Cranbrook Emerges With 2nd-Half Surge
June 9, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
GRAND LEDGE – Many of the players on the field to start the second half of Saturday’s Division 2 Girls Lacrosse Final had played major roles when Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood won its first championship in the sport a year ago.
They weren’t about to settle for less.
The Cranes clutched a one-goal lead with 19 minutes to play, but scored 13 of the next 15 goals to finish with a much more comfortable 18-6 win over Okemos at Grand Ledge High School.
Four of the brightest stars from an accomplished group of eight seniors combined to score 11 of those second-half goals for Cranbrook, which also had finished Division 2 runner-up in 2015 and 2016.
“We had a little pep talk at halftime, which we do, and it really gets everyone pumped. And a lot of us, it was our last game of high school – and the girls who aren’t going to play in college, their last game ever,” Cranbrook senior Isabelle Scane said. “I think they just wanted something special, and I think that’s how we got the rally going. And once you get going, it’s almost impossible to stop.”
Scane – set to continue playing at Northwestern University – scored five goals, including four in the second half. She ended this season with 101 and closed her four-year varsity career with an MHSAA record 461, 185 more goals than the next player on the all-time list.
Senior Sophia Milia added three goals and five assists, the latter all during the second half. All four of senior Angelina Wiater’s goals and both assists also came over the final 25 minutes, while junior Jessica Geiger added two of her three goals and senior Delaney Langdon netted her score during the second half as well.
In the end, the Cranes’ 18 goals ranked as the fifth most in MHSAA Finals history – while they gave up what tied for the third fewest all-time.
“It was a matter of giving them a reality check – you don’t get to take this game back. You don’t have another chance at the state championship,” Cranes first-year coach Evan Foulsham said of the halftime chat. “You don’t get to wear the uniform again if you’re a senior.
“It was all a little bit of a heart check in terms of bringing out the passion, and I think it worked.”
Cranbrook finished 17-1-1, its only loss to Rockford, which won the Division 1 championship earlier Saturday.
The Cranes and Chiefs had faced off earlier this season, Cranbrook emerging a 14-10 victor. Okemos (19-4) in its Semifinal had avenged a regular-season loss (and three straight Semifinal defeats) to East Grand Rapids, and was seeking to flip one more past result to close the season.
Senior Alyssa Karber scored two goals for the Chiefs, who graduated nine contributors to this breakthrough run.
“I’m so lucky to have played with those girls growing up. I definitely think this year we took it to another level,” Okemos senior Melaina Grewal said. “The (senior) girls taught the younger girls a lot of things about how to push through, how to keep practicing, how to work hard, and this is just proof that you can end up where you want after you work hard – so I’m assuming that the younger girls’ work ethic will continue to be strong.”
Click for the full scoring summary.
VIDEO: Isabelle Scane scores during the closing seconds of the first half.
PHOTOS: (Top) Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood raises the Division 2 championship trophy Saturday for the second straight season. (Middle) Cranbrook’s Sophia Milia (10) defends Okemos’ Campbell Foltz.
Super Scorer Marosi, Grand Rapids Catholic Central Complete Perfect Run
By
Jeff Bleiler
Special for MHSAA.com
June 7, 2024
ANN ARBOR — As the final minutes dwindled to seconds, Joe Curcuru was content knowing No. 22 possessed the ball.
It was fitting that Claire Marosi had the ball last as the clock struck zero and the celebration was on for the Grand Rapids Catholic Central girls lacrosse team, which completed an undefeated season by beating defending Division 2 champion Detroit Country Day 10-9 in the Final at University of Michigan Lacrosse Stadium.
Marosi, a senior, added two massive fourth-quarter goals to the 152 she already had scored this year as the Cougars completed a 23-0 season and collected their second Finals trophy and first since 2011.
But after defeating Country Day twice this season by 17-7 and 20-7 scores, the Cougars needed just about every second to fend off the Yellowjackets. And that was no surprise to Curcuru.
“They’re a terrific team. To be the best, you have to beat the best. And they’re the defending state champ. We knew it would be a battle back and forth,” said Curcuru, who had led Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern/Eastern to Division 1 runner-up finishes the last two seasons before making the move to Catholic Central.
Hadley Keating opened the scoring for Country Day just 14 seconds into the game, followed swiftly by a Sarah Rott answer 11 seconds later that tied the game at 1-1. Catholic Central poured in four more first-quarter goals — two each from Cate Marshall and Mairin Ziegler — to sit ahead 5-1.
“I think we started a little bit slow, and that kind of got us on our heels,” said Country Day coach Liz Nussbaum, whose team finished 17-4-1 with three losses to Catholic Central. “But I’m so proud of how our team was able to push back and not let a couple runs get us down.”
Mary Pavlou scored the first of her three goals for Country Day in the second quarter, and after Rott re-established a four-goal cushion for the Cougars, Olivia Winowich and Emma Arico pulled the Yellowjackets to within 6-4 inside of two minutes to play in the first half. Marshall’s third goal of the game gave the Cougars a 7-4 halftime lead.
The third quarter was all Country Day as Arico added two more scores and Pavlou had her second of the game to pull Country Day even entering the fourth. Country Day outshot Catholic Central 21-7 over the middle two quarters, including 10-2 during the third.
Keating gave Country Day an 8-7 lead 1:34 into the fourth, and that seemed to ignite Marosi and the Cougars. Curcuru moved her to the draw circle, and Marosi responded with back-to-back goals 1:15 apart to restore her team’s lead.
“I think it was a game of swings,” Marosi said. “(Country Day) had the momentum, then we had the momentum. Just to finish with momentum on our side was really helpful. I think we all knew when it comes down to it, we would pull it off.”
Rott scored what proved to be the game-winner midway through the fourth quarter, but Country Day was not done, pulling within one on Pavlou’s goal with 4:17 to play. Catholic Central goalie Samaya Dean, who finished with 10 saves, made a massive one with less than two minutes to play by turning away what would’ve been the game-tying goal.
That’s about the time Marosi took control of the ball, drawing two penalties inside the final minute while playing keep-away and bleeding the clock.
“I told her after the game, there is nobody else in the state of Michigan I want with that ball than her,” Curcuru said. “It felt long, but it also felt good because I knew 22 had it for us.
“Claire not only is an incredible athlete, she’s so competitive and such a great leader. To have someone who can say, ‘When things are going tough, jump on my back. I’ll carry you a little bit.’ And that’s what Claire does for us every single day. And you saw it today. When we needed her the most, she came up the biggest.”
Marosi is heading to Northwestern University to play lacrosse after finishing with the third-most goals all-time for a single season with 154.
Catholic Central’s 10 goals were its fewest of the season and came after the Cougars outscored their first four postseason opponents by a combined 85-23. Nussbaum credited her team’s defense and the play of goalie Campbell Lindner for limiting the Cougars’ potent offense.
“Campbell really stepped up in the net. I‘m really proud of how she was able to make some of those key saves in those key moments,” Nussbaum said. “We definitely made tweaks (from the previous two games against Catholic Central), but at the end of the day I believe in the quality of our athletes.”
PHOTOS (Top) Grand Rapids Catholic’s Central’s Claire Marosi (22) works to gain possession while chased by a pair of Country Day players Friday. (Middle) The Cougars’ Cate Marshall (1) flips the ball to teammate Sarah Rott while Country Day’s Sadie Rifkin (17) guards the net. (Below) The Cougars celebrate their first Finals championship since 2011.