COLLEGE NOTES: Huron High School alum Helen Steinhauser is Horizon League's top freshman

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee defender Helen Steinhauser, Horizon League Newcomer of the Year.

Transitioning to the college level after high school is something many freshmen, regardless of sport, struggle with. Huron High School alum Helen Steinhauser has flipped that convention upside down in her first year on the pitch for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women’s soccer team. The former River Rat started 17 of 18 games in her freshman campaign and was named the Horizon League’s Newcomer of the Year in the process.

“Girls are faster, stronger and smarter, and you have to adapt at the college level, and I think I’ve improved a lot, which is a testament to the coaches and my teammates,” said Steinhauser. “When you’re competing against girls who are as good, or better, than you every day, that’s how you get better.”

Despite Steinhauser’s praise, Wisconsin-Milwaukee coach Michael Moynihan - who was the Horizon’s co-coach of the year - passed the buck. He credited Steinhauser’s fairly seamless transition to her experience with the Michigan Hawks, a Livonia-based club team.

“One of the things I’ve noticed with teams like the Hawks, kids from those camps are more prepared for the intensity,” Moynihan said. “I don’t know that anyone quite is (ready for the college game) but she was much further along than most because she comes from a very unique club environment. One of the best organizations in the entire Midwest.”

Steinhauser, who was a first-team All-State midfielder and the Ann Arbor News’ player of the year last spring, switched between midfield and defense early in the season before injuries led to her settling in as Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s starting central defender.

“I like midfield, but I also like playing time, so I can’t really complain,” said Steinhauser. “Midfield you’re part of the offense and defense, but center D is fun because you get to direct and see everything.”

Moynihan said Steinhauser’s role in the future will depend on team needs more so than personal skill set.

“She’s stepped up (to defense) pretty well with a fair amount of success, I think she could do either one,” he said.

Steinhauser is the second Wisconsin-Milwaukee player to receive top newcomer honors in as many years. It could be a good omen as last year’s recipient, Sarah Hagen, was this year’s Horizon League Player of the Year.

“That’d be awesome,” Steinhauser said of the possibility following in Hagan’s footsteps. “But she’s only a sophomore, so she might have a pretty strong hold on that for the next couple of years.

“I just hope she keeps scoring goals for us.”

Individual accolades often follows team success, and Wisconsin-Milwaukee has been no exception, registering the first 8-0 regular season conference record (10-5-3 overall) in league history. Now Moynihan or Steinhauser are preparing for the conference tournament semifinals with Loyola on Friday.

“The number one seed in this format has never won, I think that says something about the pressure that’s on the number one team in that it’s never translated into winning the conference tournament,” Moynihan said. “Bearing that in mind, we want to be the first team to do that.”

It’s hard when you beat people then play them again because sometimes you can get laxidasical,” Steinhauser said. “But our older girls will get on our butts, we won’t take anyone lightly.”

OTHER NOTES:

• Pioneer field hockey/Community High alum Sarah Drake was named the Big Ten freshman of the week after scoring in the University of Iowa’s 3-2 win over James Madison on Friday, and again on Saturday in the Hawkeyes’ 2-1 win over American. It was the second time this year Drake, Iowa’s leading scorer, has received the honor.
• Huron alum Rick Pflasterer was named to the Ivy League honor roll last week after allowing just one goal in his first 200 minutes of play in net for Cornell University’s men’s soccer team. Pflaster, a freshman, had an 11-save shutout in his collegiate debut, a scoreless draw against Lafayette on Oct. 20, and had five saves in Cornell’s 1-0 loss to Brown on Oct. 24.
• Huron alum Matt Vander Roest, a freshman runner for the Calvin College cross country team, earned first-team All-MIAA honors last week. Saline alum Brian Hernandez, a sophomore at Hope, and Huron alum Deion Pruitt, a freshman at Albion both earned second-team honors.
• Manchester alum James Hughes, a red-shirt freshman runner for Eastern Michigan, earned first-team all-conference honors by finishing ninth at the MAC cross country championship on Saturday. Eastern finished in second place, ending its consecutive conference title streak at four.
• Pioneer alum Lauren Metzger, a junior runner for the Kenyon College women’s cross country team, earned first-team all-conference honors after finishing in sixth place at the NCAC championship on Saturday.
• Pioneer alum Margaret Kelly won the 100 meter freestyle as the University of Michigan women’s swimming and diving team fell to Texas and Indiana at a double-dual meet on Saturday.
• Dexter alum Katie Marsh, a sophomore forward/midfielder for the Eastern Michigan women’s soccer team, recently earned second-team all-MAC honors.

If you have information to share on other local athletes who have gone on to participate in college athletics, please send an e-mail to petercunningham@annarbor.com, or call 734-623-2561. Follow Pete Cunningham on Twitter @petcunningham.