Rockford Claims Historic MHSAA Girls Soccer Title with Win Over Troy

EAST LANSING – June 12 will be a memorable date for Sydney DeKuiper, a senior at Rockford High School. Faced with the difficult choice of attending her sister Sammie's wedding as maid of honor or playing in the school's inaugural MHSAA girls soccer Division 1 state championship, she ultimately chose to compete. With the full support of her family, especially from Sammie, DeKuiper made her decision.

“Luckily my family is the best and they support me so much and we’ve always been a sports family,” DeKuiper shared. “It wasn’t exactly a hard decision; it just hurt my heart.” DeKuiper's choice was validated when Rockford triumphed over Troy with a score of 2-0, securing the program's first state title. She played a crucial role in the victory by assisting on the final goal, scored by junior forward Amelia Chapin. “It's a true sisterhood, and I would die on this field for them if I could,” DeKuiper expressed. “It’s my last time on the field with them and so I left everything out on the field for them.”

The match kicked off at a rapid pace, with both teams eager to make their mark. While the intensity remained high, the first half concluded without any goals, despite Troy generating more scoring opportunities, including seven chances led by junior Kaylee Worrell. Rockford's coach, Stu Quackenbush, praised his team's resilience amid the physicality. “I think what happened was [Troy] played physical as well. They were a fantastic team just being strong on the ball, 50-50s,” he noted, acknowledging that it challenged his players like no other team had recently.

Rockford broke the deadlock with a goal from senior forward Isla Brown with 17:29 remaining. Chapin later added a second goal with just 2:07 left on the clock, providing a crucial cushion for the Rams. Quackenbush commended DeKuiper for her decision-making in that moment, pointing out how she disregarded his instructions to run down the clock and instead made a smart play that led to the second goal. “She’s intelligent and passes a brilliant ball over and finishes to get us that second goal, which was a buffer that we really needed,” he remarked.

Rockford's principal, Ricky Clark, highlighted the team's embodiment of the school's values and the long-standing friendships formed through years of playing together. “At any point, [Troy] had us against the ropes and they could have delivered us a blow, and the way [our girls] worked together in the same way they worked together in our halls and on the team all the way down from when they were playing rec soccer,” he stated.

Though DeKuiper missed her sister's wedding, she felt the presence of her supportive community during this unforgettable moment. “All the fans are my supporters. I have the best community, and they have supported me so much,” she concluded.