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.
Preview: Matching Best of East vs. West
June 4, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
This weekend’s MHSAA Girls Lacrosse Finals at Rockford High School will match the best from east and west – and top finishers from arguably the state's two strongest conferences for the sport.
Ottawa-Kent Conference Tier 1 champion East Grand Rapids will open the day at 2 p.m. seeking its fourth straight title, this time against Detroit Catholic League Division 1 runner-up Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood. O-K Tier 1 runner-up Rockford then will look to win its third straight Division 1 title, taking on Detroit Catholic League champion Bloomfield Hills Marian at 4:30 p.m.
Click for more information including all results from this season's tournament. Both finals will be streamed live on MHSAA.TV and viewable with subscription, and broadcast on MHSAANetwork.com.
Here's a brief look at the four teams vying for championships (player statistics do not include Semifinals):
Division 1
BLOOMFIELD HILLS MARIAN
Record/rank: 21-3, No. 2 at end of regular season
League finish: First in Detroit Catholic League Division 1
Coach: Jamie Francek, eighth season, fourth of second tenure (112-49-4)
Championship history: Division 1 runner-up 2009.
Best wins: 19-9 and 22-2 (Semifinal) over No. 9 Ann Arbor Pioneer, 14-3 and 13-10 (Regional Semifinal) over No. 4 Bloomfield Hills, 22-12 and 21-6 (Regional Quarterfinal) over No. 10 Troy, 14-9 over No. 3 Birmingham United in the Regional Final, 14-13 over Division 2 No. 2 Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood.
Players to watch: Caroline Forester, sr. A (103 goals, 24 assists); Colleen Grombala, jr. A (69 goals, 31 assists); Sarah Peterson, jr. M (16 goals, 13 assists); Claire Fisher, jr. A (92 goals, 28 assists); Claire Kelly, soph. M (36 goals, 12 assists); Olivia Hargrave-Thomas, sr. D.
Outlook: Marian has won four league championships since Francek returned to in 2012, and this is its best run during his tenures. Cranbrook Kingswood included, the Mustangs also beat six of the top-10 ranked Division 2 teams. Forester is one of five players in MHSAA girls lacrosse history to score at least 100 goals in a season, and she made the all-state first team last season while Fisher, Hargrave-Thomas, Kelly and Peterson all earned honorable mentions. The offensive firepower is impressive, but the defense might be more so; Marian is giving up only 7.8 goals per game.
ROCKFORD
Record/rank: 20-3, No. 1 at end of regular season
League finish: Second in Ottawa-Kent Conference Tier 1
Coach: Mike Emery, eighth season (140-37-6)
Championship history: Division 1 champion in 2014, 2013 and 2010.
Best wins: 17-10 over No. 5 Hartland in the Semifinal, 15-6 over No. 9 Ann Arbor Pioneer, 20-5, 19-9 and 20-8 (Regional Final) over No. 7 Grand Rapids Forest Hills United, 14-7 over No. 2 Bloomfield Hills Marian, 11-6 over No. 3 Birmingham United, 12-2 over No. 4 Bloomfield Hills.
Players to watch: Alexandra Vandermolen, jr. M (67 goals, 28 assists); MeKenzie Vandermolen, fr. M (44 goals, 10 assists); Brooklyn Neumen, fr. M (75 goals, 21 assists); Grace Gunneson, jr. A (52 goals, 21 assists). Kelly Spehar, sr. D.
Outlook: Whereas last season’s championship run included many of the same faces, at least on offense, as in 2013, this year’s team has a bit a different look – especially with freshman Neumen the leading scorer. Alexandrea Vandermolen made the all-state second team a year ago and was the team’s second-leading scorer in the 2014 Final. The Rams didn’t lose a game against a ranked team in Division 1 – and had a win over Saturday opponent Marian – and went 6-2 against top-10 teams in Division 2. Those losses were to East Grand Rapids, including one by a goal in overtime.
Division 2
BLOOMFIELD HILLS CRANBROOK KINGSWOOD
Record/rank: 18-3, No. 2 at end of regular season
League finish: Second in Detroit Catholic League Division 1
Coach: Greg Courter, first season (18-3)
Championship history: Has not played in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 24-6 (Semifinal) and 19-2 over No. 10 Farmington Hills Mercy, 24-3 (Regional Final) and 19-5 over No. 8 Detroit Country Day, 16-13 (Regional Semifinal), 10-8 and 16-6 over No. 5 Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart, 16-10 over Division 1 No. 3 Birmingham United, 21-12 over Division 1 No. 10 Troy, 20-8 over Division 1 No. 9 Ann Arbor Pioneer.
Players to watch: Grace Giampetroni, jr. M (59 goals, 44 assists); Ari Vespa, sr. M (58 goals, 17 assists); Isabelle Scane, fr. M (81 goals 22 assists); Brigitte Ballard, fr. G (6.47 goals-against average).
Outlook: Cranbrook Kingswood broke through to the Final for the first time under the guidance of Courter, who formerly coached girls lacrosse in California and Colorado. The Cranes’ losses are impressive as well – by only one goal apiece to Division 1 No. 2 Marian and No. 4 Bloomfield Hills, and also by one in the third of four meetings with Academy of the Sacred Heart. Senior Maddy Weber (39 goals) and sophomore Danielle Augier (28) also provide scoring punch from the attack position, with Augier joining Scane and Ballard among an impressive group of underclassmen making contributions.
EAST GRAND RAPIDS
Record/rank: 23-1, No. 1 at end of regular season
League finish: First in Ottawa-Kent Conference Tier 1
Coach: Rich Axtell, sixth season (119-17)
Championship history: Division 2 champion 2014, 2013 and 2012.
Best wins: 9-5 over No. 3 Okemos in the Semifinal, 9-4, 13-6 and 19-6 (Regional Semifinal) over No. 4 Grand Rapids Catholic Central, 19-1, 18-5 and 18-3 (Regional Final) over No. 9 Caledonia, 18-5 over No. 5 Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart, 11-10 and 13-5 over Division 1 No. 1 Rockford.
Players to watch: Liza Elder, sr. A (111 goals 71 assists); Lexie Duca, jr. A (28 goals, 9 assists); Lindsay Duca, soph. A (46 goals, 46 assists); Elle O’Connell, sr. M (21 goals, 11 assists); Auden Bargar-Elliot, soph. M (54 goals, 6 assists); Jane Goodspeed, sr. D (1 goal).
Outlook: The Pioneers have only five losses over the last four seasons and none against Michigan teams since 2011 as they go for a fourth-straight MHSAA title. In addition to beating top-ranked Rockford twice, East Grand Rapids was 6-0 against other teams ranked among the top 10 in Division 1 at the end of the regular season. Elder’s 182 points heading into this week were the third-most all-time in MHSAA history for one season, and she has more than 300 points over the last two seasons. Goodspeed joined her on the all-state first team last season, while O’Connell and Lindsay Duca made the second team and Lexie Duca earned an honorable mention. Elder will continue her career at Northwestern University.
PHOTO: East Grand Rapids’ Liza Elder, middle, prepares for a face-off during last season’s Division 2 Final win against Okemos.