Pioneers Stake Claim as State's Best
June 8, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
ROCKFORD – With three minutes to play in Saturday’s MHSAA Division 2 Girls Lacrosse Final, East Grand Rapids’ sideline emptied as subs and late-season call-ups all at once replaced the line-up on the field.
As the first-string group exited, Pioneers fans offered a standing ovation to a group that has become arguably the state’s elite over their four seasons.
East Grand Rapids, ranked No. 1 at the end of the regular season, finished its second-straight MHSAA championship run with a 16-6 win over Livonia Ladywood at Rockford High.
A group of 11 seniors – many who have played together since fifth grade – leave the program after helping accumulate a 78-14 record during their high school careers.
“We’ve learned a lot. Our coaches have been so committed to the program, and we have to thank them for everything and the parents as well,” EGR senior Claire Ludlow said. “The year before last year (2011) was when we really wanted it. We didn’t make it to the state finals, but that was our driving force especially for last year and this year as well.”
The Pioneers improved from 13-6 to 15-6 to 28-0 and now 22-2 over the last four seasons under coach Rich Axtell, and this season’s losses came to teams from Ohio and Illinois. EGR hasn’t lost to an in-state opponent since 2011 – when it fell in double overtime in a Regional Semifinal to eventual Finals champion Grand Rapids Catholic Central.
East Grand Rapids beat GRCC three times this season and finished a combined 8-0 against the next three teams ranked after the Pioneers in Division 2 at the end of the regular season. They also beat six of the top 10 in Division 1, including top-ranked Rockford.
“We made ourselves a tougher schedule ... (and) really challenged the girls this year,” Axtell said. “This was one of those years where we came in with great expectations, and the girls met every single one of them.
“It’s a great way to send off 11 seniors. They’ve had one heck of a career here. They came in when this program was struggling and set a really great standard for the young ladies coming up.”
East Grand Rapids built a 6-0 lead over the first 7 minutes, 32 seconds and led 9-2 at halftime. But Axtell knew the Blazers had come back from an early deficit to beat Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood by a goal in the Semifinal, and he made a point of pointing that out.
“Recently we’ve gotten up and let the other team back in. ... We know (Ladywood) had it in them,” Axtell said. “The girls maintained their focus and basically just kept extending the lead. That sort of composure is something we’ve been preaching to the girls.”
East Grand Rapids indeed did keep a comfortable lead – although Ladywood trailed only 10-6 over the final 42 minutes.
“That’s the type of team I have. They won’t give up. They just want to keep going,” Ladywood coach Kris Sanders said. “If it’s a 10-goal differential, they’re still going to do it, which I like. I’m very proud of that.”
Eight Pioneers scored, led by Ludlow and senior Martha Bogo with three goals apiece. Bogo also had a pair of assists.
Junior Jessica Snyder scored four goals for Ladywood, which will graduate eight players but should return its top two scorers and three of its top five next spring. The Blazers also set a standard for teams to come – they finished 15-2, and Saturday’s was their first MHSAA Finals appearance in the sport.
Ladywood’s only other loss this season was to Division 1 power Birmingham Marian. The Blazers were ranked No. 8 in Division 2 entering the postseason.
“I couldn’t ask for anything else. If we’re 15-2 and get to the state final and lose the state final, that’s OK,” Sanders said. “We can’t lose sight of all the success we’ve had in the season.”
PHOTOS: (Top) East Grand Rapids sophomore Katherine Golladay winds up before scoring one of her two goals Saturday. (Middle) The Pioneers' Martha Bogo (16) works to keep the ball from Ladywood's Jaclyn Snyder.
Preview: Titles to be Decided by Rematch, Matchup of 1st-Title Hopefuls
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
June 6, 2025
Saturday’s MHSAA Girls Lacrosse Finals at University of Michigan will begin with a rematch of the 2024 title decider and conclude with a matchup of teams making their first championship game appearances in more than a decade.
Detroit Country Day will take on Grand Rapids Catholic Central at 11 a.m. with the Division 2 title on the line and after the Cougars won last year’s season finale 10-9.
Hartland and South Lyon United will follow in the Division 1 Final at 2 p.m., with the winner claiming the champion's trophy in this sport for the first time.
Below is a glance at all four teams playing at U-M. Rankings as part of “best wins” are based on the Michigan Power Rating formula. Tickets cost $11 and are good for both games, and may be purchased online only at GoFan.
Both games will be broadcast and available with subscription from MHSAA.tv.
Division 1
HARTLAND
Record/MPR: 20-5, No. 7
League finish: Second in Kensington Lakes Activities Association West
Coach: Ryan Skomial, first season (16-4)
Championship history: Division 1 runner-up 2012.
Best wins: 7-6 over No. 4 Rockford in Semifinal, 8-7 over No. 3 Lake Orion in Regional Final, 19-7 over No. 8 Holt in Regional Semifinal, 8-6 over No. 10 White Lake Lakeland in Regional Quarterfinal, 8-2 over No. 6 Birmingham United, 8-2 and 9-6 over No. 9 Bloomfield Hills.
Players to watch: Amanda Norton, jr. M; Ella Ebright, sr. A; Claire Pielack, jr. G.
Outlook: Still one of the state’s all-time leading scorers 12 years after graduating, Skomial has returned to Hartland this season after helping lead Brighton to the last three Division 1 championships – including as head coach in 2022 – and now has Hartland playing in a Final for the first time since her junior season. After losing three one-goal games during the regular season, the Eagles have won two straight in two of the biggest games in program history.
SOUTH LYON UNITED
Record/MPR: 20-0, No. 1
League finish: First in Lakes Valley Conference
Coach: Deanna Radcliffe, ninth season (143-26)
Championship history: Division 1 runner-up 2008.
Best wins: 12-6 over No. 5 Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood in Semifinal, 12-9 (Regional Final) and 8-7 (OT) over No. 2 Brighton, 13-4 and 9-5 over No. 10 White Lake Lakeland, 15-6 over No. 9 Bloomfield Hills, 15-8 over No. 3 Lake Orion, 10-3 over No. 8 Holt, 15-7 over No. 6 Birmingham United.
Players to watch: Shaelyn Perry, jr. M (46 goals, 21 assists); Reagan Shields, soph. A (50 goals, 33 assists); Madison Lukas, soph. A/M (35 goals, 8 assists); Alyssa Jakubiec, jr. A (31 goals, 16 assists).
Outlook: Radcliffe – who is in her second tenure at South Lyon after also coaching at Hartland from 2013-22 – has the Lions undefeated just like when she took them into the 2008 championship game. Since opening the season with a one-goal win over Brighton, South Lyon United’s closest game has been three goals in their Regional Final rematch with the Bulldogs. Junior attacks Gabriela Lucchesi (27 goals, 20 assists) and Gianna Lucchesi (25/17), senior mid Courtney Putnam (23/17) and sophomore defender Cate Cumberland (14/9) also are among top scorers.
Division 2
DETROIT COUNTRY DAY
Record/MPR: 16-3, No. 1
League finish: Does not play in a conference.
Coach: Liz Nussbaum, second season (33-7-1)
Championship history: Division 2 champion 2023, three runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 19-8 over No. 9 Saline in Semifinal, 11-10 over No. 2 East Grand Rapids, 21-3 over No. 6 Haslett, 9-6 and 18-6 over No. 3 Grand Rapids Catholic Central, 17-11 and 12-6 over Division 1 No. 2 Brighton, 19-7 over Division 1 No. 5 Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 19-5 over Division 1 No. 7 Hartland, 19-5 over Division 1 No. 6 Birmingham United.
Players to watch: Mary Pavlou, sr. A (76 goals, 13 assists); Charlotte Cook, fr. M (46 goals, 17 assists); Georgia Pavlou, sr. A (54 goals, 40 assists); Campbell Lindner, jr. G (7.08 goals-against average, .490 save %).
Outlook: Country Day will play in its fourth-straight championship game, having added runner-up finishes last spring and in 2022 to its title in 2023. All three of the Yellowjackets’ losses this spring came to opponents from Indiana or Illinois. Mary and George Pavlou are finishing up all-state careers and Cook looks to be one of the next class of standouts. Sophomore mid Jackie Calso (32 goals, 11 assists) is among leading scorers as well.
GRAND RAPIDS CATHOLIC CENTRAL
Record/MPR: 16-5, No. 3
League finish: Second in Ottawa-Kent Conference Tier 1
Coach: Joe Curcuru, second season (39-5)
Championship history: Division 2 champion 2024 and 2011.
Best wins: 19-3 over No. 6 Haslett in Semifinal, 8-7 over No. 2 East Grand Rapids in Regional Final, 15-3 (Regional Quarterfinal) and 10-9 (2OT) over No. 10 Spring Lake, 12-7 and 11-7 over No. 7 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central, 8-6 and 13-7 over Division 1 No. 4 Rockford, 12-5 over Division 1 No. 6 Birmingham United.
Players to watch: Catherine Marshall, sr. M (88 goals, 28 assists), Lily Engstrom, jr. M (86 goals, 32 assists), Alexandra Unzens, fr. A (14 goals, 6 assists); Samaya Dean, sr. G (6.55 goals-against average, .525 save %).
Outlook: The Cougars avenged a pair of regular-season losses to East Grand Rapids in the Regional Final on the way to earning this opportunity to repeat, and can complete it by avenging 9-6 and 18-6 defeats to Country Day from the season’s first five weeks. Marshall and Engstrom are one of the most potent 1-2 scoring pairs in the state and with Dean have been starring for multiple seasons. Seniors Ameila Sharpe (14 goals) and Claire Sullivan (12) also are among leading scorers from the attack spots. Catholic Central’s only other loss this season came to three-time reigning Division 1 champion Brighton.
PHOTO Grand Rapids Catholic Central players raise their sticks together during last season’s Division 2 championship win.