Rockford Holds Off Brighton Charge to Add to Title Streak
By
Perry A. Farrell
Special for MHSAA.com
June 12, 2021
NOVI – Overcoming a canceled season in 2020, Rockford made it eight straight Division 1 lacrosse titles with a 19-16 victory over Brighton on Saturday at Novi High School.
Only last’s year break due to COVID-19 has interrupted the Rams’ near decade-long dominance – although the Bulldogs made a strong attempt as the teams met in the championship game for the third-straight season.
“This is just a special group of young ladies,’’ said Rockford coach Mike Emery. “They’ve been through so much with the off-field stuff, COVID and the protocols. We lost our season last year. To be able to finish our season this year is just incredible.
"We’ve had a lot of great teams, and this team stacks right up there with them. This is one of my most rewarding seasons.”
Rockford (14-4) also had defeated Brighton (18-6-1) during the regular season 19-5.
“We had a lot of players under quarantine back then,’’ said Brighton coach Ashton Peters.
“I think they started to get a run on us in the beginning (this time). We came back and made it close, we just didn’t have enough time. I truly believe we could have won, but they scored five straight points and we couldn’t get back in it.’’
Rockford got on the board early on a goal by Chloe Dunham, who scored six goals total, with an assist from Mackenzie Delacher. Seconds later Isabelle Osborn, who tallied five goals, scored for the Rams to make it 2-0.
Osborn made it 3-0 less than one minute later with her second goal.
Brighton finally got on the board with a goal by Gabby Mainhardt. But Sydney Walsh made it 4-1 for the Rams, and seconds later Chloe Holmes tacked on another to make it 5-1.
Mainhardt scored her second to cut the deficit to 5-2.
Holmes scored her second for Rockford to make it 6-2. Ella Boose became the second player to score for Brighton to trim the deficit to 6-3.
Osborn scored her third goal of the game to make it 7-3, and Katherine Rodriguez scored seconds later to make it 8-3.
Sophie Mondro ended the streak for Brighton to reduce the lead to 8-4. Rodriguez scored her second for Rockford for a 9-4 lead.
Dunham scored her second as Rockford reached double figures, 10-5.
“We didn’t really know what to expect this year, and it kind of gave us a new perspective as far as what a privilege it is to be out here, and we love the game,’’ Dunham said. “We played that way today. We have a lot of balance and we trusted each other.’’
Mainhardt scored her third for the Bulldogs to make it 10-6. Osborn’s fourth gave Rockford an 11-6 lead, but Kaia Malachino closed the first half with a goal for Brighton.
After trailing 11-7 at halftime, Amanda Granader scored her second goal of the game to get Brighton within 11-8 early in the second half.
Walsh helped stem the tide with her second goal to make it 12-8.
Rodriguez scored her third to increase the Rams lead to 13-8. Dunham made it three straight goals for the Rams to extend the lead to 14-8.
Dunham’s fourth made 15-8 as Brighton’s offense wilted until Mainhardt scored back-to-back goals to make it 15-10. She finished with five goals. Dunham added her fifth with an assist from Osborn to put Rockford up six.
Dunham tacked on her sixth to increase the lead to 17-10 and Osborn’s fifth made it 18-10.
Two goals by Amaria Whitby got the Bulldogs to within five goals, 15-13.
With 1:09 left, the Bulldogs had cut the lead to 19-16 on Boose’s second goal as Rockford’s offense became turnover prone. But the Rams were able to hang on for the final minute-plus to close out the championship.
PHOTOS: (Top) Rockford’s Isabelle Osborn (15) considers her next move Saturday while Brighton’s Olivia Groce guards her. (Middle) Abbie Chaka (15) and Kelley Elizabeth (26) defend the Bulldogs’ goal.
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.