SOUTHFIELD — “We look at this game like our state championship,” coach Amanda Amine said amidst the jubilation of her Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett’s celebration last Saturday afternoon at Lawrence Tech University.
However, the trophy the team took home was for the Catholic High School League Cardinal Division girls lacrosse championship, the reward for holding off Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart, 12-11.
The Knights won the CHSL titles in 2017 and 2018, the same years they won the Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 2 championships. Whether history will repeat itself won’t be known until May 22 when Liggett — with a perfect 11-0 record — opens state playoffs against Bloomfield Hills Marian.
The game ended with a curious bit of second half strategy by Liggett. The first half ended in an 8-8 deadlock. Senior Aliya Abraham and junior Olivia Marcero each tallied a pair of goals while the defense smothered Sacred Heart’s offense to take a 12-8 lead into the final 12 minutes.
Amine ordered her offense to shoot “only if they have a clear path to the goal. I was willing to take a chance to bleed the clock out instead of playing goal for goal. I have a short bench and the girls were gassed. I told them to take their time to catch their breath.”
Sacred Heart (7-6) almost did the “catching-up,” behind three goals by senior Madeline Lichwalla to pull the rejuvenated Hearts to 12-11 with 4:18 to play.
“We knew that was going to be their tactic,” said coach Paige Comito. “We talked how to break the stall after having experienced it at the beginning of the season” on April 9, an 11-9 loss to Liggett.
Abraham had a total of five goals to lead Liggett’s offense. Olivia Marcero had four goals and Ally Orlick, Antonia Randazzo, Madeline Hexter and Fiona Sierena each had one.
Lichwalla totaled four goals for Sacred Heart, Elianor Brenner three, Eva Drolet two and Jada LaBelle and Allison Zemke one each.
Comito said Sacred Heart had dedicated the game to the team’s 10 seniors. “They had a different coach for all four years,” she explained. “They were pretty resilient.”
It was Sacred Heart’s eighth appearance in a CHSL final. They won in 2015.
Cranbrook wins Bishop title
Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood outlasted Marian, 13-9, for the CHSL Bishop Division girls lacrosse championship.
Cranbrook (6-7-1) turned around a 7-6 first half deficit with five unanswered goals in the third quarter for an 11-7 advantage they didn’t relinquish.
Junior Sloane Cannarsa, freshman Iris Kozak and senior Leta Lantigua scored four goals apiece to lead Cranbrook. Mira Norton chipped in one.
Marian (8-6-0), which has just five seniors on a 22-member roster, was led by junior Margaret Conroy with four goals, sophomore Meghan MacMichael had two, and one apiece by junior Grace Dery and sophomores Caroline Quaine and Caroline Carter.
Mercy still on a roll
Farmington Hills Mercy has concluded its CHSL schedule with a 9-1 record (the lone lose 5-1 to Dearborn Divine Child on April 1) and heads into the postseason and state playoffs with an overall 19-1 record.
The Marlins traveled last Saturday to Whitehouse, Ohio, a suburb of Toledo, for its latest conquest, 2-0, against the Anthony Wayne High School Generals (18-4 record, ranked No. 1 in Division 2).
Kaitlyn Pallozzi went the distance allowing one hit, two walks and 16 strikeouts.
Mercy scored in the first inning on Sophia Chaput’s leadoff single followed by Lauren Miller’s double. Charlie Lambert smacked a fourth-inning home run.
Mercy plays this weekend, Friday-Saturday, May 16-17, in the Michigan Challenge Tourney in Canton. They play Eaton Rapids at 7:45 p.m. Friday, Fenton at 9:45 a.m. Saturday, followed at 11:30 a.m. versus Flat Rock.
The CHSL championship games will be staged Monday, May 19, at the University of Detroit Mercy. State playoffs begin May 30-31.
CHSL finals winding up
Girls soccer for the Bishop, Cardinal and Ste. Anne Divisions will be held Saturday at 10 a.m., 12 noon and 2 p.m. at Shrine High School in Royal Oak.
Ste. Anne Division boys and girls track will be held at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 20, at Ann Arbor Greenhills.
Baseball champions in the three divisions will be staged at The Corner Ballpark, Michigan and Trumbull in downtown Detroit, on Thursday, May 22.
Check chsl.com for more information.
Contact Don Horkey at [email protected].
