Country Day Makes Unforgettable Score Go Its Way in Division 2 Rematch
By
Drew Ellis
Special for MHSAA.com
June 7, 2025
ANN ARBOR – The score 10-9 carried a lot of frustration for the Detroit Country Day girls lacrosse team over the last year.
Now, it will be a score the Yellowjackets never want to forget.
After coming up on the short end of a 10-9 loss to Grand Rapids Catholic Central in the 2024 Division 2 championship game, Country Day managed to flip the script Saturday at the University of Michigan with a 10-9 overtime victory in a rematch with the Cougars.
“I feel like that score was burned into all my players’ minds after last year,” Detroit Country Day coach Liz Nussbaum said. “We started preparing the next day after (the 2024 Final). Last year we came in with two losses (against GRCC), this year we came in with two wins, so I think that gave us more of a confidence boost. … I had so much confidence that we were going to get it done.”
Saturday’s win clinched Detroit Country Day’s second Finals championship and also second over the last three seasons.
The two teams played to a 9-9 tie in regulation. The game-winning goal came a minute into overtime when Yellowjackets freshman Charlotte Cook attacked the goal and found the net to give Country Day the 10-9 advantage. The goal was the second of the day for the freshman, who received a premonition from a teammate heading into overtime.
“I just saw an opening,” Cook said of going for the game-winning goal. “I had been trying to go all day, but had been laying off. I didn’t want to push it too much. My teammate and one of my best friends, Adriana Zuk, told me I was going to get the winning goal. I saw an opportunity and I wanted to make her prediction come true, so I went for it.”
With the lead, Detroit Country Day (17-3) then had to rely on junior goalie Campbell Lindner. Fighting off exhaustion between regulation and the extra sessions, Lindner had to dig deep mentally to come through with a pair of saves to keep her team in the lead.
“Don’t get in your head, don’t lose your mind,” Linder explained of what she was telling herself going into overtime. “Stay calm, shoulders back. Don’t do things you usually wouldn’t do. Just play your game, be scrappy, and do what you know how to do, what you were trained to do.”
Nussbaum said that kind of mentality has defined her goalie all season.
“It took her a minute to get into her head space, but once she did, she was unstoppable,” Nussbaum said of Lindner, who finished the game with 10 saves.
Country Day had a pair of regular-season wins over the Cougars (16-6), but it was Grand Rapids Catholic Central that had control of the scoreboard most of the first half Saturday.
The Cougars jumped out to a 5-2 lead after one quarter and extended it to 6-2 early in the second as junior Lily Engstrom netted her third goal.
“We just talked about concentrating on the things we had done all year, and I felt like we did that,” GRCC coach Joe Curcuru said. “I think we had a pretty good game plan, and we were able to get those early loose opportunities.”
Country Day began to fight back down four, scoring four of the next five goals to make it a 7-6 deficit at halftime.
In the third, the Yellowjackets locked up the Cougars’ offense, keeping them off the scoreboard.
“Credit to (Country Day’s) defense, they started to tighten up and made things tougher for us, which is what a great team does,” Curcuru said.
A goal from DCD senior Georgia Pavlou tied the game at 7-7 entering the fourth.
“We have a lot more flexibility this year, a lot more options with what we can do. Mary and Georgia (Pavlou) are amazing leaders. I am going to miss them so much because they are the rock of the team,” Nussbaum said. “I had not a thought in my mind that they wouldn’t figure things out. They play a really tough zone for us and were able to settle things down.”
The Yellowjackets got their first lead in the fourth quarter when sophomore Jackie Calso put the ball between the GRCC goalie’s legs for her third goal of the game, making it 8-7.
The Cougars answered, with Engstrom scoring consecutive goals to give her six on the game and put GRCC up 9-8 with five minutes remaining in regulation.
Just less than four minutes later, Mary Pavlou would tie things up on a free protection shot. She would also create a turnover as GRCC attempted to get a game-winning shot attempt before overtime.
“We knew we were going to be in a close game,” Nussbaum said. “We were mentally ready for those tough moments, and it showed in the end.”
Calso’s three goals led Country Day, while Georgia Pavlou and Cook each scored twice. Pavlou added two assists.
Engstrom’s six goals led the Cougars, while Claire Sullivan had two assists. Goalie Samaya Dean recorded 11 saves.
PHOTOS (Top) Detroit Country Day and Grand Rapids Catholic Central players face off during the Division 2 Final. (Middle) The Yellowjackets secure possession of a loose ball.
'South Lyon Lacrosse' Wins Out as United Turns to Season-Long Style to Finish Title Run
By
Drew Ellis
Special for MHSAA.com
June 7, 2025
ANN ARBOR – South Lyon United girls lacrosse was perfect throughout the 2025 season playing “South Lyon lacrosse.”
So, when United found itself trailing Hartland 3-2 at halftime of the Division 2 championship game Saturday at the University of Michigan, the solution was simple.
Play South Lyon lacrosse.
United kept Hartland scoreless over the final two periods of play while controlling possession and netting four third-period goals to pick up a 6-3 win and complete an undefeated season with its first Finals championship.
“We really weren’t playing our game, so we had to just settle down and play like South Lyon lacrosse and not Hartland lacrosse,” South Lyon United coach Deanna Radcliffe said. “I just told them that if they remained poised and do what we have worked on all year, eventually (the lead) would come.”
The lead came midway through the third period. Junior Shealyn Perry netted the first goal in the second half with 7:19 remaining in the third to make it 3-3. That was followed just over a minute later by a free protection shot score from sophomore Reagan Shields to make it 4-3 in favor of United (24-0).
Sophomore Cate Cumberland added another goal only 36 seconds later on an assist from Perry, then Perry recorded her third and final goal of the match with 24.3 seconds left in the third to make it 6-3.
“I definitely did put a lot of pressure on (myself), but it was all for my team and I don’t regret it at all,” Perry said of leading the second-half charge.
With the lead, South Lyon went into possession control in the fourth, limiting Hartland’s opportunities to get back in the game. When the Eagles (20-6) did have the ball, they had some rushed turnovers that gave it right back to United.
“(South Lyon) has a talented defense. They have a lot of fast girls, and I think we were just too relaxed with our sticks in the midfield,” Hartland coach Ryan Skomial said of the scoreless second half.
United was the first to score Saturday, but it took just over 10 minutes of gameplay to get the scoring started. Junior Gabriela Lucchesi found the net first, but Hartland senior Ella Ebright answered a minute later.
In the second, Hartland senior Claire Brown gave the Eagles their first lead, 2-1, off a free protection shot. Perry responded for United with her first goal of the day, but Hartland countered with a goal from junior Amanda Norton during the final minute of the half.
Radcliffe admitted her young team, which had just four seniors, may have been nervous coming into the Final with an unbeaten record. The veteran coach admitted she had plenty of nerves herself.
“I didn’t even turn around until the very end of the game because I didn’t want to look (at the crowd). Even I was (nervous),” Radcliffe said. “It’s a different setting, a different stage.”
Perry said the team remained confident at halftime and stuck to the initial game plan with an emphasis on possession control.
She was key in all phases, helping with faceoffs, locking up on defense, and scoring three goals with an assist to earn South Lyon United its first title. Perry was quick to acknowledge her senior teammates, who played on graduation day, while holding an opponent to the fewest goals in MHSAA Girls Lacrosse Finals history.
“I could have never imagined it. I am beyond excited,” Perry said of being a Division 1 champion. “I am so proud of my coach for leading us on this journey. I’m so proud of the seniors that had to leave graduation early to play in this game with us. They know they made the right choice to come win this championship with us.”
The win for South Lyon United ended a three-year run of Brighton Division 1 titles. Brighton ended South Lyon’s season in 2024, but Radcliffe knew her team had a chance to come back and do something special in 2025.
“At the end of last year, when (the team) lost to Brighton and they realized they didn’t do what they could have done, I think they had belief that if they worked … I told them that if everybody just works a little bit harder, you can surprise yourself next year. I think they all bought into it, and here we are,” she said.
Hartland finished runner-up for the second time in program history, reaching its first Final since 2012. Skomial encouraged her players to keep their heads held high and be proud of their runner-up trophy after the match.
“It’s not something a lot of people expected. We were unseeded going into Regionals, graduated a lot of talent. I don’t think anybody expected this team to grind and get here. … Honestly, it was just an honor to get here,” Skomial said. “It’s so fun to be on this stage, and it’s such a great memory for the girls. It stings right now, but they will come away with a fond memory that they will cherish for the rest of their lives.”
PHOTOS (Top) South Lyon United players celebrate their first Finals championship Saturday. (Middle) Hartland works to slow down a South Lyon United rush during the Division 1 Final.