Mourning Those Who Contributed Much

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."

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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.