Make it 4 Straight for East Grand Rapids
June 6, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
ROCKFORD – “Dynasty” is too easily thrown around in describing sports teams.
But East Grand Rapids’ girls lacrosse program has earned that level of distinction with its success over the last four seasons.
The top-ranked Pioneers’ finished their fourth straight MHSAA Division 2 championship run with a 19-6 win over second-ranked Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood on Saturday at Rockford High School.
In doing so, East Grand Rapids also made it four seasons without losing to a Michigan team, a streak that began with the first game of 2012. The Pioneers finished this spring 24-1, losing only to the team from Medina, Ohio, while picking up wins as well on the road at Illinois powers Hinsdale Central and Wilmette Loyola Academy.
“It was a goal of ours to send a message throughout the state, and the country. And we went out and played Illinois teams, and succeeded,” said Pioneers senior Liza Elder, who finished her final season as one of the top single-season and career scorers in MHSAA history. “We had a lot of girls playing together for a long time, and I just think we were great leaders to the underclassmen and really bonded this year.”
East Grand Rapids’ last loss to a Michigan team came in an overtime Regional game in 2011 against eventual Division 2 champion Grand Rapids Catholic Central.
Total, the Pioneers are 92-5 over the last four seasons – with seniors Elder, Jane Goodspeed, Emily French and Elle O’Connell part of the lineup for the entirety.
“Two years ago, the class of 2013 has a similar run. They took a little longer to jell, but this senior class had those upperclassmen to bring them along,” East Grand Rapids coach Rich Axtell said. “This class is clearly our best class, the best team we’ve ever put on the field. They set a really high bar for the underclassmen, and the underclassmen know it.”
A total of 12 seniors also played roles on the 2014 championship team before helping the Pioneers take another step toward an unprecedented run. No other team has won four straight titles in MHSAA girls lacrosse history; two other teams won three straight.
Only three opponents this season scored in double figures on East Grand Rapids, which beat reigning Division 1 champion Rockford twice among its most notable instate wins.
“If a team beat us, they could claim that for years and years,” Pioneers sophomore Lindsay Duca said. “Our coach emphasizes that we can’t have a bad day. We can’t let one thing upset us; if one person is playing badly, the whole team has to pick each other up.
“(The Medina loss) was a couple weeks ago, and we came right back at it, really motivated.”
Cranbrook Kingswood scored first Saturday, only 45 seconds in on a shot by senior Maddy Weber. The score was knotted 2-2 after 10 minutes before Duca scored the second of her five goals to start a 5-0 run. Elder had two of her seven goals during another five-goal run during the second half.
Elder finished this season with 119 goals, second most in one season since lacrosse became an MHSAA-sponsored sport in 2005. Duca also had five assists Saturday.
Cranbrook Kingswood (18-4) played in its first MHSAA Final, led by first-year coach Greg Courter, who formerly coached girls lacrosse in California and Colorado.
The Cranes eliminated three top-10 teams during the tournament, and their other three losses this season were all by only one goal apiece.
Freshman Isabelle Scane had three of the team’s six goals and an assist, and Weber – one of six seniors – scored twice.
“I said (to my team after), someday we’ll be holding up the other trophy, and when we do that, it will be dedicated to the seniors,” Courter said. “This is our first year together, and we give them all the credit for us making to the state final for the first time ever.”
PHOTOS: (Top) East Grand Rapids claimed its fourth straight Division 2 championship Saturday. (Middle) The Pioneers’ Liza Elder (9) moves the ball upfield with Cranbrook Kingswood’s Leah Dolik giving chase.
Preview: Finals Loaded with Champions
June 8, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
A pair of past contenders are back and will attempt to take down the reigning champions at Saturday’s MHSAA Girls Lacrosse Finals at Grand Ledge High School.
Brighton and Okemos have raised title trophies as well in the past, but will be seeking their first since 2011 and 2010, respectively. The Bulldogs will face five-time reigning champion Rockford in Division 1, while Okemos will look to avenge an earlier loss for the second game in a row in taking on Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood in Division 2.
The Division 1 Final will be played at 2 p.m., followed by Division 2 at 4:30. Both will be broadcast on MHSAA.tv, available with subscription, with audio available on MHSAANetwork.com. Click for more information, including all tournament results.
Below is a look at all four contenders, with player statistics through Semifinals.
Division 1
BRIGHTON
Record/rank: 13-7, No. 6 at end of regular season
League finish: First in Kensington Lakes Activities Association
Coach: Ashton Peters, first season (6-1)
Championship history: Division 1 champion 2011, runner-up 2010.
Best wins: 16-14 over No. 7 Bloomfield Hills in Semifinal, 14-9 (Regional Final) and 18-8 over No. 8 Northville, 11-9 over No. 4 Ann Arbor Pioneer in Regional Semifinal, 16-15 over No. 3 Hartland.
Players to watch: Cameron Stilson, sr. G; Mackenzie Kelbert, sr. A; Jessica Daniels, sr. M; Riley Browne, jr. D; Allison Falk, sr. M, Hannah Kelley, sr. A. (Statistics not submitted.)
Outlook: The Bulldogs have won eight of their last 10 games to reach their first Final since 2011, while weathering a late coaching change that saw Peters promoted after serving as an assistant. Kelley made the all-state first team last season and had five goals in the Semifinal win over Bloomfield Hills. Stilson also is a returning all-state first teamer, while Kelbert made the second team and Daniels, Browne and Falk earned honorable mentions in 2017. Brighton has held opponents to single-digit goals in 12 of 20 games.
ROCKFORD
Record/rank: 18-2, No. 1 at end of regular season
League finish: First in Ottawa-Kent Conference Tier 1
Coach: Mike Emery, 11th season (198-43-6)
Championship history: Division 1 champions 2010, 2013-17.
Best wins: 25-8 over No. 3 Hartland in Semifinal, 13-6 (Regional Semifinal), 18-3 and 14-10 over No. 2 Grand Rapids Forest Hills United; 15-10 over Division 2 No. 1 East Grand Rapids, 18-8 over Division 2 No. 2 Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 12-1 and 21-6 over Division 2 No. 6 Grand Rapids Catholic Central.
Players to watch: Brooklyn Neumen, sr. M (70 goals, 28 assists); MeKenzie Vander Molen, sr. A/M (47 goals, 26 assists); Karrington Vander Molen, jr. A/M (28 goals, 4 assists), Sydney Zimmerman, soph. A/M (38 goals, 31 assists); Bailey Banfield, soph. D (1 goal, 1 assist); Isabelle Holmes, jr. A (35 goals, 18 assists).
Outlook: For the second straight season, Rockford’s only losses have come against out-of-state opponents – and a number of this season’s standouts have been part of the sustained success that has the Rams playing for a sixth straight Division 1 title. Neumen and both Vander Molens made the all-state first team last season, while Banfield made the second and Holmes and Zimmerman earned honorable mentions. Senior Maggie Hammer (24 goals, 16 assists) also is back as one of the team’s scoring threats, and freshman Katie Rodriguez (26 goals, 18 assists) looks to be one of the next group of stars.
Division 2
BLOOMFIELD HILLS CRANBROOK KINGSWOOD
Record/rank: 16-1-1, No. 2 at end of regular season
League finish: First in Detroit Catholic League Division 1
Coach: Evan Foulsham, first season (16-1-1)
Championship history: Division 2 champion 2017, runner-up 2015 and 2016.
Best wins: 22-4 (Semifinal) and 22-9 over No. 9 Farmington Hills Mercy, 18-8 (Regional Semifinal), 14-10 and 14-11 over No. 4 Bloomfield Hills Marian; 14-10 over No. 3 Okemos, 22-9 over No. 10 Farmington, 11-3 and 21-14 over No. 6 Grand Rapids Catholic Central, 18-17 over Division 1 No. 2 Grand Rapids Forest Hills United.
Players to watch: Isabelle Scane, sr. M (96 goals, 22 assists); Brigitte Ballard, sr. G; Sophia Milia, sr. A (57 goals, 51 assists); Delaney Langdon, sr. M (21 goals, 8 assists); Angelina Wiater, sr. M (17 goals, 11 assists); Jessica Geiger, jr. M (51 goals, 15 assists).
Outlook: Cranbrook broke through for its first championship in this sport in 2017 and will make its fourth straight appearance on the final day of the season. The only loss this time was to Division 1 reigning champion Rockford, and the tie came in the first of two meetings with Forest Hills United. Scane is the state’s all-time leading goal scorer with 456, nearly 200 more than the next player on that list, and she’s surrounded by much the same talented cast as a year ago. She and Wiater made the all-state first team last season, while Milia made the second team and Ballard, Langdon and senior defender Courtney Paulus earned honorable mentions. Geiger is over 40 goals for the second straight year.
OKEMOS
Record/rank: 19-3, No. 3 at end of regular season
League finish: First in Capital Area Activities Conference
Coach: Brandon Schwind, third season (54-14-1)
Championship history: Division 2 champion 2009-10, runner-up 2007, 2012 and 2014.
Best wins: 10-9 over No. 1 East Grand Rapids in Semifinal, 9-7 over No. 7 Flint Powers Catholic in Regional opener, 23-13 over No. 5 Mattawan, 14-6 over Division 1 No. 4 Ann Arbor Pioneer, 20-5 over Division 1 No. 6 Brighton, 12-1 and 15-9 over Division 1 No. 7 Bloomfield Hills.
Players to watch: Melaina Grewal, sr. M (69 goals, 20 assists); Emily Renfrew, sr. M (51 goals, 20 assists); Alyssa Karber, sr. A (39 goals, 16 assists); Grace Bielby, sr. M (35 goals, 26 assists); Lola Gonzalez, soph. A (41 goals, 23 assists); Mallory Keenoy, sr. G.
Outlook: After three straight Semifinals losses, the Chiefs have broken through to return to the championship game. Like Cranbrook, Okemos has dominated with mostly the same crew over the last few seasons; Grewal and Keenoy made the all-state first team last season, while Beilby made the second and Karber, Renfrew and defenders Lauren Foltz and Allison Schloss earned honorable mentions. Junior Grace Richardson (35 goals, 23 assists) provides more scoring for a team that went over 20 goals in eight games and lost only to East Grand Rapids early, Cranbrook and Forest Hills United.
PHOTO: Rockford’s Brooklyn Neumen leads a rush during last season’s Division 1 championship game win.