Chagrin Falls girls are runner-up in lacrosse

The Chagrin Falls girls lacrosse team took second for the fourth consecutive season. On June 2, they dropped the state title game to Cincinnati Mariemont.

Don’t tell the Chagrin Falls girls lacrosse team that every cloud has a silver lining.

The Tigers have seen enough silver to last them a lifetime.

Led by Courtney Robinson’s six goals and two assists, Cincinnati Mariemont defeated Chagrin Falls, 1310, in the Division II state championship game on June 2 at Selby Stadium on the campus of Ohio Wesleyan University.

It’s the fourth year in a row Chagrin has come home with a silver trophy as state runner-up — the last two coming in OHSAA sanctioned events.

“It’s disappointing, there’s no doubt about it,” first-year Chagrin coach Chris Gellin said. “The luster of getting here ... we wanted to come in and win. There was no two ways about it. That was our goal from the start. It’s very disappointing because the girls put in a ton of effort.”

Chagrin Falls finished the season with a 14-8 record. They lost last year’s state championship game to Cincinnati Indian Hill, 13-12.

“It’s a tough way to lose, obviously,” said junior Kelly Wynveen. “Every year we’ve gotten here. There’s always next year, but we’re losing seniors.”

When Wynveen and Catie Beg scored unassisted goals less than two minutes into the game, Chagrin had a 2-0 lead. But once the Warriors (17-4) evened the score on the second of Robinson’s six goals, the Tigers never led again.

The game was tied 2-2, 3-3, 6-6 and 8-8, but Chagrin could never get over the hump to get the lead — and the momentum — back again.

“When you lose the momentum, it’s hard to get back,” Wynveen said. “That could have helped us. Ultimately, we couldn’t get it back on our side.”

A big momentum shift happened in the last second of the first half, when Robinson rifled in the last of her six goals right at the firsthalf horn. Officials conferred and concluded that the goal was registered before the end of the half.

“Unfortunately, I don’t think that was a goal,” Gellin said. “That hurt.”

After being torched by Robinson for six first-half goals — which broke a record set last year by Indian Hill’s Ellie Rabenold, Chagrin adjusted for the second half, switching from a zone to man-to-man defense.

The change cut off Robinson’s scoring, but Mariemont’s Mara Campbell and Sophie Toman picked up the slack by scoring twice apiece in the second half.

Toman scored the final two goals of the game after Beg’s goal had made it a manageable 11-10 Mariemont lead.

“When they switched from zone to man, that kind of opened up different parts of our offense,” Robinson said. “We took advantage of those opportunities. It was great.”

Within moments of the game’s final buzzer, Mariemont broke out state championship T-shirts, suggesting the Warriors were confident in their chances of defeating Chagrin Falls.

“We really didn’t know,” Robinson said. “Our fans had confidence, and so did our families and coaches. It was just that dog mentality to keep working hard. We knew what our goal was.”

Wynveen led Chagrin with three goals and an assist. Mia Razavi and Beg each scored twice.

“I’m so proud to be part of this team,” Wynveen said, “and am grateful to have the opportunity to come here. That’s all you can really ask for. Unfortunately, we couldn’t finish it.”

Gellin lamented his team’s missed opportunities. “We played catch with the goalie a little bit,” he said.

He added adjustments can and will be made in the offseason as the program aims to get back to Selby Stadium for that elusive gold trophy.

“Hopefully this drives them to do more in the offseason,” he said, “to put a stick in their hand more than before the season starts.”