South Lyon United's Radcliffe Approaching Milestone Win, Another History-Making Moment
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
May 7, 2026
Originally, Deanna Radcliffe got into coaching lacrosse simply because it was a nice summer job.
From that simple beginning, Radcliffe is now on the verge of making high school sports history within the state of Michigan.
No girls or boys lacrosse coach has reached 300 career victories since the sport became MHSAA-sponsored in 2005. But Radcliffe is oh-so-close. Following a win over Haslett on Wednesday, Radcliffe has 299 career victories.
The milestone 300th win likely will come Saturday when South Lyon United plays in a tournament at Saline.
In order to get their names etched in the record book, any high school coach in Michigan has had to reach at least 300 wins since the MHSAA brought the sport into its championship lineup. So Radcliffe is literally about to become the first and only coach in the MHSAA coaching records for lacrosse.
Radcliffe is in her 10th season coaching for South Lyon Unified and also coached at Hartland from 2013 to 2022. This is actually her second stint at South Lyon, where she spent seven years as head coach before taking the Hartland job.
“It just means I’ve been doing this for a long time,” Radcliffe said. “What it really represents to me is all the players, coaches and families I’ve had the opportunity to coach. I’ve been fortunate to coach in an area that was willing to embrace the sport. I have been able to catch some really great teams and athletes across all levels from youth to high school and even collegiately. That’s the part that means the most, those relationships and experiences. The wins are just a byproduct of that.”
Radcliffe got her start in lacrosse very young, saying she picked up the game at 3-4 years old while growing up in Pennsylvania. She was introduced to the game by her aunt.
“It just became part of my life early on,” she said.
Radcliffe eventually became good enough as a player to earn a college opportunity, ultimately being named the Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Year in 2003 while playing for Temple.
Radcliffe eventually started a career as a special education teacher and was a high school coach in Pennsylvania before moving to Michigan in 2006, where she has coached club, high school and even college lacrosse as she spent time as an assistant at Cleary University.
“I just enjoyed being around the game and the competitive environment, so I kept doing it,” Radcliffe said of what has kept her coaching. “Over time, it stopped being something I was just doing in the summers and became something I really valued and stayed connected to. It’s grown naturally from there, and I’ve been fortunate to continue coaching while also working in education.”
The most noteworthy win of her career came last June, when South Lyon Unified earned a 6-3 Division 1-clinching victory over Hartland to give Radcliffe her first MHSAA Finals championship as head coach in a matchup between the two programs she built up.
South Lyon Unified is 18-0 this season and has won 39 straight games going back to last spring's opener.
“She has so much knowledge of the sport and really cares for each and every one of us,” said South Lyon United senior captain Teagan Wesner. “Deanna has been one of the best coaches I have ever had, and I am extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to play for her. I am very happy for Deanna, and I am excited to be a part of the team who helped her reach 300 wins.”
When Radcliffe first arrived in Michigan, lacrosse was in its first years as a sanctioned sport by the MHSAA. Now, she has seen it grow by leaps and bounds.
“One of the most rewarding parts has been seeing the long-term impact,” she said. “Many of the players I once coached are now youth, high school or college coaches themselves. Some are officials, and some I’m even coaching against or alongside now. That’s been incredibly meaningful and really speaks to the strength of the community the sport has built.”
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) Deanna Radcliffe, here during the 2025 Division 1 Final, has reached 299 career coaching wins. (Middle) Radcliffe raises the championship trophy after last season’s clincher.
Preview: Familiar Favorites Converging Again in Novi
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
June 11, 2021
Despite the one-year break in MHSAA girls lacrosse due to COVID-19, little has changed when it comes to the look of championship weekend.
The four teams playing for this year’s titles in Division 1 and 2 are more than familiar with reaching the season’s final day. In Division 1, Rockford will meet Brighton after they also faced off in the 2018 and 2019 Finals. In Division 2, East Grand Rapids faces Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood; they met in the 2016 and 2017 championship games, with Cranbrook then making the 2018 Final and East Grand Rapids doing the same in 2019.
Below is a glance at all four teams playing at Novi High School. Statistics are through Regional Finals unless noted. The Division 2 Final is set for 2 p.m., with Division 1 following at 4:30. Tickets cost $9.40 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, with free audio broadcasts on the MHSAA Network.
Division 1
BRIGHTON
Record: 18-5-1
League finish: First in Kensington Lakes Activities Association West & overall
Coach: Ashton Peters, fourth season (41-14-1)
Championship history: Division 1 champion 2011, runner-up 2010, 2018 and 2019.
Best wins: 18-5 (Semifinal) and 16-2 over Bloomfield Hills, 14-4 and 19-13 over Hartland, 19-10 and 17-11 (Regional Final) over Northville.
Players to watch: Ella Boose, jr. M (31 goals, 23 assists); Sophie Mondro, sr. A (29 goals, 17 assists); Amanda Granade, jr. A (104 goals 19 assists); Gabby Mainhardt, jr. M (52 goals, 13 assists). (Stats through Regional Quarterfinals.)
Outlook: The Bulldogs finished runners-up in both 2018 and 2019, with Mondro scoring a team-high four goals in the 2019 championship game. She and Boose both earned all-state honorable mention that season. Peters was a player on the 2011 championship team and went on to become one of the most accomplished in Alma College history. Granade is the 11th player in MHSAA history to score 100 goals in a season. Junior mid Abbey Burchfield had added another 28 goals and 11 assists through the Regional Quarterfinals.
ROCKFORD
Record: 14-4
League finish: Third in Ottawa-Kent Conference Tier 1
Coach: Mike Emery, 14th season (228-52-7)
Championship history: Division 1 champion 2010, 2013-19.
Best wins: 19-5 over Brighton, 12-10 and 11-10 (OT in Regional Semifinal) over Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern/Eastern, 16-10 over Midland/Dow in Semifinal, 21-3 over Spring Lake.
Players to watch: Katherine Rodriguez, sr. M (50 goals, 15 assists); Chloe Dunham, sr. A (55 goals, 18 assists); Mackenzie Delacher, jr. A (36 goals, 20 assists); Chloe Holmes (35 goals, 23 assists). (Stats through Regional Semifinals.)
Outlook: Despite missing a season with the rest of the state, Rockford brings back significant Finals experience as it seeks an eighth-straight championship. Rodriguez scored four goals in the 2019 title game win, while Dunham scored three, Holmes scored twice and Delacher had a goal and assist. Sophomore attack/mid Izzy Osborn (28 goals/31 assists) is another notable playmaker. The Rams twice avenged an earlier loss to FHNE, with the other defeats twice to East Grand Rapids by a combined three goals and once to Loyola Academy of Illinois.
Division 2
BLOOMFIELD HILLS CRANBROOK KINGSWOOD
Record: 13-6
League finish: Second in Detroit Catholic League Central
Coach: Jeanne Woodbury, first season (13-5)
Championship history: Division 2 champion 2017 and 2018, runner-up 2015 and 2016.
Best wins: 14-13 over Detroit Country Day in Regional Final, 18-7 and 16-10 over Bloomfield Hills Marian.
Players to watch: Lilli Sherman, sr. M (41 goals, 18 assists); Mallory Brophy, sr. A/M (50 goals, 24 assists); Olivia DeMuth, sr. A (28 goals, 21 assists); Riya Batra, jr. M. (60 goals, 20 assists). (Stats through Semifinals.)
Outlook: Cranbrook won its final four games of the regular season and has since run its streak to nine straight victories – and five of its six losses came by just three goals or fewer. Sherman earned an all-state honorable mention as a sophomore in 2019. Coach Woodbury played at Boston College, and senior daughter Gwen is the team’s goalie and also one of the state’s top swimmers. Sophomore Ella Lantigua is another scoring threat with 35 goals and 24 assists this spring.
EAST GRAND RAPIDS
Record: 22-2
League finish: First in O-K Tier 1
Coach: Geri Merrell, first season (22-2)
Championship history: Division 2 champion 2012-16, 2019; runner-up 2017.
Best wins: 21-4 and 25-4 over Grand Rapids Catholic Central, 18-5, 16-11 and 17-8 (Regional Semifinal) over Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central; 19-4 over Spring Lake in Regional Final, 22-4 over Grand Rapids Christian in Regional opener, 15-6 and 22-4 (Semifinal) over DeWitt, 13-4 and 6-4 over Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern/Eastern, 21-3 over Bloomfield Hills, 14-13 and 11-9 over Rockford, 23-2 over Hartland, 11-10 over Brighton.
Players to watch: Lizzie Lundeen, jr. A (102 goals, 34 assists); Eliana LaMange, jr. A (61 goals, 25 assists); Vivian LaMange, fr. A (47 goals, 54 assists); Caroline Potteiger, jr. G (6.3 goals-against average).
Outlook: The Pioneers have played many of the best from both divisions, winning a league title ahead of Division 1 Rockford and Forest Hills Northern/Eastern and losing this season only to FHNE in the second of a three-game series and to Loyola Academy of Illinois. There are many dangerous offensive players with whom to contend, with juniors Lucy Cavanaugh (48 goals/78 assists) and Ella Gjorgjievski (42/16) two more in addition to those listed above. Just as impressively, EGR has given up an average of only 4.8 goals per game over five postseason games, and held teams to six or fewer goals 16 times this season.
PHOTO: Brighton’s Sophie Mondro looks for a scoring opportunity against Rockford during the 2019 Division 1 championship game.