advantage of that opportunity. I was just trying to get to the ball as fast as I could and get a quality cross in there.”
For Sanders, the play provided a momentum swing that carried into the second half.
“I was getting anxious, getting prepared to get that cross from Neave,” Sanders said. “It was stressful. It just went through right to me and I went ahead and scored.”
The Trailblazers struck first less than five minutes into the match when Audrey Rodewald scored off a rebound after a corner kick from Rewa glanced off the crossbar.
Michigan Lutheran answered midway through the first half. Katie Dailey converted a rebound after Saugatuck goalkeeper Virginia Cernugel stopped her penalty kick, tying the score at 1-1.
Saugatuck regained the lead with 13:33 remaining in the half when Sanders scored her first goal of the evening. Then came her dramatic goal just before halftime, giving the Trailblazers valuable breathing room heading into the break.
“There is a big difference between going into halftime up one goal and up two goals,” Phillips said. “That was really big for us to finish off that goal. That’s the second time we’ve been able to pull that off from a set piece this season.”
The Trailblazers continued to apply pressure after halftime.
Rewa scored on a 2-on-1 opportunity before Ryann Monroe added another goal a short time later to push the lead to 5-1.
The offensive explosion came after Saugatuck survived back-to-back shootouts in district play, including a district championship victory over rival Black River just days earlier.
“We all knew what we had to do coming into the game,” Rewa said. “It was a big game that we all really wanted to win. We didn’t want to go into another shootout, so we were really focused on giving 100 percent and finishing our opportunities.
“It was relieving to be able to take a breath and just play like we know we can.”
Phillips was equally pleased with the way contributions came from throughout the lineup.
“Sure, Neave scored, but we didn’t lean on her as much tonight,” he said. “Everybody played a great part. Our keeper made a save on a penalty kick. I loved seeing everybody doing things. That’s what continues to bring us to the next level.”
For Sanders, the victory represented more than just another postseason win.
“It means a lot to the team. It really means a lot to me,” she said. “Saugatuck soccer is a big deal for a lot of people.”
Wednesday, June 10, 2026
