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.
Preview: Girls Lacrosse Finals' Debut at U-M Just Start of Stories to be Told
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
June 6, 2024
Both of Friday’s MHSAA Girls Lacrosse Finals are filled with storylines, starting with their moves to a new day and a new home.
Contested Saturday in the past, the girls championship games will be played at 4 and 7 p.m. Friday and for the first time at University of Michigan Lacrosse Stadium.
Division 1 will lead off and feature two-time reigning champion Brighton against Rockford, the state record-holder with nine MHSAA Finals titles. Division 2 will match up one of the top single-season scorers in MHSAA history in Grand Rapids Catholic Central’s Claire Marosi against one of the leaders on the career goals list, Detroit Country Day’s Hadley Keating. She and the reigning champion Yellowjackets will take on an undefeated GRCC team led by a first-year coach who is making his third-straight Finals appearance.
Below is a glance at all four teams playing at U-M. Rankings as part of “best wins” are based on the Michigan Power Rating formula. Tickets cost $11 and are good for both games, and may be purchased online only at GoFan.
Both games will be broadcast and available with subscription from MHSAA.tv.
Division 1
BRIGHTON
Record/MPR: 18-5, No. 3
League finish: Second in Kensington Lakes Activities Association West
Coach: Ashton Peters, sixth season (74-28-1)
Championship history: Three MHSAA titles (most recent 2023), four runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 14-10 over No. 9 Bloomfield Hills in Semifinal, 18-6 over No. 6 Novi in Regional Semifinal, 17-6 and 19-11 (Regional Final) over No. 4 Northville, 8-7 over No. 2 Hartland, 9-8 over Division 2 No. 7 East Grand Rapids, 15-8 over Division 2 No. 4 DeWitt.
Players to watch: Gabi Buckenberger, sr. G (7.1 goals-against average, 111 saves). Cecilia Mainhardt, sr. M (41 goals, 15 assists); Ella Toth, jr. A (46 goals, 17 assists); Georgia Gill, sr. A (73 goals, 35 assists).
Outlook: Brighton has won the last two Division 1 championships and will be playing in the title game for the sixth-straight season. There is a load of crunch-time experience, starting with repeat all-state first-team selections Buckenberger and Mainhardt and repeat second-team honoree Toth. Gill also made the second team this season, along with junior defenders Keelin Ehman and Nya Nemecek, with junior attack Sophia Heady (38 goals, 15 assists) making the third team and sophomore defender Abbey Kissel earning honorable mention. The Bulldogs did take a 10-5 loss to Rockford on April 20, with its other defeats to Division 2 finalists Detroit Country Day and Grand Rapids Catholic Central, East Grand Rapids and Illinois power Hinsdale Central.
ROCKFORD
Record/MPR: 13-7, No. 1
League finish: Second in Ottawa-Kent Conference Tier 1
Coach: Mark Neumen, third season (40-19)
Championship history: Nine MHSAA titles (most recent 2021).
Best wins: 10-8 over No. 2 Hartland in Semifinal, 10-5 over No. 3 Brighton, 12-8 and 12-10 over Division 2 No. 7 East Grand Rapids, 16-6 over Division 2 No. 10 Grand Rapids Northview.
Players to watch: Naomi Green, jr. D; Aubree Frazier, sr. A (47 goals, 11 assists); Ella Larva, soph. M (40 goals, 6 assists); Madison Pyle, sr. A (47 goals, 16 assists).
Outlook: Rockford is returning to the Final for the first time since its most recent championship season, and actually started this spring 0-2 before winning 13 of its next 14 in-state games. (Four other defeats came to Illinois teams, including one as well to Hinsdale Central.) The Rams avenged their season-opening loss to Spring Lake in the regular-season finale, with the other two in-state defeats to Grand Rapids Catholic Central. Green, Larva and Frazier have been named to the all-state first team, with Pyle making the second team and senior attack Hope Deuel (27 goals, 28 assists) earning honorable mention. Sophomore midfielder Brooke Gordon (21 goals, 12 assists) also has topped 20 goals, and junior goalie Gracelyn Hosford gives up only 9.73 per game.
Division 2
DETROIT COUNTRY DAY
Record/MPR: 17-3-1, No. 2
League finish: Does not play in a league.
Coach: Liz Nussbaum, first season (17-3-1)
Championship history: Division 2 champion 2023, runner-up 2022 and 2005.
Best wins: 13-6 over No. 5 Farmington Hills Mercy in Semifinal, 21-9 and 22-4 (Regional Final) over No. 6 Bloomfield Hills Marian, 21-7 over No. 7 East Grand Rapids, 10-9 over Division 1 No. 2 Hartland, 19-13 over Division 1 No. 4 Northville, 20-13 over Division 1 No. 3 Brighton.
Players to watch: Olivia Winowich, jr. M (41 goals, 17 assists); Mary Pavlou, jr. A (66 goals, 11 assists); Emma Arico, sr. M (32 goals, 18 assists); Hadley Keating, sr. A (76 goals, 18 assists).
Outlook: Country Day has been nearly as unstoppable as last season, when it lost only once. This time the Yellowjackets suffered two losses to Grand Rapids Catholic Central, another to Indian Hill (Ohio) and tied EGR all during the first month before winning their last 13 matchups. Keating and Arico are repeat all-state first-team selections, and Keating will finish as one of the state’s all-time leading scorers. Junior defender Brooke Winowich, Olivia Winowich, Mary Pavlou and junior attack Georgia Pavlou (32 goals, 35 assists) all made the all-state second team, with senior defender Alessia Sessa selected to the third and senior midfielder Sadie Rifkin (36/6) earning an honorable mention.
GRAND RAPIDS CATHOLIC CENTRAL
Record/MPR: 22-0, No. 1
League finish: First in O-K Tier 1.
Coach: Joe Curcuru, first season (22-0)
Championship history: Division 2 champion 2011.
Best wins: 24-2 over No. 3 Haslett/Williamston in Semifinal, 14-10, 20-10 and 22-11 (Regional Quarterfinal) over No. 7 East Grand Rapids; 18-6 over No. 10 Grand Rapids Northview, 17-7 and 20-8 over No. 2 Detroit Country Day, 17-8 and 20-7 over Division 1 No. 1 Rockford, 14-13 over Division 1 No. 3 Brighton, 15-7 over Division 1 No. 9 Bloomfield Hills.
Players to watch: Cate Marshall, jr. M (66 goals, 37 assists); Brigid Byrne, sr. D; Sarah Rott, sr. A (68 goals, 40 assists); Claire Marosi, sr. M (152 goals, 32 assists).
Outlook: Curcuru came to Grand Rapids Catholic Central after three seasons and two straight Division 1 runner-up finishes with Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern/Eastern. He’s elevated a Cougars varsity that finished just 7-9 a year ago but has beaten several of the contenders this spring in bringing a perfect record into this weekend. Marosi’s 152 goals are the third-most all-time for one season, and she, Byrne and Rott have made the all-state first team. Marshall and senior defender Emma Picarazzi have been selected to the second, with junior goalie Samaya Dean (6.76 GAA, 188 saves) making the third and sophomore midfielder Lily Engstrom (46 goals, 21 assists) and senior attack Payton Davis (15/32) earning honorable mentions. Junior attack Marin Ziegler (28/26) also adds scoring punch.
PHOTO Grand Rapids Catholic Central’s Sarah Rott (11) and Cate Marshall (1) celebrate Marshall’s goal during the first quarter of Wednesday’s Semifinal against Haslett/Williamston. (Photo courtesy of the Lansing State Journal.)