EGR Makes Most of Long-Awaited Finals Opportunity
By
Perry A. Farrell
Special for MHSAA.com
June 12, 2021
NOVI – The frightening thing about East Grand Rapids’ girls lacrosse roster this season is there was just one senior.
The Pioneers beat Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood 15-11 Saturday afternoon at Novi High School to claim their seventh Division 2 title.
It was an opportunity last year’s seniors didn’t receive due to COVID-19 forcing a canceled season, and that wasn’t lost on their former teammates who came back this spring.
“It was really tough last year; we had so many seniors that we loved so much and were excited about playing with,’’ said junior Lucy Cavanaugh, who had six assists and scored four goals for EGR. “This year we wanted to come in strong. We only have one senior this year. Some of these juniors had never played on varsity. We worked so hard this year, and we practiced so much.’’
Junior Lizzie Lundeen, who had scored 102 goals heading into this week, added five more in the finale.
“The only goals that were important were the ones scored in this game,’’ she said. “We practiced all the time. Eliana (LaMange) played great. She had that goal just before half, (that) was amazing. We felt a lot stronger with that goal.
“This was surreal because we’ve had a long, strung-out season because of COVID. We didn’t want to take it for granted.’’
Regulars in the Division 2 Final, East Grand Rapids previously had won six titles while Cranbrook (13-7) had captured championships in 2017 and 2018.
East Grand Rapids (23-2) wasted no time scoring as Lundeen netted her first 40 seconds into the fray for a 1-0 lead.
Cavanaugh tacked on the Pioneers’ second goal for a 2-0 lead as play stayed in the Cranbrook end.
Cranbrook finally got out of its end and scored on a goal by junior Riya Batra to cut the deficit in half. The Cranes then tied it 2-2 on a goal by Lilli Sherman.
Lundeen scored her second goal of the game for a 3-2 lead with Cavanaugh getting her second assist.
Lola Norton tied the game at 3 for Cranbrook at the 15:13 mark, and the Cranes took their first lead on a goal by Eryn McLaughlin with 12:33 left in the first half.
LaMange tied the game for EGR on Cavanaugh’s third assist, then Cavanaugh scored her second goal to give the Pioneers a 5-4 lead, and LaMange scored her second to make it 6-4. Lundeen scored her third to give EGR a 7-4.
Mallory Brophy scored for the Cranes to make it 7-5. Oliva DeMuth got the Cranes’ to within one goal with a score with 2:37 left in the first half.
Lundeen scored her fourth goal of the half to give the Pioneers an 8-6 lead and tacked on her fifth to put the Pioneers three up. LaMange scored her third just before the buzzer to put EGR up 10-6.
Cavanaugh scored her third to start the second half as East Grand Rapids opened up an 11-6 lead.
The teams traded goals with LaMange scoring her fourth of the game to make it 12-7. Cavanaugh responded with her fourth to increase the lead to 13-7.
EGR started pouring it on as LaMange scored her fifth to make it 14-7.
Consecutive goals by Brophy and Ella Lantigua cut the East Grand Rapids lead to 15-10 with 8:26 left in the game.
After an EGR timeout, the Pioneers went into a four corners offense, draining two minutes off the clock.
“They are a class act,’’ said Cranbrook coach Jeanne Woodbury. “We didn’t play as well as we liked, but we’re a young team and we have a chance to get back.’’
PHOTOS: (Top) East Grand Rapids' Eliana LaMange (24) fires a shot during Saturday's Division 2 Final. (Middle) Cranbrook's Lilli Sherman (14) works to take possession from EGR.
Brighton Proves Rebuild Successfully Complete with D1 Repeat
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
June 10, 2023
ROCKFORD – The Brighton girls lacrosse team found the ideal way to avoid the revenge trap: Just do your homework and play defense.
That's the combination the Bulldogs utilized to successfully defend its Division 1 title in Saturday's 8-6 win over top-ranked Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern/Eastern at Rockford High School.
The championship came after Brighton outlasted the BirdDogs 12-11 in overtime in last year's Final.
But instead of allowing Forest Hills Northern/Eastern to avenge last year's loss, Brighton smothered an offense which had ended the regular season with eight straight games of double-digit scoring while averaging more than 14 goals over five tournament games.
Brighton junior goalie Gabrielle Buckenberger said the championship was a result of preparation and defense. As a result, the Bulldogs knew exactly what to expect from the BirdDogs, specifically the fine-tuning of switching on defense and knowing who the FHN/E scorers were.
"We watched a lot of film to prepare ourselves," said Buckenberger, who faced just 11 shots and made six saves. "We tried to go in confidently. For me, I knew if I didn't play my best, my teammates would.
"We've been practicing our defense, and it’s been great all year. We put in the effort and the discipline, and we took time to listen to our defensive coaches and what we learned, we embraced."
The defense was most evident during the second half. Down 5-4 at the break, Brighton (17-8-1) was still behind 6-5 on a FHN/E goal by Mia Dye with 17:23 left. But Brighton's Ella Toth tied the game with 14:51 left, and Brighton then sealed it on goals by Kaia Malachino and Georgia Gill over the final 9:16.
Neither team managed more than a one-goal lead until Gill's with 3:36 left.
Gill, Toth and Lauren Zaccagni all scored twice for Brighton, which lost seven key seniors from last year's champion. A young Brighton team managed just a 2-4 record through the first six games. Included over the last three weeks was a 12-10 loss to Division 2 runner-up East Grand Rapids and a 6-6 tie with FHN/E.
Brighton coach Ashton Peters agreed that the win was all about defense. The six goals was only one from FHN/E's season low of five against Forest Hills Central.
"Our defense was unbelievable. We said all year that our defense was the best it's ever been. We've been focusing on communication and being in possession," Peters said.
"(At the start of this season) we knew there was a gap we had to close. We came in having played a tough schedule, and we knew it was pretty much a rebuilding team that had to trust the process. We had a (four-game) losing streak, and I don't think the players cared about that."
Gill said her teammates were aware of the modest expectations facing the club.
"We definitely had our doubters, people who thought we were going to be toast," she said. "But we trusted the coaches and each other, and the process worked out for us."
BirdDogs coach Joe Curcuru, whose team saw its 12-game winning streak snapped, said the Bulldogs' defense was exceptional.
"We battled hard but just came up a couple goals short," he said. "Brighton's defense was terrific. They slid well behind the ball, and their on-ball defense was great. They also had the ball a lot. I think you'll see the time of possession was pretty strong in their favor. We battled, but in the end we couldn't get the ball in the net."
PHOTOS (Top) Brighton's Cecilia Mainhardt (18) considers her next pass while Northern/Eastern's Julia Kozal (6) and Logan Kirkwood (11) defend. (Middle) FHN/E goalie Sommer-Jo Grieser stops a shot by the Bulldogs' Lauren Zaccagni (10). (Below) Players from both teams scramble for the ball during Saturday's Division 1 Final. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)