Preview: Finals Loaded with Champions
June 8, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
A pair of past contenders are back and will attempt to take down the reigning champions at Saturday’s MHSAA Girls Lacrosse Finals at Grand Ledge High School.
Brighton and Okemos have raised title trophies as well in the past, but will be seeking their first since 2011 and 2010, respectively. The Bulldogs will face five-time reigning champion Rockford in Division 1, while Okemos will look to avenge an earlier loss for the second game in a row in taking on Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood in Division 2.
The Division 1 Final will be played at 2 p.m., followed by Division 2 at 4:30. Both will be broadcast on MHSAA.tv, available with subscription, with audio available on MHSAANetwork.com. Click for more information, including all tournament results.
Below is a look at all four contenders, with player statistics through Semifinals.
Division 1
BRIGHTON
Record/rank: 13-7, No. 6 at end of regular season
League finish: First in Kensington Lakes Activities Association
Coach: Ashton Peters, first season (6-1)
Championship history: Division 1 champion 2011, runner-up 2010.
Best wins: 16-14 over No. 7 Bloomfield Hills in Semifinal, 14-9 (Regional Final) and 18-8 over No. 8 Northville, 11-9 over No. 4 Ann Arbor Pioneer in Regional Semifinal, 16-15 over No. 3 Hartland.
Players to watch: Cameron Stilson, sr. G; Mackenzie Kelbert, sr. A; Jessica Daniels, sr. M; Riley Browne, jr. D; Allison Falk, sr. M, Hannah Kelley, sr. A. (Statistics not submitted.)
Outlook: The Bulldogs have won eight of their last 10 games to reach their first Final since 2011, while weathering a late coaching change that saw Peters promoted after serving as an assistant. Kelley made the all-state first team last season and had five goals in the Semifinal win over Bloomfield Hills. Stilson also is a returning all-state first teamer, while Kelbert made the second team and Daniels, Browne and Falk earned honorable mentions in 2017. Brighton has held opponents to single-digit goals in 12 of 20 games.
ROCKFORD
Record/rank: 18-2, No. 1 at end of regular season
League finish: First in Ottawa-Kent Conference Tier 1
Coach: Mike Emery, 11th season (198-43-6)
Championship history: Division 1 champions 2010, 2013-17.
Best wins: 25-8 over No. 3 Hartland in Semifinal, 13-6 (Regional Semifinal), 18-3 and 14-10 over No. 2 Grand Rapids Forest Hills United; 15-10 over Division 2 No. 1 East Grand Rapids, 18-8 over Division 2 No. 2 Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 12-1 and 21-6 over Division 2 No. 6 Grand Rapids Catholic Central.
Players to watch: Brooklyn Neumen, sr. M (70 goals, 28 assists); MeKenzie Vander Molen, sr. A/M (47 goals, 26 assists); Karrington Vander Molen, jr. A/M (28 goals, 4 assists), Sydney Zimmerman, soph. A/M (38 goals, 31 assists); Bailey Banfield, soph. D (1 goal, 1 assist); Isabelle Holmes, jr. A (35 goals, 18 assists).
Outlook: For the second straight season, Rockford’s only losses have come against out-of-state opponents – and a number of this season’s standouts have been part of the sustained success that has the Rams playing for a sixth straight Division 1 title. Neumen and both Vander Molens made the all-state first team last season, while Banfield made the second and Holmes and Zimmerman earned honorable mentions. Senior Maggie Hammer (24 goals, 16 assists) also is back as one of the team’s scoring threats, and freshman Katie Rodriguez (26 goals, 18 assists) looks to be one of the next group of stars.
Division 2
BLOOMFIELD HILLS CRANBROOK KINGSWOOD
Record/rank: 16-1-1, No. 2 at end of regular season
League finish: First in Detroit Catholic League Division 1
Coach: Evan Foulsham, first season (16-1-1)
Championship history: Division 2 champion 2017, runner-up 2015 and 2016.
Best wins: 22-4 (Semifinal) and 22-9 over No. 9 Farmington Hills Mercy, 18-8 (Regional Semifinal), 14-10 and 14-11 over No. 4 Bloomfield Hills Marian; 14-10 over No. 3 Okemos, 22-9 over No. 10 Farmington, 11-3 and 21-14 over No. 6 Grand Rapids Catholic Central, 18-17 over Division 1 No. 2 Grand Rapids Forest Hills United.
Players to watch: Isabelle Scane, sr. M (96 goals, 22 assists); Brigitte Ballard, sr. G; Sophia Milia, sr. A (57 goals, 51 assists); Delaney Langdon, sr. M (21 goals, 8 assists); Angelina Wiater, sr. M (17 goals, 11 assists); Jessica Geiger, jr. M (51 goals, 15 assists).
Outlook: Cranbrook broke through for its first championship in this sport in 2017 and will make its fourth straight appearance on the final day of the season. The only loss this time was to Division 1 reigning champion Rockford, and the tie came in the first of two meetings with Forest Hills United. Scane is the state’s all-time leading goal scorer with 456, nearly 200 more than the next player on that list, and she’s surrounded by much the same talented cast as a year ago. She and Wiater made the all-state first team last season, while Milia made the second team and Ballard, Langdon and senior defender Courtney Paulus earned honorable mentions. Geiger is over 40 goals for the second straight year.
OKEMOS
Record/rank: 19-3, No. 3 at end of regular season
League finish: First in Capital Area Activities Conference
Coach: Brandon Schwind, third season (54-14-1)
Championship history: Division 2 champion 2009-10, runner-up 2007, 2012 and 2014.
Best wins: 10-9 over No. 1 East Grand Rapids in Semifinal, 9-7 over No. 7 Flint Powers Catholic in Regional opener, 23-13 over No. 5 Mattawan, 14-6 over Division 1 No. 4 Ann Arbor Pioneer, 20-5 over Division 1 No. 6 Brighton, 12-1 and 15-9 over Division 1 No. 7 Bloomfield Hills.
Players to watch: Melaina Grewal, sr. M (69 goals, 20 assists); Emily Renfrew, sr. M (51 goals, 20 assists); Alyssa Karber, sr. A (39 goals, 16 assists); Grace Bielby, sr. M (35 goals, 26 assists); Lola Gonzalez, soph. A (41 goals, 23 assists); Mallory Keenoy, sr. G.
Outlook: After three straight Semifinals losses, the Chiefs have broken through to return to the championship game. Like Cranbrook, Okemos has dominated with mostly the same crew over the last few seasons; Grewal and Keenoy made the all-state first team last season, while Beilby made the second and Karber, Renfrew and defenders Lauren Foltz and Allison Schloss earned honorable mentions. Junior Grace Richardson (35 goals, 23 assists) provides more scoring for a team that went over 20 goals in eight games and lost only to East Grand Rapids early, Cranbrook and Forest Hills United.
PHOTO: Rockford’s Brooklyn Neumen leads a rush during last season’s Division 1 championship game win.
Country Day Repeats as Cook Serves Up Another Title-Clinching Goal
By
Drew Ellis
Special for MHSAA.com
June 6, 2026
HOWELL – Charlotte Cook is building quite a reputation for herself at Detroit Country Day.
In 2025, as a freshman, Cook scored the game-winning goal in overtime to lift the Yellowjackets to the Division 2 championship over Grand Rapids Catholic Central.
On Friday night, in pouring rain, Cook found herself with the ball in the final minute of the 2026 D2 Final with East Grand Rapids, with the score tied 12-12.
Cook once again came through, putting the ball in the back of the net with 29 seconds to play for what would be the game-winning score in DCD’s 13-12 victory.
“Taking the ball at the end, I wanted to prove to everyone that as a sophomore, even when I was being face-guarded, I could get in there and I could make something happen,” Cook said of her game-winning goal. “I wasn’t just doing it to win, I wasn’t doing it for myself, I was doing it for my team around me because they wanted me to take that (shot) and I’m glad they could trust me.”
Cook tied the game with 2:52 to play as part of a six-goal effort to lead Country Day to its first repeat MHSAA girls lacrosse championship, and third Finals title overall.
“She’s someone that we can consistently depend on and rely on to be the one to set the tempo,” Detroit Country Day coach Liz Nussbaum said. “I think that takes so much character and so much preparation on her part. She puts in the work in advance so she’s ready for these big moments, and she carries the team on her back in that way.”
The win for Country Day (15-5) avenged a pair of losses during the season to the Pioneers (19-3). East Grand Rapids led for the majority of Friday’s game, including the 12-11 advantage in the closing minutes, but came up just shy of claiming its first championship since 2022.
“I think the reason they fought so hard is because of their love for each other and their love for the game,” EGR coach Kira Schoonveld said of her team’s effort. “It’s been a while since we’ve been back on this stage, so they were hungry for it.”
The Pioneers took control of the game in the second quarter with a four-goal surge that put them up 6-3. Senior Rylee Renker had two of the goals during the run to help EGR lead 6-4 at the break.
“I think the girls actually came out pretty settled. Of course, they have nerves, but I think they managed those pretty well,” Schoonveld said of her team’s first half.
Country Day came out in the second half and scored the first four goals. Two came from Cook and the other two came from senior Adri Zuk.
“That was absolutely huge,” Nussbaum said of the scoring surge. “We are very young, so a lot of this game is really mental for us. Having that kind of momentum shift was super important.”
East Grand Rapids answered the Country Day run with one of its own. The Pioneers scored the next three goals to regain the lead at 9-8.
The lead would change hands three more times over the remainder of the game, including with Cook’s game-winner.
The drama was heightened by the consistent rain, which never let up throughout the match.
“Rain is never fun and we’ve been fortunate that we’ve never had to play in the rain this season, so that of course poses more challenges,” Schoonveld said. “But, between every quarter and time out, our girls were still fired up and pumped and just ready to take on the challenge ahead of them. It’s just unfortunate that it didn’t go our way tonight.”
Jane Weaver finished with three goals and an assist to lead East Grand Rapids, while Nora Williams, Livia Burgess and Renker each had two goals and an assist. Avery Albers made 10 saves in net.
Cook finished with six goals to lead Country Day, while sophomore Bella Papsin had six assists.
“She’s always been a really good feeder, but she’s improved with her patience and waiting for more open opportunities,” Nussbaum said of Papsin. “She really found the open player today, and that was important because we knew that we weren’t going to be able to drive very well against this EGR defense.”
Junior Jackie Calso had four goals in the win, while Zuk tallied the other three.
After graduating a large senior class in 2025, Nussbaum wasn’t sure if her team would be able to get back to the Finals in 2026. Despite the rain pouring down, Nussbaum was all smiles after the match given her team’s difficult achievement of repeating as champion.
“We lost 11 seniors last year and had almost a completely new squad this season, but the consistency and dependability of the team, and the culture they have built, led them to this championship,” Nussbaum said. “It really is such a reward and a joy to be able to coach these girls and see all their work pay off.”
PHOTOS (Top) Detroit Country Day’s Charlotte Cook makes a move while directing the offense during Friday’s Division 2 Final. (Middle) The Yellowjackets’ Adriana Zuk (10) winds up to take a shot. (Below) DCD's Jackie Calso (8) and EGR's Ella Alguire (9) contend for the ball.