Unexpected Return Propels EGR to 3-Peat
June 7, 2014
By Butch Harmon
Special for Second Half
ROCKFORD – East Grand Rapids senior captain Charlotte Hooker was determined to make it back and play at least one game of her senior lacrosse season.
Hooker reached that goal and then some as she came back from injury in time to play in both the MHSAA Semifinal and Saturday’s Division 2 lacrosse championship game against Okemos.
Hooker scored goals in both games, including one in the title match to help the Pioneers defeat Okemos 11-7 to win a third consecutive MHSAA championship.
“This is very special because I’m a senior and a captain, and this was the final game of my high school career,” Hooker said. “A lot of people didn’t think I would make it back, but I was determined.”
Hooker suffered a torn labrum and underwent surgery in February, leading to months of physical therapy. Doctors told her she would not be able to play her senior year.
“I was not planning on making it back, but physical therapy went so well that I knew I had a chance to make it back in time,” Hooker said. “I really wanted to make it back and play at least one game of my senior season.”
Hooker returned in time to help the Pioneers defeat Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood in the Wednesday Semifinal and then took the field against Okemos in a rematch of last season’s Semifinal and the 2012 Division 2 championship game.
With the Final tied 6-6 midway through the second half, Hooker scored as part of a four-goal run that gave East Grand Rapids control up 10-6.
While many doubted Hooker’s ability to make it back from injury, many also doubted they would see the Pioneers in the Finals again after graduating 12 starters from last year’s team.
“This one is very special because no one thought our team was this strong,” Hooker said. “It was real special to prove to everyone that we could do it again.”
Okemos suffered from the injury bug in the opening minutes Saturday. Sophomore standout Kendall Luberto suffered a severe ankle injury and was lost for the game. She entered the game as one of Okemos’ top offensive players with 48 goals and 30 assists this spring.
“I think our girls played tough,” Okemos coach Donny Luberto said. “One of our starters went down in the first three minutes of the game, and that threw us out a bit. But the girls played tough. I knew they would keep fighting and keep playing tough.”
Okemos battled the entire 50 minutes while attempting to become the first Michigan high school team to defeat East Grand Rapids since 2010. Okemos scored the first two goals before the Pioneers came back to tie the match 2-2.
Okemos again battled back and went up 4-2 before East Grand Rapids closed out the first half with four consecutive goals to take a 6-4 lead.
“They (Okemos) are a class program,” East Grand Rapids coach Rich Axtell said. “They have won two state titles, and we knew they would be tough."
Senior Meggan Loyd scored three of East Grand Rapids’ first-half goals and led the Pioneers with four for the game. For Loyd, the title was the fourth MHSAA championship she has won at EGR as she had been on the previous two lacrosse title teams and also won one with the Pioneers volleyball team.
“I think this one means the most,” Loyd said. “Being a senior and people not expecting us to win it this year, it was also the toughest. We had to work harder to get this one. All of our playoff games were close. We beat Caledonia by one goal in the Regional and Cranbrook by two in the Semifinals.”
Junior Liza Elder came into the game as the offensive leader of the Pioneers with 78 goals and 48 assists. She added three goals and will be one of the leaders next season as the Pioneers look to win a fourth straight championship.
“We had a very young team this year,” Elder said. “We knew we had to work extra hard to make it back. We started working out in the weight room back in September to get ready for this year, and we just kept going. We played some real tough games this year but nobody ever gave up.”
PHOTOS: (Top) East Grand Rapids and Okemos players contend for the ball during the MHSAA Division 2 Final at Rockford. (Middle) The Pioneers' Liza Elder works for position as she awaits a pass Saturday.
Rockford Completes Drive for 5 Straight
June 10, 2017
By Perry A. Farrell
Special for Second Half
BRIGHTON – Rockford girls lacrosse coach Mike Emery has built a dynasty in Division 1, and Saturday’s 17-7 championship victory at Brighton High School over Birmingham United made it five straight MHSAA titles for the program.
Get ready for more. The Rams (20-2) dressed just three seniors: Zina Emery, Sisely Vongphasouk, who scored a goal in the second half, and Samantha DeBoer – meaning they’ll be Ram tough again next season.
“All year long it has really been this way,’’ Emery said. “We lost a ton of kids last year and some kids that are making some great strides at local universities and in the Big Ten and other places. We loaded up, and we started eight freshmen and sophomores today. We’ve been dominant all season, and these kids are awesome.’’
Birmingham’s lone bright spots were junior Meryl Feys, who scored four goals, and Grace Murray who had two.
Rockford’s Brooklyn Neumen started the scoring with an unassisted goal at the 22:27 mark of the first half.
“We knew that it was going to be very hot, so we made sure that we stayed hydrated,’’ said Neumen. “We wanted to get ahead to start because we wanted to make sure the midfielders had a rest. We executed our gameplan, and I thought that was our best game of the season. We’re a lot younger than last year, but we have a lot of talent. The freshmen and sophomores that have come up play like veterans. It’s fun because we have played with them since elementary school.”
Seconds after Neumen’s goal, teammate Isabelle Holmes made it 2-0 with a blast from in front of the goal. Neumen scored her second goal at the 20:33 mark to make 3-0.
A minute later Karrington VanderMolen scored the Rams’ fourth goal as they began to pull away.
Murray finally found the net for Birmingham (13-10) to cut the lead to 4-1 at the 17:17 mark.
Rockford’s Margaret Hammer made it a four-goal deficit again with her first goal of the game.
“It was Hammer Time, and she came to play,’’ said Emery.
Said Hammer: “We work really hard together, and we support each other and never give up. We have each other’s back and we’re well-bonded. I feel like we’ll be strong next year too.’’
VanderMolen tacked on her second goal to increase the lead to 6-1. Neumen scored her third to make it 7-1, forcing Birmingham coach Jen Dunbar to call a timeout to regroup.
Sydney Zimmerman got in on the scoring to make it 8-1 for the powerful Rams. Feys finally ended the drought for Birmingham with 12:53 left in the half to make it 8-2, but Hammer nailed home her second goal to increase the lead to 9-2.
Hammer made it back-to-back goals to put the eventual winners ahead, 10-2, forcing another timeout by Dunbar.
Mekenzie VanderMolen made it 11-2 with a full 9:10 left in the first half. Hammer’s fourth goal made it 12-2 and started a running clock.
Karrington VanderMolen started the second half with her third goal to make it 13-2. Hammer contributed her fifth, and the rest of the game was just a formality with the running clock and a 12-goal lead.
For good measure, Neumen picked up her fourth goal to make it 15-2.
“I started to get this feeling early in the season when we played East Grand Rapids, and we had a running clock against them and then we played Forest Hills and we got a running clock on them,” she said. “I felt like we could make it to the state championship and win it.’’
Click for the full scoring summary.
PHOTOS: (Top) Rockford’s girls lacrosse team celebrates during its Division 1 championship victory Saturday. (Middle) The Rams’ Brooklyn Neumen works to create an opening in Birmingham’s defense.