Sunday morning started early for some of the girls from the Hartland High School Lacrosse team.  They competed in a 5 on 5 tournament this past weekend.  One of the many travel lacrosse teams hosted a lacrosse tournament at The Summit Sports Complex on December 30^th.  The tournament had teams from all over the state.  They featured teams from Lansing, Grand Rapids, and the metro-Detroit area came to compete during the holiday season.

After the players warmed up, they had to play a team from Okemos.  The games are 12 minutes long, the field is short, and the action is frantic.  The pace is off the charts and it requires players to keep their heads up and move the ball quickly around the field.  Unfortunately the girls from Hartland looked sleepy and lost 8-7.  It wasn’t the way they wanted to start the tournament.

The girls re-grouped a bit and took on a travel team from Toledo, OH.  The team from Toledo had some talented players and the girls from Hartland struggled a bit, but made progress against a talented group of players.  Hartland fell short again, 8-7.  The girls were disappointed, but they vowed to correct their mistakes and compete at a higher level.

Their next game was against Holt and it was apparent from the outset of that game that this was a different team.  They scored within 10 seconds and never took their foot off the pedal.  They ended up winning 12-0 and Tabitha Ferguson, who will be playing at Sienna Heights College next season, was stellar in goal.

After the big win, the girls took on the Team Lax travel team A.  The travel team split their squad for the tournament.  The game was never a contest and the girls from Hartland steadily pulled away.  They used good ball movement, great defense, and solid fundamentals to win 12-6.  With the two wins and the two losses, the kids had to wait to see where they would be seeded for the playoffs.

After the calculations were made, Hartland ended up with as the 6^th seed.  Not great, but they knew that they would be seeing some of the better competition, and early.  They had to play the other half of the Team Lax squad in their first playoff game.  The game was tight throughout the contest.  Ryan Skomial, who will be playing at Grand Valley State next season, fought through defenders to seal the victory with a goal and 12 seconds left on the clock.  The final score was 9-8 and the waiting continued.

Hartland drew Okemos again.  Hartland had lost to them in their first game, but riding the winning wave, Hartland beat Okemos handily with an 11-6 win.  Natalie Sochaki scored plenty and Dani Porath provided a healthy dose of defense that caused multiple turn overs.  Kasey Wesley scored on some turnovers and used her speed to cause chaos in transition for Okemos.  The girls from Hartland punched their ticket to the championship game.

Hartland had to tackle the lacrosse power house from Rockford.  Their program is well developed and they have many talented kids.  The game was tight most of the way, but defense by Madison Light provided some opportunities for some other players.  Brooke Eicher and Cassie Pankowski stepped up and helped put some goals on the board to distance the squad from Rockford.   Their ability to spread out the scoring was critical to winning the big game.

The women’s lacrosse team will start the upcoming season with a new coach.  They will also be looking to get back to the State championship game.  They bring back a talented core and some good underclassman look to contribute as well.  It will be exciting and if this tournament is any indication of what is to come, get ready for a wild ride!