'Reloaded' EGR Plays to Familiar Result
June 11, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
BRIGHTON – This was supposed to be a season of transition for the East Grand Rapids girls lacrosse program.
Gone were 12 seniors and seven starters from the team that last year won the program’s record fourth straight Division 2 championship.
And then the Pioneers lost three straight games as April turned to May, and four of six games total during that string – or one fewer defeat than they’d suffered the last four seasons combined.
And yet, Saturday’s season ending was the same – a 13-11 win over Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood at Brighton that extended the MHSAA-best championship streak to five straight.
“Our motto was kinda, “Rebuilding? More like reloading,’” Pioneers junior attack Lindsay Duca said. “We graduated seven-plus starters last year, and everyone’s asking me, ‘Oh, are you going to win states?’ And I’m like, ‘We’ll be prepared for it, but who knows.”
The Pioneers knew enough, whether it be how to restack the lineup or come back with one of the most dominant 20-minute runs in MHSAA Lacrosse Finals history.
Cranbrook Kingswood (17-7), seeking its first championship in the sport and last season’s runner-up after falling 19-6 in the season finale, scored this game’s first three goals and took a 5-2 lead into the 15th minute.
But Pioneers freshman attack Mary Schumar – playing only her sixth varsity game – scored her first of six goals Saturday off a Duca assist with 10 minutes to go in the first half. By the time senior attack Julia Surman scored 6:40 into the second, East Grand Rapids (17-4) had flipped the advantage with a 7-1 run. That turned into an 11-2 streak when Schumar scored her final goal to give her team a 13-7 lead with 6:43 to play.
“Basically, our team needs to settle down and start picking them apart offensively, and that’s something we’ve been working on all season,” East Grand Rapids coach Rich Axtell said. “And they were just patient and got layups, and that’s what we have to look for.”
Duca, also Schumar’s neighbor, had seven assists during the 11-goal streak and eight assists total – which were second-most for an MHSAA Final behind Mackenzie Lawler’s nine for Okemos in 2010, and tied for fourth-most for any game in MHSAA history.
Surman added three goals for East Grand Rapids, as did junior midfielder Auden Elliott.
Cranbrook Kingswood scored the final four goals, but couldn’t get two more past over the final 1:31. Sophomore midfielder Isabelle Scane scored three of the final four goals and five total, giving her 126 for the season – second-most in MHSAA history. She also had three assists, and senior midfielder Grace Giampetroni scored three goals.
“They play a really nice zone defense which is designed to stop an individual dodger like Isabelle, but she still managed to find some seams and dodge to the cage,” Cranes coach Greg Courter said. “She’s a fierce competitor. I’m not surprised that she beat some triple teams and found a way to score.
“We’re still pretty young," he added. "The heart of our team is sophomores right now. We’re hoping this becomes a common event with a different outcome at some point.”
But East Grand Rapids also should return most of this group next season – only six players graduate, and Surman the only one who scored Saturday.
The Pioneers who come back in 2017 will be another battle-tested group.
“Once we started assisting each other and started playing selflessly, it all came together,” Duca said. “When you have your streak going, it’s hard to (not) let your guard down. But I think that’s one of the strengths of this program. Even if we let our guard down, we always come back and get the job done.”
PHOTOS: (Top) East Grand Rapids’ Lindsay Duca (22) looks for an open teammate during Saturday’s Division 2 Final. (Middle) The Pioneers go on the attack during their comeback win.
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.