Bloomfield Hills' Semifinal Run Powered By Scoring Skill, Talent in Net
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
September 29, 2023
Bloomfield Hills advanced to the Division 1 Semifinals this spring with one of the highest-scoring lineups in MHSAA girls lacrosse history, and one of its most accomplished goalies.
The Black Hawks scored 325 goals – sixth-most on the list – in going 19-4. Ella Lucia, then a junior, posted 17 single-game record entries for goals, assists or points, finishing with 125 goals, 59 assists and 184 points and pushing her career numbers to 186 goals, 113 assists and 299 points over three seasons.
Teammate Ilana Watson, a senior this spring, was added eight times for single-game accomplishments and also for 71 goals, 64 assists and 135 points for the season and 102 assists and 205 points over her two-season career. Goalie Sydney Butler, now a senior, made the single-season saves list with 186 and the career list with 466 over her first three seasons. Marlee Watson, who also graduated in the spring, was added for seven goals in a game.
See below for more recent record book updates for girls lacrosse:
Girls Lacrosse
On April 25, 2022, Holland West Ottawa then-senior Ella Spooner scored 13 of her team’s 16 goals against Zeeland. Those 13 goals tied for fourth-most in one game and also placed her on the single-game points list. She is playing at Kalamazoo College.
Troy Athens’ Claire Balintfy piled up eight record book entries during her sophomore season in 2022. A goalie, she posted a career-high 22 saves to tie for eighth on the single-game list, on which she appears six more times. Her 231 saves over 18 games that season rank second on that list as well.
Lexie Springman took 12 shots and made eight in Portage’s 19-9 win over Grand Ledge on April 5. She was a senior at Portage Central and is continuing at Regis University in Colorado.
Haslett/Williamston’s Abby Russell opened her high school career March 22 with a record book-worthy performance. The Haslett now-sophomore made the single-game goals list with seven in her team’s 10-9 loss at Portage.
Okemos’ Bridget Cox was a sophomore during the 2021 season when she earned her first four record book entries. She made the single-game saves list three times with a high of 16, and totaled 157 saves over 18 games total.
Holly/Ortonville Brandon tallied three single-game entries this past season. Junior Dakota Pinson made the single-game goals list with 10 against Fenton/Linden on May 4. Junior teammate Lainey Lasky made the same list twice with seven goals both times, against Flushing on May 3 and Lake Fenton/Goodrich on May 16.
Through three seasons, Salem’s Mileena Cotter has earned 35 record book entries – including setting the single-game record with 18 goals April 6 against Saline. Her 123 goals over just 10 games this past season rank seventh, and her 257 goals over 30 career games rank ninth on that list. Her career-high 19 points on April 5 against Dexter rank second for points in a game. She’s committed to sign with Syracuse.
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep junior Emily Szalach earned a record book entry with her 11 goals against Warren Regina on May 15 during a 13-12 triple-overtime win. It was the first entry for NDP for girls lacrosse.
Lake Orion’s Quinn McElroy capped her three-season varsity career this spring with eight record book listings, including for 69 goals and 100 points over 16 games as a senior, and 172 goals and 224 points for her career. Teammate Morgan Vasquez made single-season lists with 66 goals and 81 points, as did Amelia Guccione with 50 goals. Ava Adkins joined McElroy and Vasquez with single-game qualifiers, hers for 15 saves in a game against Troy Athens on April 12. Vasquez is a senior and Guccione a junior this school year, and Adkins also graduated this spring. McElroy is playing at Grand Valley State.
A pair of Detroit Cass Tech senior standouts made single-game and season scoring lists this spring. Taylor Weston made the single-game goals list three times, with a high of eight, and for her 64 goals total over 15 games; she also earned a listing for her 53 goals as a junior in 2022. Teammate Kayla Carroll-Williams made the single-game list twice, both for scoring seven goals, and the single-season list for 62 goals over 15 games.
PHOTO Bloomfield Hills goalie Sydney Butler, center, prepares to stop a shot against Bloomfield Hills Marian on May 11. (Photo by Susan Adams Photography.)
Full-Strength Brighton Avenges Loss, Extends Championship Streak to 3-Peat
By
Jeff Bleiler
Special for MHSAA.com
June 7, 2024
ANN ARBOR — The Brighton High School girls lacrosse team was not at full strength when it faced — and lost to — Rockford earlier this season.
Neither Cecelia Mainhardt nor Ella Toth played in that game.
On Friday, the pair of all-staters introduced themselves to the Rams and carried Brighton to its third straight Division 1 Finals championship at the University of Michigan Lacrosse Stadium.
Mainhardt scored three goals and assisted on another, and Toth added a goal of her own to help Brighton to a 7-4 victory in the first Finals game contested at the U-M venue.
“It feels absolutely incredible. It’s hard to put into words,” said Brighton coach Ashton Peters, who capped her sixth season by capturing Brighton’s fourth lacrosse championship. “To do it in this setting and this stadium, it was an absolute honor.
“It’s school history for us. I don’t know that there’s a team at this school that’s had three state titles on the girls side, so we’re very happy.”
In a defensive game that was somewhat reminiscent of Rockford’s 10-5 regular-season victory, Brighton (19-5) made the most of its opportunities and held the Rams to just four first-half shots.
Toth opened the scoring with a goal at the 5:05 mark of the first quarter after the Bulldogs controlled the ball for the first four minutes of the period. Brooke Gordon tied the score for Rockford with a goal at the 2:22 mark after two straight shots clanged off the crossbar.
The second period was all Brighton as Mainhardt sandwiched two goals between a Sophia Heady score that Mainhardt assisted on to give the Bulldogs a 4-1 halftime advantage. Mainhardt and Heady scored 19 seconds apart, and Mainhardt’s second goal came with just 1.8 seconds left on the clock.
Rockford was far more aggressive during the third quarter, scoring twice on goals by Ashley Palmer and Aubree Frazier, but Georgia Gill’s goal kept Brighton ahead 5-3 entering the final quarter.
Mainhardt scored less than two minutes into the fourth, and Gill added another tally just over two minutes later before Frazier’s second goal of the game closed out the scoring with 3:36 to play just as a penalty to Mainhardt had expired. Brighton goalie Gabi Buckenberger came up with several clutch saves throughout the game to preserve the victory.
“It’s so amazing, it’s like nothing I’ve ever felt before,” Mainhardt said. “Ever since we won my sophomore year, it’s a feeling I’ll never forget.”
Mainhardt missed the first game against Rockford with a concussion, and her return to the lineup in the Final, along with Toth’s, was a huge addition for the Bulldogs.
“We were like, this is a bummer because we really want to beat Rockford, but we also knew not having them in that game would put us in a spot where Rockford didn’t know them, which would be an advantage to us because of the talent those two bring to our team,” Peters said.
“The biggest thing for us today was we knew some of the things they did, but they didn’t know everything we could do.”
Rockford, which finished the season with a 13-8 record, was denied a 10th Division 1 title. Coach Mark Neumen said nerves might have played a part in the Rams’ second-lowest-scoring output of the season.
“A big venue like Michigan, I think the girls were really having a hard time getting going, getting the adrenaline,” Neumen said. “They were really not picking their spots like they normally do. They were shooting to shoot instead of getting those shots off like they normally do. That was the struggle we were having. We were getting good looks but just not finishing.”
Neumen was pleased with his defense, which held Brighton to just seven goals after the Bulldogs had outscored their four postseason opponents by a combined 63-32.
“Holding them to seven goals was probably better than I expected,” he said.
Brighton loses just four seniors, including Mainhardt, who will play at Grand Valley State University next year. Coincidentally, the team had four seniors last year, which Peters admitted she expected to be a rebuilding year.
But losing Mainhardt will be difficult, Peters said.
“She is an incredible player, all-around as an athlete, as a person, everything,” Peters said. “She’s exactly what a coach wants. And in the moments that we need her most, she steps up and she does everything that we need, and today that’s exactly what you saw. She’s going to be greatly missed next year.”
Calling her team “like a family,” Mainhardt said while she will miss playing with them, she will treasure the memories.
“This program has made me one of the best players I could have possibly been, especially the youth program,” she said. “The youth program is incredible, and I just thank my coaches and thank my teammates every day because they’re awesome.”
PHOTOS (Top) Brighton raises its championship trophy Friday evening at U-M Lacrosse Stadium. (Middle) Bulldogs goalie Gabi Buckenberger (29) defends as Rockford makes a run at her goal. (Below) Brighton's Kelly McKaig (3) attempts to gain possession while surrounded by Rams.