Clarkston explodes against Lake Orion to clinch OAA-White lacrosse title
SCOOPING IT UP: Clarkston’s Sage Beauregard looks to pick up the losse ball
as Lake Orion’s Jordan hill closes in during Monday’s OAA White Division showdown.
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
LAKE ORION — Clarkston may not be used to winning in girls lacrosse. In fact, it was not expected this season.
Nevertheless, it’s a trait that the Wolves may get accustomed to.
Despite graduating 19 players from last season, Clarkston captured its first league championship in its program’s brief, five-year history Monday, topping Lake Orion, 19-14, in the OAA White Division finale for both teams.
The Wolves averaged double figures in its five league wins, including 29 goals against Rochester Adams and 19 against Lake Orion. Clarkston’s closest league game was a 13-10 victory over Rochester.
“I guess I should know that we won the league,” smiled first-year Clarkston coach Stephanie Dellinger, somewhat surprised at the accomplishment. “We graduated 19 (players). That’s an awful lot to lose. Plus, I wasn’t the head coach last year. But we have been playing a lot better. Perhaps I should tell the girls.”
Clarkston, with only seven seniors and a roster that includes three sophomores and one freshman, moved to 9-2-0 overall and finished 5-0-0 in the league — the best start in program history — and was dominating in every aspect against rival Lake Orion.
The Wolves, ranked15th overall in the state power rankings, scored on four of their first six shots and six of their first nine shots and were in complete control. Clarkston led 7-0 before the host Dragons even attempted their second shot of the game, almost scoring at will.
OVER THE TOP: Clarkston's Brittney Jaynes looks to toss the ball over Lake Orion's Kaileen Tweedie during Monday's OAA White Division clash. Staff Photo | Dan Stickradt
Clarkston led 13-3 at the half.
Lauren Sharkey scored on her first two shots of the game, while Quinn Dabrowski and Stephanie Dellinger added tallies to give Clarkston its 4-0 lead when there was still 17:51 left in the first half.
Dellinger scored another goal and Danielle Dunn notched a pair of goals for the 7-0 lead with 12:24 left on the clock.
Lake Orion (9-4-0, 3-2-0) finally broke through on a goal by Carly Brooks, but the damage had already been done. Sharkey and Dellinger quickly responded with two more goals for Clarkston and the lead never dipped below eight goals the rest of the way.
“Clarkston is a very good team and a lot better than last year,” said Lake Orion coach Bill Booth, who team tied Clarkston for second in the league last season. “They came out on fire. They won the first 16 (draw controls). The whole game was those draw controls. We couldn’t stop them. When a team does that, it’s hard to stop them. That No.11 (Dellinger) is a very good player. She gets the ball, controls their offense. There was nothing we could do to stop them.”
Sharkey finished with seven goals and two assists. Dellinger added six goals, Julia Champion and Dunn had two goals each and Dabrowski scored once for the Wolves.
Paige Hammerl scored twice and Jessica Smude scored the other goal for Lake Orion.
Clarkston held a 29-10 shots advantage, including 23-7 with shots on frame. Kylie Cohu made four saves in the win for the Wolves.
Lake Orion finished in a three-way tie for second place in the six-school division with Rochester Stoney Creek and Rochester, last year’s division champ, with a 3-2-0 record. The Dragons needed a win to pull into a co-championship with Clarkston, a team it will face on May 26 in an MHSAA Division pre-regional.
“This is a good win. We have to come back next week and play them here in the tournament,” said Coach Dellinger. “The girls played well and 19-4 — that was a surprise. Especially with how many girls we lost, I didn’t think we’d win like this. I was coming prepared for a much closer game.”
ON THE PROWL: Clarkston's Stephanie Dellinger and the Wolves had thier way with Lake Orion's Rachel Cech and the Dragons in a 19-4 victory Monday. Staff Photo | Dan Stickradt
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Category: Clarkston, High School, High School (M-Z), Lake Orion, Prep Wraps
