Source: Hometown Life

Author: Dan O'Meara

When a team has momentum on its side, it becomes something of an unstoppable force.

That was Farmington Hills Mercy during a late stretch of the Division 2 regional championship game in girls lacrosse Friday evening at Farmington High School.

The Marlins turned a close game into a rout with a flurry of goals and finished with a decisive, 14-8 victory over Walled Lake Northern.

“We’ve talked a lot about momentum,” Mercy senior Lilly Blake said. “That’s something we’ve been focusing on in the regional. Whoever comes out with that momentum is going to pull it off – and it showed.

“It started off the draw. That’s where we picked it up on a lot of those goals. That’s the key.”

The Marlins were clinging to a 7-6 lead after Grace Hunt pulled the Knights within one in what had been a defensive game for the most part.

But it took a decisive turn in Mercy’s favor with just over 10 minutes remaining, however.

The Marlins scored two quick goals that triggered a 6-0 run over the next five minutes and clinched their second straight regional title.

“I’m really excited that we pulled it off again,” Blake said. “We’re really happy to be doing well, and we’ve come together more as a team. We’ve had a really fun year. The team bonded a lot, and we work well together.”

Following a Northern turnover, the Marlins got the ball up field to Natalie Masopust, who was fouled and scored off the restart at 9:43 for an 8-6 lead.

Blake won the ensuing draw and quickly passed ahead to Evie Drukker, who got behind the defense and gave Mercy a three-goal advantage just nine seconds later.

“Evie has been awesome,” Blake said. “Off every draw, she’s always there. We knew we had it (at that point). We just had to keep it going and keep the pressure up.”

The Marlins did exactly that, too. Grace Canty, Hannah Roegner, Libby Bartels and Drukker combined to score four more goals in a span of 1:42, extending the lead to 13-6 with 4:27 on the clock.

“That was our second-half momentum,” Mercy coach Lindsay Hoyt said of the six-goal surge. “We talked about how we need to start strong. We get there and play a decent game, and it just seems to be the second half when the momentum and the consistency kick in – and the goals start coming.

“We did a lot of passing around the goal and set it up nicely. When we had an opportunity to do a fast break, our girls’ speed and accuracy really paid off in the second half.”

The Knights (8-12) got two late goals from Morgan Avery before Erin Gormley threw in a final score for the Marlins (10-6).

Blake and Drukker scored three goals each to lead Mercy. Canty netted two; Caitlin Somerville, Chandler Pincheck, Masopust, Roegner, Bartels and Gormley had one apiece.

“And our defense held strong the whole game, working together and communicating,” Hoyt said. “They did an excellent job back there.”

Emily Galli and Avery scored three goals apiece for the Knights; Hunt had the other two.

Like the semifinal Wednesday, the Marlins fell behind 2-0 early and then scored the next five goals. The Knights made it 5-4 at halftime.

Just as it did against Gabriel Richard, Mercy got a quick goal to start the second half. Canty scored her first just 11 seconds into it.

“Grace is only a sophomore and has proved herself to be a starter throughout the year,” Hoyt said. “Her hustle and determination has been a great thing for this team.

“Until there’s about a five-point difference, there’s always a concern. It can turn around at any moment, so our goal was to finish throughout the game.”

Northern has played girls lacrosse for just two seasons. It lost to Mercy in a regional semi last year and beat Livonia Ladywood to get to this year’s final.

“They’re so much more seasoned than we are,” Knights coach Mike Starugh said of the Marlins. “We grow a little bit each year. Hopefully, next year we can take the next big step.

“My hat is off to them. They played a heckuva game. In the end, they were a little better than us, and I wish them luck at the next level.”

The Marlins will play Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood again at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in a state semifinal game at Troy Athens.

“The girls have worked hard and they have good chemistry together,” Hoyt said. “They get along well; they work as a team.

“Even though we have some standouts who score a lot of goals, it’s really a team effort every single game.”

Starugh also complimented Blake on her play, adding her speed and stength makes a difference on the field.

“I didn’t have anybody to match up with her,” he said. “We did farely well, but our wings on the circle weren’t as aggressive as theirs. They were better at ground balls than we were.

“That’s what it came down to – the 50-50 balls. They won 75 percent of them, and that’s how they took advantage of us. They got almost every one of them.”