GIRLS LACROSSE: Hartland downs Lake Orion for fourth straight regional title
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
Dan.Stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
LAKE ORION — It wasn’t that long ago that both Hartland and Lake Orion were in the infant stages with their girls lacrosse programs.
In fact a decade ago neither school had reached varsity status.
Times have changed — and rather quickly.
Fifth-ranked Hartland captured its fourth straight Division 1 regional title Friday night in the midst of its ninth season overall, topping host Lake Orion 17-8.
Junior Hana Barnett led the way with three goals and three assists, as the Eagles (14-5-0) picked up seven different goal scorers. Senior Amy Longe added the hat trick with two assists, as did junior Jordan Parry.
Seniors Annelise Kulpanowski and Danielle Porath also got into the scoring act with three tallies apiece, while junior Casandra Pankowski and sophomore Shelby Oliverio scored a goal each for Hartland, which advanced to the state semifinals next Wednesday at Brighton High School against defending D-1 state champion Rockford — the top-ranked squad in the state.
Rockford (18-3-0) has not lost to a D-1 school this season.
“Rockford is always good. They are the defending champions,” noted Hartland third-year coach Deanna Radcliff.
Hartland built a 4-1 lead before the game was five minutes old. The Eagles put together a 12-2 halftime cushion and at one time led 17-2 before Lake Orion squeezed out some late goals.
“We never won a regional before a couple of years ago. Now we have won four in a row,” said Radcliff. “I’ve only been here for three years. I have seen tremendous growth from our team in the short time I’ve been here. We have a lot of very good athletes and (the sub-varsity) programs are starting to build interest and we have some good talent coming up. The interest in lacrosse is building.”
For Lake Orion, the Dragons were making their first appearance in the Elite Eight, a far cry from when the school first added girls lacrosse in 2008. Lake Orion has now won two straight OAA White Division titles and is now a respectable program on the rise.
Junior Darcy Muns notched the hayrick to pace Lake Orion, which tabulated a school-best 12-5-0 record this season. Freshman Alexandria Lazzara added two goals, while juniors Alyssa Villarreal, Claire Wojno and Rachel Klebba has single tallies for the Dragons.
Lake Orion finished 8-5-1 in 2014 and 3-10-2 in 2013, evidently proving how far the Dragons have come. The program had never advanced beyond the Round of 32 in previous years.
“I played on the very first team (in 2008) and I can say that we have truly come a long ways in a short time,” said Lake Orion co-coach Chelsea Booth, a 2010 graduate who also played for Oakland University. “This is by the furthest we have ever gone in the tournament. I am so proud of this team. We didn’t come in expecting to win. Hartland is a very talented team that has been here before. But we didn’t quit. That’s what I like about this team. We play hard the whole time.”
Category: Featured Articles, High School, High School (M-Z), Lacrosse, Lake Orion, Prep Wraps, Sport
