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.
LaMange Climbing Career Scoring Lists for Annual Contender East Grand Rapids
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
April 30, 2024
East Grand Rapids senior Vivian LaMange entered this season 15th on the MHSAA career girls lacrosse goals list with 225, fifth on the career assists list with 172 and eighth on the career points list with 397.
Her single-season goals, assists and points for all of her first three seasons all made those lists as well, with highs of 102 goals last spring, 64 assists as a sophomore and 147 points a year ago in leading the Pioneers to a Division 2 runner-up finish and their fourth-straight Finals appearance.
She has signed with Robert Morris University in Pennsylvania.
See below for more recent updates to the MHSAA girls lacrosse record book and click the heading to see the record book in full.
Girls Lacrosse
Huron Valley United, a cooperative program with athletes from White Lake Lakeland and Milford, added 16 record book entries during the 2023 season, including as a team for 309 goals over 19 games – which ranks seventh on that list. Senior Emily Prell earned three single-game entries, two more for 76 goals and 120 points and career listings for 171 goals and 145 assists over 52 games and three seasons. Chloe Caldwell, a freshman in the spring, earned six single-game listings and two more for 88 goals and 107 points over 19 games.
Seven DeWitt players were added with a series of accomplishments over the last three seasons. Caleigh Randall, a 2022 graduate, was added 12 times including for 157 goals and 205 points over her three-season career interrupted by COVID in 2020. Kerrigan Brown, a 2021 graduate, was entered 10 times including for 149 goals and 221 points over her three-season career that also missed out on 2020. Elliana Hillard was added three times for 2023 achievements, including for 75 goals over 23 games, and teammates Ireland Brown and Taylor Young also earned listings. DeWitt as a team was added for its goal total all three seasons, with the high during that string of 323 goals over 22 games in 2021. Randall and Brown have continued their careers at Hope College. Hillard, Brown and Young are all seniors this school year.
Grand Ledge’s Averie Gordon concluded her career in 2021 with a pair of record book-scoring games. She made the single-game goals list with 10 against Holt and seven against Davison that spring.
Leah Reid capped her three-season Lansing Catholic career last spring among the all-time leading scorers both for goals and total points. She scored 73 over 17 games as a senior and finished with 205 goals (tied for 18th) and 236 points for her career. She and senior teammate Sarah Hicks both also made the single-game goals lists, senior Bella Hagen made the single-game assists list and now-senior Emily Putman made the single-game goalie saves list.
Warren Regina’s Holly Watson closed her three-season varsity career in 2023 with 18 record book entries, including some of the highest for goalies over the history of the sport at the MHSAA level. Watson finished with 176 saves over 18 games as a senior – tied for 16th-most – and her 545 saves over 42 games rank second on the career list.
Haslett/Williamston finished 19-3 last season on the way to the Division 2 Semifinals, led by several standouts who contributed to multiple record book entries for team achievements as well. H/W scored 291 goals over 22 games, led by then-freshman Abby Russell – who made single-season lists with 83 goals, 42 assists and 125 points. Breyer Fenech, a senior this spring, made season lists with 70 goals and 87 points, and she, Russell and senior Brianna Nedwick all made the single-game scoring list. Haslett/Williamston also gave up only 96 goals, with then-junior Kylie Pastor making the single-season saves list with 150, the single-game saves list for the second time, and also the career list with 402 and a season to play. Fenech is continuing at Maryland, Nedwick at Detroit Mercy, and Pastor has committed to Coastal Carolina. Additionally, 2021 graduate Natalie Kurdziel was added for seven goals in a game twice and 80 points during her senior season.
Troy Athens goalie Claire Balintfy added three more single-game saves performances to her list of record book listings in 2023, with her 197 saves over 18 games ranking eighth all-time (and with her 2022 total still second on the list). Balintfy is up to 522 career saves over 51 games and three seasons, ranking third on that record book list.
Rochester Adams was added for 245 goals over 18 games last season, and Lucy Lagman and Raegan Jerrell combined for 20 record book listings in goal and assist categories. Lagman had a game-high 10 goals and scored 103 for the season, and has 151 goals over her two-year varsity career. She also had 12 points in a game and 125 points for the 2023 season. Jerrell had seven goals in a game twice, five assists in a game three times, finished with 70 goals and 48 assists last season and also made the points list with 118. Additionally, Kate Kramm was added for eight goals in a game and 58 for the season over 18 games as a senior in 2022. Lagman is a junior this spring, and Jerrell is a sophomore.
PHOTO East Grand Rapids’ Vivian LaMange (24) is introduced before last season’s Division 2 Final.