Rockford Adds 6th to Title Streak
June 9, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
GRAND LEDGE – As the rain lifted Saturday afternoon, a third consecutive group of Rockford seniors capped their high school girls lacrosse careers with a fourth straight Division 1 championship.
And then some.
These Rams, led by seniors Brooklyn Neumen and Mekenzie Vander Molen, made their last game perhaps a bit more memorable, setting the MHSAA Finals record for goals in a 25-5 win over Brighton at Grand Ledge High School.
Sophomore Sydney Zimmerman netted her team’s 21st goal with 16:47 to play, that score breaking the record of 20 goals by Okemos in its 2010 Division 2 championship win.
And it was just another accomplishment for a Rockford program that has won six straight Division 1 titles and hasn’t lost to a Michigan opponent since 2016.
“I played with all these girls all though middle school and elementary school; it’s like family, and that’s why I think it’s extra special,” Neumen said. “Everyone on this team, there’s not one person I would say that I wouldn’t love and that I would forget, and I’d love to play with them again if I could. I think it’s kinda sad now that it’s over, but it was a good time.”
The Rams finished 20-2, their only losses to Loyola Academy and New Trier, both of Illinois. Rockford closed with 18 straight victories.
Vander Molen had seven goals and two assists and Neumen scored six and set up two Saturday to both make the list for most goals scored by one player in a Final – Vander Molen’s goals tied for second most. Zimmerman and junior Karrington Vander Molen both added four goals.
Almost more impressive was the defense. Senior Bella VanBuren’s goal 3:45 into the game kept the Bulldogs down just 3-2 – but Rockford gave up only one more score during the first half, and at one point between the end of the first and beginning of the second held Brighton scoreless for more than 17 minutes.
The Rams extended the lead to 10 to start a running clock on a Neumen goal with 12:01 to play in the first half.
“I feel like everyone on our team has that mindset where we want to win, and we want to win by a lot,” Mekenzie Vander Molen said. “We don’t want to have a close game. We just want to go out there as fast as we can, just so we can get more people goals and just have a fun time.”
She and Neumen are two of nine seniors total who played their final high school game – Vander Molen will continue next season at Ohio State University, and Neumen will play next for North Carolina. Another senior, Maggie Hammer, has been among the team’s leading scorers the last two seasons and added two more goals in this finale.
“Some of these kids have been on four championship teams, some on three. Some it was their first, and each and every one of (our championship teams) is special in their own right,” said Rockford coach Mike Emery, whose record improved to 200-43-6 over 11 seasons with the win. “They all have their own culture and their own characteristics, and we start early trying to develop that, trying to get the best out of these kids.”
He pointed to sense of family as one of this team’s special characteristics, and also to its depth throughout the lineup. “We’re going to be back here next year; at least, that’s our plan,” he added. “We’re losing two All-Americans … (but) our plan is to be back here next year because we’ve got some great talent, and we’ll move them around and we’ll find a way.”
Brighton (14-8) intends to be the opponent waiting. The Bulldogs graduate 11 players, but also steered to this championship game despite finishing the regular-season on a 4-4 string and with a coaching change that saw assistant Ashton Peters promoted with three games to go before the playoffs. She led the team to a 6-2 record over the last month.
Peters was on the 2010 Brighton team that fell to Rockford in the Division 1 Final, and also on the 2011 team that won the Division 1 title with an overtime victory over Ann Arbor Pioneer.
“The girls rallied around this coaching staff and just were pumped. They knew we could get here, and that was in our gameplan the entire season,” Peters said. “They have become so disciplined and listen so well now, and so that’s what got us here today. There’s not doubt in my mind that my girls deserved to be here.
“Yes, it was a hard game. Rockford has an incredible program. … (But) what we did to get here paid off, because we got here. Once you get here once, you come back again because you have the drive to get here. And so we’re going to come back, and we’re going to win.”
Click for the full scoring summary.
VIDEO: Mekenzie Vander Molen scores her final high school goal.
PHOTOS: (Top) Rockford’s Brooklyn Neumen works to get past a Brighton defender during Saturday’s Division 1 Final. (Middle) Mekenzie Vander Molen controls the ball for the Rams.
Performance: Cranbrook's Isabelle Scane
June 17, 2017
Isabelle Scane
Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood junior – Lacrosse
Already Michigan’s all-time leading high school goal-scorer with a season to play, Scane finished her junior year with seven goals – tying for second most in an MHSAA Final – as Cranbrook Kingswood won in sudden victory 17-16 over reigning champion East Grand Rapids in the Division 2 Final on June 10. Leading the Cranes to their first MHSAA title in the sport, with one of her goals coming in overtime, earned Scane the Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week” for June 5-11.
Scane, considered one of the top players in the nation for her age group, finished this spring with 146 goals and 37 assists – the 146 goals were the second most for one season, and her 183 total points came in third in MHSAA history. After three varsity seasons, Scane has 365 goals and 93 assists for 458 career points – she holds the career goals record by 89 and needs only two more points next season to tie the career record in that category.
Cranbrook Kingswood had fallen to East Grand Rapids in the 2015 and 2016 Division 2 Finals, and Saturday’s game also was the last for Cranes coach Greg Courter – making the victory that much sweeter. Scane is the second sibling in her family to win an MHSAA lacrosse title, following older brother James who starred at Birmingham Brother Rice and now plays at Robert Morris University (Pa.) and was a major influence growing up. Also a 4.0 student, Isabelle is committed to sign next school year with national power Northwestern University, where she’s considering majoring in pre-med. And here’s a final fun fact: Like many athletes, Scane has highlights posted on the web service hudl; but unlike probably anyone else, she’s also posted a “Me Missing Shots” collection – a light-hearted sign of her humble perspective as she drives to improve her already-substantial game.
Coach Greg Courter said: “Prior to the season, Inside Lacrosse Magazine had Isabelle rated as the number 14 junior in the country. Personally, I think that that rating is low. Were she playing back east, she would be higher. I have coached 10 girls in my career who went on to become Division I All-Americans. Isabelle is already a better and more complete player than any of them. She is a once-in-a-career talent (for a coach). I have no doubt she will be on the U.S. national team in a few years.”
Performance Point: “It was a long hot game. We were out on the turf and it was 90 degrees and we’re a small team with only a couple of subs, so it got pretty exhausting,” Scane said of the Final, which saw the Cranes trailing 12-5 early in the second half. “It kept us going that it was our last time playing this season, and it pushed us through the exhaustion. … I think it’s awesome. Individual awards are nice, but when it comes down to it, being able to get that (win), to get there and get there as a group when we’ve been so close the last few years, and to finish … I’d say it was probably the most exciting game I’d been part of. To come back and win the state championship, coming back from seven goals down to end up winning it – it was an insane back-and-forth game.”
Sending off Coach with a win: “At least for me and a couple other girls, that was the most exciting part about it. He’s been an amazing coach the last three years. We always believed we could do it, but unfortunately we weren’t able to win for him the last few years. It was awesome to finish off his coaching career with the thing we’ve been pushing toward.”
Growing in the game: “Freshman year, I was a younger player on the team and being new to the program, I wasn’t as physically and mentally tough as I am now. I’ve gotten used to the pressure, and I’m able to keep my head in games, which as a freshman I wasn’t able to do. I think the mixture of experience and my coach, he’s always been there to kinda help me figure out how to keep my head in the game mentally, keep working when things aren’t looking as great as they should. The way he’s coached us, the way we practice, he’s done a nice job of it.”
Makes and misses: “You shouldn’t ever be satisfied with how you achieved. If you become satisfied, think you’re better than everyone, think you’re big enough, that’s when you stop getting bigger. It’s necessary to stay humble, to work toward getting better than who you are.”
No rush: “We had only two seniors this year, and I’d love to keep working with the team we have now, keep pushing for another state championship. I’m committed to go play in college, and I would like to continue playing at a higher level. (But) I definitely need to finish off high school – I’d like to keep how well we’re doing, get a state championship for the girls in our class and the girls below, but I also have new stuff coming and I want to keep working toward that so I do well there. I’ve always been told not to rush through high school, so I want to be sure to finish off one last year at Cranbrook.”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2016-17 school year, Second Half and the Michigan Army National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom or protect lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2016-17 honorees:
June 8: Hunter Eichhorn, Carney-Nadeau golf – Read
June 1: Grace Stark, White Lake Lakeland track & field – Read
May 25: Brendon Gouin, Gaylord golf – Read
May 18: Hannah Ducolon, Bay City All Saints softball – Read
May 11: Mason Phillips, Salem track & field – Read
May 4: Lillian Albaugh, Farwell track & field – Read
April 27: Amber Gall, Shepherd track & field – Read
April 20: Sloane Teske, East Grand Rapids tennis – Read
March 30: Romeo Weems, New Haven basketball – Read
March 23: Jaycie Burger and Maddie Clark, Pittsford basketball – Read
March 16: Camden Murphy, Novi swimming & diving – Read
March 9: Ben Freeman, Walled Lake Central wrestling – Read
March 2: Joey Mangner, Chelsea swimming & diving – Read
Feb. 23: Isabelle Nguyen, Grosse Pointe North gymnastics – Read
Feb. 16: Dakota Hurbis, Saline swimming & diving – Read
Feb. 2: Foster Loyer, Clarkston basketball – Read
Jan. 26: Nick Jenkins, Detroit Catholic Central wrestling – Read
Jan. 19: Eileene Naniseni, Mancelona basketball – Read
Jan. 12: Rory Anderson, Calumet hockey – Read
Dec. 15: Demetri Martin, Big Rapids basketball – Read
Dec. 1: Rodney Hall, Detroit Cass Tech football – Read
Nov. 24: Ally Cummings, Novi volleyball – Read
Nov. 17: Chloe Idoni, Fenton volleyball – Read
Nov. 10: Adelyn Ackley, Hart cross country – Read
Nov. 3: Casey Kirkbride, Mattawan soccer – Read
Oct. 27: Colton Yesney, Negaunee cross country – Read
Oct. 20: Varun Shanker, Midland Dow tennis – Read
Oct. 13: Anne Forsyth, Ann Arbor Pioneer cross country – Read
Oct. 6: Shuaib Aljabaly, Coldwater cross country – Read
Sept. 29: Taylor Seaman, Brighton swimming & diving – Read
Sept. 22: Maggie Farrell, Battle Creek Lakeview cross country – Read
Sept. 15: Franki Strefling, Buchanan volleyball – Read
Sept. 8: Noah Jacobs, Corunna cross country – Read
PHOTO: (Top) Cranbrook Kingswood's Isabelle Scane works to find an opening during the Division 2 championship game against East Grand Rapids. (Middle) Scane closes in on a possible shot; she scored seven goals in the win.