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DOWAGIAC — Johannah McDonald etched her name into the Dowagiac Union High School soccer record book Friday night. 

The junior now sits at the top of the girls soccer single-season scoring list, scoring her 33rd and 34th goals of the season in a 6-3 home loss to Three Rivers. The game was tied 2-2 at halftime. Jimena Sanchez-Ortega also scored a goal for the Chieftains.

McDonald’s 34 goals eclipsed former Chieftains standout Breanna Williams, who held the school record since 2012. 

“I didn’t even know I had it yet,” she said. “I thought I was at 33 and they announced it. I was like ‘I got it – I got my goal this season’ and my coach said ‘I counted it four times and you got it.’”

“She’s done it the right way,” said head coach Joe Pasternak. “She just puts her head down and dribbles. She’s still making the through balls that she’s supposed to and she’s not making us a one-dimensional team where we just look for her to score. She makes it a team game and she’s still been finding ways to score.”

McDonald has led a young Chieftains team that features just two upperclassmen to a 7-6-1 record. For Pasternak, McDonald’s dedication to the game sets a positive example for his team.

“It’s not just that she scores the goals. She’s a leader on and off the field,” said “She’s consistently there all off season trying to get the other girls to focus on the offseason because that’s where championships are won – in the off season. If you don’t show up during the offseason, you’re not going to get any better. So she’s been really good at trying to lead the girls to do that, as well as being present during the season. She’s leading that charge.”

With the second half of the season awaiting her, McDonald is all alone at the top but she does not mind. In fact, she has her sights set on breaking the school’s overall record of 40 goals set by former boys soccer standout Steve Mazimpaka in 1996. McDonald said she owes much of her success on the pitch to the experience she has gained playing travel soccer in the summer.

“I’m the only one on the team that plays travel,” she said. “I have experience and then just knowing when I can get around defenders and when I need to pass. There’s specific teams where I know I need to get the one-two and then other teams where I can dribble around them.”

McDonald believes her team has what it takes to make a run at districts and beyond.

“I would love for us to win districts,” she said. “We saw today that we can beat this team. We just need to keep our focus. I would like to win districts and get to regionals for the team.”

As she continues to re-write the record books, McDonald is proud to be a Chieftain and aims to show just what Dowagiac athletes are capable of.

“I like proving that I am like a force to be reckoned with,” she said. “Just because I go to Dowagiac doesn’t mean that I’m not good. I don’t need to go to Lakeshore or St. Joe to be a good player.”