Cliff Freeland steps down as St. Clair girls soccer coach

ST. CLAIR — As the sixth man of the 1994 St. Clair High School boys basketball team, which won a program-record 22 games, Cliff Freeland was known for his tenacity.

So, once hired as the school's girls soccer coach 24 years later, he began building around that very quality.

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"We always had a chip on our shoulder (when I was playing) and I wanted to go back to that," Freeland said. "When I took over the program, I wanted (my players) to be a little old school — gritty, tough and outwork everybody we played. We may not always be the most talented team, but nobody was ever going to outwork us."

Over the next eight years, the Saints worked their way up the Macomb Area Conference and beyond.

Now, after stepping down as coach on Monday, June 8, Freeland's work is done.

"I always said to myself that I would know when the time was right," Freeland told the Times Herald. "Everything that I do, I pour my heart and soul into it. The last couple years, when the season has been over, with my job, I've been honestly physically and mentally exhausted. I just knew it was the right time to hang it up."

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St. Clair went 110-31-19 over his tenure, which included six MHSAA Division 2 district championships (2018, 2021-24, 2026) and three league titles (MAC Blue, 2022-23; MAC White, 2026). The Saints never had a losing season under Freeland.

"My kids over-exceeded any expectations I ever had of them and their effort," Freeland said. "There's many a times that we beat teams that were probably better than us on paper, simply because we worked harder."

In 2018, his first season as coach, St. Clair competed in the MAC Gold. The Saints moved up to the MAC Blue the following year. Then, in 2025, they rose to the MAC White.

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Next season, St. Clair will ascend once again, this time to the MAC Red — the highest division in the Macomb Area Conference.

"I'm most proud of the culture that we built," Freeland said. "A winning culture, done the right way, with hard work and no quit. I'm just so proud that the St. Clair girls soccer program is known throughout the state now.

"We're known not as a team that's just okay, we're known as a powerhouse — a team that's always going to be there at the end of the season. It just means a lot. To climb like we did — eight years, three divisions — it says a lot about the players I had."

The high school is currently accepting applications for a new girls soccer coach. Anyone interested should visit the human resources page on the East China School District website (www.eastchinaschools.org/page/humanresources). Then, click on the tab labeled "East China School District Positions."

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"I'm looking forward to watching the program in the future," Freeland said. "I will continue to be a giant fan. I'll be a lot of games. I'm just really excited for what the program has become. I want to see it continue with longevity and I know it will. Because (we have) great kids and just a great community that supports the team."

Contact Brenden Welper at bwelper@usatodayco.com. Follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @BrendenWelper.

This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: Cliff Freeland steps down as St. Clair girls high school soccer coach