How Saugatuck soccer transformed into a scoring machine after years of elite defense

FENNVILLE - The Saugatuck girls soccer program has excelled the past few seasons, led by an elite defense.

This year, the Trailblazers have been led by their offensive firepower.

All three starting forwards scored in a 7-0 win over rival Fennville on Wednesday, combining for all seven goals.

Neave Rewa scored the first two and added another later for a hat trick and had an assist. The sophomore has a tremendous first step and her speed regularly gets by the opposition.

"We have a lot of speed. Everyone is learning how to use it. We had a lot of great opportunities because of that - our whole front line," Rewa said. "Our balance is big, and we know Jenn (Schock) will be there in the middle when we play physical teams, which is a big advantage."

In the middle is senior Jenn Schock, who is the power forward of the group. She is the strongest player on the field and uses that to her advantage to fight for loose balls and find the back of the net, which she did once on Wednesday, to go along with two assists. She has moved up to third all-time at Saugatuck in both goals and assists.

"We have a lot of spatial awareness to go along with the speed. We know when to give up the ball and where to place it," Schock said. "You just have to rise to the occasion."

While Schock is aggressive and strong, her footskills often take opponents by surprise.

"You just have to read who you are going against and pick and choose when to be more aggressive and when to be smart with my footwork," Schock said.

The newcomer is Alina Martinson, who also had a hat trick against Fennville and tallied an assist.

"Our passes have been really good. I have learned a lot from Jenn and Neave. Passing is the biggest," Martinson said.

The trio shared the ball well in the win over Fennville, the team's third consecutive day with a game.

"I am really proud of how we came out in our third consecutive game," Rewa said. "We have been getting immensely better every game. We put in the work to rebuild and have come out even stronger."

Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSports.