FARMINGTON HILLS — Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett repeated as Catholic High School League Bishop Division field hockey champs, and Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart claimed the Cardinal Division for the first time since 2020 in contests played Saturday, Oct. 4, at The Hawk Community Center.
Both games got off to a fast start.
Two minutes and 29 seconds into the first game, Sacred Heart’s senior forward Maria Juzych intercepted a pass and raced unchallenged to fire the ball past Ann Arbor Greenhills’ goalie Ev Finn for a 1-0 lead.
The second game was only two minutes and 11 seconds spent when Liggett took a 1-0 advantage on forward Ally Orlick’s shot into Bloomfield Hills Marian’s net guarded by goalkeeper Sienna Wilcox.
The similarities ended there.
Neither Sacred Heart nor Greenhills posed serious scoring opportunities in the middle quarters. In the closing minutes of the fourth quarter, Sacred Heart’s goalie sophomore Ruby Barahona fended off at least four last-gasp corner penalty attacks by Greenhills to preserve the 1-0 victory.
“That first quarter score, that was the beginning,” coach Paige Comito said. “When we met in the huddle, our goal was to be the first to score. And we did that. We really put in some hard work over the last week. We made a point to make sure that we were running all of our practices on turf fields.”
Greenhills (11-2) had defeated Sacred Heart twice by similar 2-1 scores during the season. “It's hard to beat a team three times and that's what we kept us going,” Comito said.
Sacred Heart (7-5-2) also won CHSL titles in 2015 and 2006.
Marian’s senior midfielder Maddie Najor scored at 8:55 in the third quarter to tie Liggett at 1-1. Olivia Marcero responded four minutes into the fourth quarter to restore a 2-1 lead for Liggett — the eventual final score — and set the stage for a frantic finish.
Just under three minutes, Marian’s penalty shot was contested amidst much pushing and shoving in front of Liggett’s net. Officials whistled a time out.
Liggett coach Amanda Amine explained what was happening:
“The ball was stopped on the goal line and covered illegally by my team,” she said. “You can’t use a body part (hand, foot or leg) to stop the ball. But it would have been a sure goal. We were able to keep them out of the back of the net.”
Marian was awarded a penalty stroke from right in front of the goalie. “It's just her and the goalie. It's like a one on one,” Amine said.
Senior Julia Rogers’ shot was stopped by Liggett’s senior goaltender Madeline Hexter.
“Yes, it was exciting,” Amine said. “But we’re used to this. Last year we won this game against Marian in a shootout.”
Over the last four seasons, Liggett (8-3-3) has a 6-3-1 record against Marian.
“They had great energy,” Marian coach Karen Wick said about her team. “They worked really hard and well together and they gave it their all. That's what our students do. Go out and play your best field hockey and have fun.”
Marian (7-5-4) has won the CHSL field hockey crown 10 times, most recently in 2023.
Contact Don Horkey at [email protected].
