Preview: Kent vs Oakland, Part II
June 10, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
For the second straight season, the best of Oakland County will try to wrest away the MHSAA girls lacrosse championships from the best of Kent County when Division 1 and 2 Finals are played Saturday at Brighton High School.
Rockford has won the last three Division 1 titles and East Grand Rapids has won the last four in Division 2. But the challengers have plenty of prestige as well; Birmingham United is tied with Rockford for most titles in Division 1 history with four, and Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood faced the Pioneers in the Division 2 championship game only a year ago.
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 Regional Finals.
Division 1
BIRMINGHAM UNITED
Record/rank: 14-6, No. 3 at end of regular season
League finish: First in Oakland Activities Association
Coach: Jen Dunbar, 14th season (record N/A)
Championship history: Four Division 1 titles (most recent 2012).
Best wins: 13-9 and 19-8 (Regional Final) over No. 5 Bloomfield Hills, 15-11 and 17-9 (Regional Semifinal) over No. 7 Grosse Pointe South, 7-6 over Division 2 No. 4 Okemos, 10-6 over Division 2 No. 3 Grand Rapids Catholic Central.
Players to watch: Anna Stachler, sr. A (72 goals); Danielle Augier, jr. A/M (55 goals).
Outlook: Birmingham is back in an MHSAA Final for the first time since 2012, with only two of its losses this season to Michigan teams and two defeats by only a goal apiece. The lineup includes eight seniors, and Stachler had seven more goals in Wednesday’s Semifinal win to give her 79 this season; that total is tied for 16th most for one season in MHSAA history.
ROCKFORD
Record/rank: 19-2, No. 1 at end of regular season
League finish: First in Ottawa-Kent Conference Tier 1
Coach: Mike Emery, ninth season (160-39-6)
Championship history: Four Division 1 titles (most recent 2015)
Best wins: 13-8, 15-9 and 9-8 (Regional Final) over No. 2 Grand Rapids Forest Hills United; 9-3 over Division 2 No. 1 East Grand Rapids, 19-10 over Division 2 No. 2 Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood.
Players to watch: Alexandra Vandermolen, sr. M (45 goals, 34 assists); MeKenzie Vandermolen, soph. M (37 goals, 24 assists); Grace Gunneson, sr. A (43 goals, 30 assists).
Outlook: The Rams have won three straight Division 1 championships, and standouts Alexandra Vandermolen and Grace Gunneson are two of only six seniors. The only losses this spring were by a goal to East Grand Rapids (since avenged) and by two to Illinois powerhouse Loyola Academy. Rockford also owns a pair of wins over Division 2 No. 3 Grand Rapids Catholic Central (15-2 and 16-5) and another over Division 2 No. 4 Okemos (13-5).
Division 2
BLOOMFIELD HILLS CRANBROOK KINGSWOOD
Record/rank: 17-6, No. 2 at end of regular season
League finish: First in Detroit Catholic League Division 1
Coach: Greg Courter, second season (35-10)
Championship history: Division 2 runner-up 2015.
Best wins: 11-5 and 9-6 over No. 3 Grand Rapids Catholic Central, 15-10 over Division 1 No. 3 Birmingham United, 17-9 over Division No. 4 Bloomfield Hills Marian, 21-11 over Division 1 No. 5 Bloomfield Hills.
Players to watch: Grace Giampetroni, sr. M (52 goals, 52 assists); Isabelle Scane, soph. M (115 goals, 26 assists); Brigitte Ballard, soph. G (8.31 goals-against average).
Outlook: After making their first championship game appearance just a year ago, the Cranes are back. Scane had six more goals in the Semifinal win over Farmington Hills Mercy, and her 121 overall rank second in MHSAA history for one season. Cranbrook Kingswood has outscored its four postseason opponents by an incredible combined score of 88-20, and that group of opponents included No. 7 Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart and No. 10 Detroit Country Day.
EAST GRAND RAPIDS
Record/rank: 16-4, No. 1 at end of regular season
League finish: Second in Ottawa-Kent Conference Tier 1
Coach: Rich Axtell, seventh season (136-21)
Championship history: Division 2 champions 2015, 2014, 2013 and 2012.
Best wins: 14-7 over No. 4 Okemos in the Semifinal, 9-8 and 15-12 over No. 2 Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 8-7, 12-7 and 11-9 (Regional Final) over No. 3 Grand Rapids Catholic Central; 11-10 over Division 1 No. 1 Rockford, 14-2 over Division 1 No. 2 Grand Rapids Forest Hills United.
Players to watch: Lindsay Duca, jr. A (22 goals, 66 assists); Auden Elliott, jr. M (59 goals, 10 assists); Audrey Whiteside, fr. M (55 goals, 10 assists)
Outlook: So much for rebuilding. The four-time reigning champions graduated a strong group after last season’s title but have stormed back with help from a freshman phenom in Whiteside. Duca had six more assists in the Semifinal, and 72 would put her fifth all-time for a single season. The Pioneers’ only in-state losses were in rematches to Division 1 top-ranked Rockford and Forest Hills United; they also have two wins over Division 2 No. 6 Caledonia and one apiece over Division 1 No. 3 Birmingham United and No. 5. Bloomfield Hills.
PHOTO: Cranbrook Kingswood goalie Brigitte Ballard gathers a shot while a pair of East Grand Rapids players circle the net during last season's Division 2 Final.
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.