CLARKSTON – The Bloomfield Hills Marian Mustangs saw their season come to an end with a 5-0 loss to the Dexter Dreadnaughts in Monday night’s regional final.
Dexter dominated possession, and that led to a slew of penalty corners, which they capitalized on. The Dreadnaughts scored three goals from penalty corners – all by Clair Dubuque. The Dreadnaughts also got goals from Kylie Marcinkowski and Kendra Conklin.
Marian goalie Sienna Wilcox turned in a strong performance in net, and hustling efforts from Kamryn Draper, Madeline Najor, and Clair Dauer kept the Mustangs fighting and hanging tough defensively.
Marian trailed just 2-0 after conceding just a pair of goals prior to intermission, one in the opening few minutes of the first half and one with just 27.5 seconds remaining until halftime. But Marian just could not muster any real offense as their breakout passes failed to connect consistently, and the Dreadnaughts were able to recycle possession and restart the attack.
Marian’s Kamryn Draper (13) carries the ball upfield as Dexter’s Claire Dubuque defends in the Mustangs’ 5-0 defeat to Dexter in Monday’s regional championship hosted by Clarkston. (KEN SWART – For MediaNews Group)
Marian’s offense did show a bit more promise in the second half, particularly the third quarter. The Mustangs best chance came midway through the third quarter when their counterattack finally broke loose, but Dexter goalie Audrey Owen-Smith came off her line to cut the angle and make a kick save to shut down the opportunity.
“The girls fought to the bitter end. They played their hearts out. They tried their best, and I think they gave them a really good game,” Mustangs assistant coach Julie Hemphill said.
Marian finishes the year 9-6-4. Most of their losses came to teams ranked in the top-six in the current MPR ratings, including this one, as Dexter entered the game third in the ratings.
“They made it a long way. I think this is the farthest they’ve made it, and they fought hard all season to get here,” Hemphill said.
The Mustangs will return 10 players from this year’s team. They will graduate 15 seniors.
“They’ve been strong since their freshmen year, but I think we have strong backup girls coming in,” Marian head coach Karen Wick said. “They (the seniors) will be missed. Eight of them have been on varsity since sophomore year. They were starting pretty much since sophomore year on.”
Photos of Bloomfield Hills Marian vs. Dexter in a field hockey regional championship
This was the first season in Michigan that field hockey was a varsity sport under the MHSAA.
“It’s good to see that field hockey in Michigan is starting to grow significantly. In my experience, the state sanctioning just really helps to create new teams and puts pressure on existing teams to improve,” added Mustangs assistant coach Kay Cantwell.
Chelsea, who beat Country Day 5-0, will play Ann Arbor Pioneer in the state semifinal opposite of Saline-Dexter on Wednesday, and Friday’s final will be hosted at Tom Holzer Field in Northville on Saturday.
Originally Published: October 21, 2025 at 6:18 AM EDT