GIRLS LACROSSE REGIONALS: Sacred Heart thumps Rochester to reach regional finals
LOOKING FOR ROOM TO MOVE: Rochester's Emily Janek (right) tries to get past Bloomfield Hills Sacred Heart's Kaitlin Brown during Wednesday's Division 1 regional semifinal. Staff Photo | Dan Stickradt
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
TROY— Bloomfield Hills Sacred Heart may be the smallest school in the Division 2 girls lacrosse state tournament. But the Gazelles are more like a Lion in the African prairie than a tiny animal hiding in the shadows — they are quite a feared opponent.
Traditionally one of the most successful teams in state history, Sacred Heart advanced to the regional finals for the seventh straight year since the MHSAA adopted the sport, doubling up Rochester, 18-9, Wednesday in a regional semifinal at Troy Athens.
Eight different players tallied for Sacred Heart (14-8-2), led by five goals each from Lindsey Crowl and Kati Mezwa. Kaitlin Brown also contributed the hat trick for Sacred Heart, which will face Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood for the regional championship at 11 a.m. Saturday at Athens.
“You have to remember that the (largest) school in the OAA has (over 2,000 students) and we have 120 girls in our school,” reminded Sacred Heart coach Debbe Pavle, whose program goes back to the 1970s. “When you say OAA (schools), they have 400-800 girls to pull from and we are the smallest school in the tournament.”
The Gazelles are small in size, but massive in talent. Having a pair of all-state players, plus plenty of balance and depth, makes the Gazelles a hard team to stop on the run.
THE CHASE: Bloomfield Hills Sacred Heart's Marissa Palmeri is being followed by Rochester's Rachel Lohmeier during Wednesday's clash. Staff Photo | Dan Stickradt
“They are special. They are nice stick handlers,” praised Sacred Heart coach Debbe Pavle of Crowl and Mezwa. “But in most games we will run between five and nine girls (in the attack). It’s not just (Crowl and Mezwa). I do like our balance up top.”
Cranbrook has knocked the Gazelles out in the regional finals each of the past two years, although Scared Heart defeated Cranbrook 8-7 back in April. The rematch has long been anticipated as the two are usually found in the same region.
“We’re taking it each step as it comes,” said Sacred Heart coach Deb Pavle, not to get caught looking ahead. “We’ve lost to Cranbrook the last two years in the regional finals and we hope to break that. We beat them earlier in the season when they were coming off spring break. But that was just by a goal in lousy weather.”
Sacred Heart led 7-4 at the half and continued to pile it on during the final 25 minutes to oust the Falcons for the second straight year in the regional semifinals.
Rochester finished with a 9-6 record, its second straight winning campaign, which is the first time that has happened in the program’s nine-year history.
Rochester was paced by Maggie Ng, who collected six goals on the night to finish with a single-season program record 72 goals and 116 career goals, also a program record. The previous best was 47.
Jordin Pardoski added two goals and Kylie Gray scored the other for Rochester.
“She finished with 72, which is by far the record,” smiled Rochester coach Dave Hamel, who has watched his team slowly mature in recent years. “She had eight assists in there, so she wasn’t always going to goal. She’s a delight (to coach) and a great kid.”
Hamel conceded that his team was at a major disadvantage facing a premier program such as Sacred Heart.
“They have such an advanced middle school program. They are such a beautiful thing to watch as long as you are not coaching,” he offered. “They just move the ball so well. Those are kids that have been playing (at a high level) for four, five six years. It shows.
“I was really proud of my kids for the effort they showed,” continued Hamel. “It’s not easy to keep your head up and stay focused and do the things that we’re supposed to control when the game’s going against you. I thought for the most part. We had a solid season and we scored a lot of goals against a great team.”
Elle Delgrosso, Shannon Wood, Anna Pearson, Lauren Earls and Caroline Carl added single goals for Sacred Heart.
Averaging in double figures is a credit to the Gazelles’ deep pool of players on the attack.
“It is play-calling. They do have (some room) for creativity to work their magic down there,” added Pavle.
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Category: High School, High School (M-Z), Prep Wraps, Rochester
