Rockford Begins New Reign by Ending South Lyon United Winning Streak
By
Drew Ellis
Special for MHSAA.com
June 5, 2026
HOWELL – It took one record to stop another record.
The Rockford girls lacrosse team prevented South Lyon United from claiming a second-consecutive title with a 16-9 victory Friday at Howell Parker. In doing so, the Rams claimed their MHSAA-record 10th Division 1 Finals championship and ended South Lyon United’s 48-game win streak, the longest in D1 history.
"I think it was teamwork," Rockford coach Mark Neumen said of Rockford's win. "This team started really believing in themselves and loved one another. It was just a really good team effort. This means so much."
The pressure of being a favorite is something Rockford (12-8) understands well. His program having won eight consecutive titles at one point, Neumen knew if the Rams could start strong, it would put South Lyon on its heels. Rockford did just that, with senior Brooke Gordon scoring a pair of goals during the first 90 seconds of play.
"We've kind of had a similar pressure all year because we've won nine state championships and everybody expects us to be (in the Finals) and when we're not, it's tough on the girls mentally to have to think about," Neumen said. "Today, the girls seemed pretty relaxed, like that pressure was gone. Then we scored those two quick goals, and I think that set the stage for us mentally for the rest of the game. It got us not thinking about championships or South Lyon's record and got us focused on just playing lacrosse."
Rockford would push its lead to 6-2 after one quarter, thanks in part to its play on the draw. The Rams won six of the nine draws during the opening period, allowing them to control possession early on.
"South Lyon is a very good team, especially offensively, so we didn't want to have to play from behind," Neumen said. "So our goal was to come out firing, and our draw circle girls were amazing for us today. South Lyon hasn't been behind much this season, so we wanted to put pressure on them and try and make them feel uncomfortable."
Each time South Lyon (27-1) would seem to get some momentum, Rockford had an answer. In the first half, Gordon was the answer. She netted five of her game-high six goals over the opening 24 minutes.
"I was just doing my own thing. I know what I am capable of doing, so I just kept trusting myself," Gordon said of her performance. "I just really wanted this, so I did everything I could to make it happen."
Rockford held a 9-6 lead at the break. South Lyon would get the deficit down to two goals twice in the third quarter thanks to goals from Alyssa Jakubiec and Gianna Lucchesi, but SLU wouldn't get any closer.
"We had moments where we would come back and then have a silly mistake," South Lyon United coach Deanna Radcliffe said. "That just kind of kept throwing us off when we had a chance to get back in the game. It just wasn't our day."
A big key for Rockford in the second half was the play of sophomore goalie Mia Mabry. She shut the door on some good opportunities, recording nine saves to keep the Rams in the lead.
"I'm not going to lie, I wasn't really thinking, I wasn't anticipating, I was just trying to do what I have been coached to do," Mabry said of her second-half work.
Rockford retained a three-goal lead after three quarters, but then blew the game open with the first five goals in the fourth, including two from Ava Wekenman and the sixth from Gordon.
"She's amazing. She had a great game," Neuman said of Gordon. "She's been amazing these last several weeks. A lot of teams have been focusing on some of our other players and people have been ignoring her, but there's no reason. She is one of our best players by far. Brooke is a threat no matter what."
Gordon had one assist to go with her six goals, while Wekenman finished with three goals and five assists for the Rams. Avery Maag, who took many of the draws, scored three goals as well.
South Lyon United had a balanced attack with Reagan Shields, Gianna Lucchessi, Shaelyn Perry and Jakubiec each netting two scores.
"One game definitely doesn't define this team," Radcliffe said. "We know we didn't play our best today, but that happens. It's bound to happen when you're going up against really good teams. We just lacked a little bit of confidence today and played a little unsure of ourselves. When you do that against good teams, they can capitalize on that quickly."
PHOTOS (Top) Rockford players celebrate during their championship win Friday. (Middle) The Rams' Jordyn Coretti (24) looks to pass near the opposing goal. (Below) South Lyon United's Shaelyn Perry (2) considers her optoins as Rockford's Lyla Vogt defends.
South Lyon's Wesner Turns Full Focus to School Sports, Big Finish to 11-Letter Career
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
January 9, 2026
SOUTH LYON — South Lyon senior Teagen Wesner isn’t hesitant to offer advice to younger athletes on the benefits of playing high school sports.
“It teaches you a lot, it brings you good friends,” Wesner said. “Being on the court and being on a team, it just brings you so much more knowledge you can’t learn in the classroom. I’ve learned so many things through sports, it’s something that’s irreplaceable to me.”
And younger athletes should certainly listen to Wesner, given she is quite an example of someone who has fully embraced all that high school sports have to offer.
When she graduates in a few months, Wesner will have 11 varsity letters, earned as three-sport athlete from the moment she arrived at South Lyon High School.
She has been on the varsity volleyball and ski teams since she was a freshman, and has been a member of South Lyon United’s lacrosse team since she was a sophomore (after playing on the JV lacrosse team as a freshman).
“It made me be a well-rounded athlete,” Wesner said of playing multiple sports. “I’ve gotten thrown into a whole bunch of different positions depending on what the coaches need. Having a background in multiple different sports really has helped my athleticism. I feel like I have matured a little more than others because I’ve been in highly competitive environments.”
Wesner said she has skied since she was 3 years old and played club volleyball since she was in elementary school, but made a decision during her junior year that reflected how much she loves playing high school sports.
Instead of playing club volleyball again after that high school volleyball season ended, Wesner decided to concentrate more on her high school teams.
“I just liked high school sports better,” she said. “Club was a lot of fun, but high school has all the people and everything.”
This past fall, Wesner was a captain of the volleyball team and an all-league performer in the Lakes Valley Conference.
This winter, Wesner is serving as captain of the South Lyon United ski team, as she hopes to build on a junior season where she was all-conference in both slalom and giant slalom.
In the spring, Wesner plans to once again play lacrosse and try and repeat what was an improbable success story last year.
Wesner, who said she stopped playing lacrosse in middle school before picking it back up again during her freshman year, took over as South Lyon United’s goalie in the fourth game of the season after the original starter was lost for the season with a torn ACL.
Wesner had played twice as goalie while in middle school, but was mainly a defender. However, desperate times called for desperate measures, so Wesner took over.
“Our goalie tore her ACL and we really didn’t have anyone else on the team, (to play the position),” Wesner said. “I just did whatever my coach needed. She knew with my background in other sports, I could pick it up quickly.”
Weeks later, Wesner and South Lyon United ended up celebrating its first MHSAA Finals championship with a 6-3 win over Hartland in the Division 1 title game.
“Taking a demanding role under high pressure, Teagan remained positive, composed and team-focused throughout the transition,” South Lyon United girls lacrosse coach Deanna Radcliffe said. “Her willingness to do whatever the team needed, combined with her resilience and steady presence, gave the team confidence during a critical stretch of the season.”
Recovering from losing its starting goalie early in the regular season to winning Division 1 was quite an improbable journey, but South Lyon did it with a stout defense and Wesner adapting so quickly her new position.
“I just kind of learned on the fly and let my instincts take over,” Wesner said. “During the season, I definitely got more training that made me way better. At the start, it was just like, 'Don’t let the ball hit you.'”
This spring, Wesner likely will return to her natural position as a defender with the starting goalie expected to be healed from her injury.
At the moment, Wesner doesn’t plan to play any of her three sports in college other than at an intramural level, which will make her cherish her high school years and all those varsity letters even more.
“I’m probably going to put them in a drawer,” she said. “But I think it’ll be cool to look back on. I’ll definitely glow on it for a couple of days. I think it’s a good accomplishment to something I’ve been working towards all four years of high school.”
Keith Dunlap has served in Detroit-area sports media for more than two decades, including as a sportswriter at the Oakland Press from 2001-16 primarily covering high school sports but also college and professional teams. His bylines also have appeared in USA Today, the Washington Post, the Detroit Free Press, the Houston Chronicle and the Boston Globe. He served as the administrator for the Oakland Activities Association’s website from 2017-2020. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTOS (Top) South Lyon’s Teagen Wesner races downhill during ski season. (Middle) Wesner (7) shares a laugh with a volleyball teammate. (Below) Wesner warms up in goal during last spring’s lacrosse season. (Photos provided by the Wesner family.)