Soccer duo form bond at CMU after rivalry in high school
L’Anse Creuse and L’Anse Creuse North are two rival high schools in Metro Detroit, separated by just six miles.
Ally Viazanko and Kayla Roodbeen of the Central Michigan women's soccer team went from opposing one another at these schools to teammates who share a special bond.
Viazanko, a redshirt freshman defender, attended L’Anse Creuse, while sophomore defender Roodbeen went to L’Anse Creuse North. Both players were recruited as part of head coach Peter McGahey’s 2016 class.
“Coming in, there wasn’t really any tension,” Viazanko said. “Some people said, ‘um, she went to North,’ but I thought it was pretty cool.”
Roodbeen played varsity soccer at LC for four years, earning all-conference, all-district, all-region, and all-star honorable mention in 2015. She earned three varsity letters in basketball. The 5-foot-10 defender played club soccer for WAZA FC 98 Black, with whom she won a state cup championship in 2014.
Viazanko joined soccer at LCN for the second half of her senior season. Prior to then, she was strictly a club soccer player for the Michigan Hawks. By the time Viazanko joined the Crusaders, the game against LC was already played.
Since they did not play against each other in club or high school soccer, the duo first got to know each other at a soccer camp in 2014.
“I met her at a soccer camp going into my junior year,” Viazanko said. “I found out we went to rival schools and thought ‘oh wow, this is kind of weird.’ I just never really knew.”
The camp was a memorable one for Roodbeen as well, as her bond with a then-unknown future teammate started to form.
“We hung out during the camp,” Roodbeen said. “It was really nice knowing someone else was a player for a team that was close to me. It was cool that she came from the same district too.”
Since then, Viazanko and Roodbeen have grown in their relationship on and off the pitch.
“We’re good friends and are always there for each other, Viazanko said. “She’s my neighbor in the dorms and everyone hangs out with everyone, so I’d say we are pretty good friends.”
While the two did not hang out last summer, Roodbeen says she plans to hang out with Viazanko this time around.
“Our relationship has grown,” Roodbeen said. “It’s nice that we live so close to home. I just like that I have someone from my area.”
Even though they are from rival high schools, Viazanko and Roodbeen share a special bond in being so close to each other in their hometown. The two defenders will look to anchor the back end for CMU for years to come.
