A couple of the titles were not unexpected. Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice has won the CHSL Boys A-Division trophy for 10 years in a row, and 15 of the last 16 years. Rice’s neighbor, Marian, has won the girls Division I for the last five years.
But Madison Heights Bishop Foley held off Notre Dame, winner of the last four boys B-Division titles, for its first championship since 2003, and Livonia Ladywood, who won girls Division II from 2006-08, spoiled the Notre Dame girls’ hopes of claiming their fourth consecutive title.
GIRLS DIVISION I: Marian 15, Flint Powers Catholic 9
The final score doesn’t come close to reflecting the dominance of the Mustangs. Marian (15-3, No. 2 in MHSAA Division II) scored 10 unanswered goals in the first half, triggering the mercy rule (a running clock). Powers had possession only three times across midfield. Marian coach Jamie Francek was proud of “the way we played with intensity and focus.” Powers coach Mickey Rosol said the way her team, which had lost 14-10 to Marian during the regular season, came back in the second half “gives us motivation for the state tournament.”
Senior Lindsay Barrett (three goals), junior K. Henneghan (3) and senior Danielle Flaig (2) led the Mustangs’ offense. Sophomore Madison Sabourin netted three of Powers’ goals.
GIRLS DIVISION II: Ladywood 15, Notre Dame Prep 12
The Blazers and Fighting Irish were tied five separate times in a goal-a-minute first half before Ladywood (10-3) built a 12-8 advantage at the intermission and expanded the lead to 15-9 in the opening nine minutes of the second half. Notre Dame (8-5) responded with three goals to reduce the deficit to 15-12 with 12:24 left to play.
That ended the scoring for the contest as Ladywood went into an effective keep-away passing game, and junior goalie Stephanie Mackley deflected numerous shots. “I got used to their style of shooting to make the stops,” she said. Blazers coach Kristine Sanders called it a “perfect game, where everyone did their part.”
Senior Emma Ellswood led Ladywood’s attack with five goals. Jaclyn Snyder and Alyssa Daly each scored three. Senior Mary Eicher had four goals for Notre Dame Prep. Katia Jurkiw and Mara MacLean scored three apiece.
BOYS A-DIVISION: Brother Rice 13, Novi Catholic Central 5
The Warriors are a fine-tuned, well-oiled machine that makes lacrosse a game of beauty and precision — unless, of course, you’re on the other side of the equation. Rice did show it was human in the first quarter, allowing Catholic Central to forge a 3-3 tie to give the Shamrocks (10-5) hope that maybe this might be their day to conquer their archrival.
That day hasn’t come yet. Brother Rice (14-1) maintained ball possession for the opening three minutes of the second quarter, scoring twice, and then twice more in the next four minutes for a 7-3 lead, and they never looked back. Coach Rob Ambrose’s squad extended their perfect record against in-state opponents to 111-0 since 2005. Riley Kennedy and Jason Alessi each had three goals.
Next stop is the Division 1 state championship on June 9, which Brother Rice has won for seven consecutive years.
BOYS B-DIVISION: Bishop Foley 8, Notre Dame Prep 7
The Ventures (10-5) opened a 3-0 lead in the first nine minutes of the game and never looked back. The Redding brothers led the offense: senior Al had three goals, sophomore Stephen, two. Junior Michael O’Neil also had two goals, and senior Eric Zatkoff had one. Senior goalie John Trastevere faced nearly three dozen shots.
Coach Matt Filippis credited overall team hustle and “senior leadership” for Foley’s first CHSL lacrosse championship in nine years.
