Goalie Grace Kraft ,0, of Williamston dives for the ball on an Okemos corner kick late in the 2nd half of their CAAC Gold Cup semifinal game Thursday May 19, 2016 in Okemos. The ball would get away from her allowing Skylar Westfall of Okemos to kick the ball in for the game tying goal.
WILLIAMSTON – Grace Kraft’s journey to becoming an all-state goalkeeper started out of necessity.
On her seventh-grade team, Kraft, who began playing soccer when she was in second grade, got thrown into the position when her team’s need for a permanent goalie became too great.
She hasn’t wanted to score another goal since.
“It’s more me,” said Kraft, who played forward before switching to keeper. “It’s pressure filled, and I kind of enjoy that.”
Kraft has risen to the occasion multiple times this year for the Division 3 No. 3-ranked Williamston Hornets (14-4-1), and not many were bigger than her two opening saves in last week’s penalty shootout victory over Okemos in the CAAC Gold Cup semifinals.
The senior goalkeeper has 11 shutouts on the season and hopes to pick up her 12th when the Hornets take on Division 2 No. 1-ranked DeWitt in the CAAC Gold Cup title game 7 p.m. Tuesday at Eaton Rapids High School.
“I don’t like it when I get scored on,” said Kraft, who still regrets a breakaway goal she conceded in a one-goal regional final loss as a sophomore.
Tuesday’s match will mark Williamston’s fifth straight trip to the Gold Cup finale. The last two years, the Hornets finished as runners-up in the conference tournament after losing in a penalty shootout. And it was the Panthers who did the honors in 2014.
“I feel like I play better against a team that I look forward to playing because it puts pressure on me,” Kraft said. “I like the feeling of having them challenge me.”
Kraft, who will play at Ferris State next year, has been the backbone of the Williamston defense all season, according to senior defender Allison Schmuecker. She said she and her teammates often look to the three-year varsity starter for guidance and confidence during matches.
Coach Jim Flore said his senior keeper is one of the most athletic he’s had in his 22 seasons, and he said he noticed Kraft’s abilities when he moved her up from junior varsity to varsity as a freshman after Caitlyn Clem, who now plays at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, suffered an injury late in the year.
“I expect a lot from her, but I don’t think about it,” Flore said. “I know she’s in there solid.
“She never get troubled or show that she’s troubled.”
Aside from her play between the posts, Kraft said she sets out to be “very loud and vocal,” and she knows she’ll need to do so against DeWitt, which knocked out defending CAAC Cup champions Haslett in the semifinals. Kraft and the Hornets have bigger goals than winning the conference tournament, but she believes a victory Tuesday could ignite a deep postseason push.
“The last two years we’ve been so close,” she said. “It would be nice to win it senior year, and it’d be a nice step going into the big tournament at the end of the year.”
Contact James L. Edwards III at jledwards@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JLEdwardsIII.