Traverse City United makes history with playoff win over Mona Shores

Quinn Gerber’s nine-goal night powered Traverse City United past Muskegon Mona Shores, 16-10, on Thursday at home, and the win pushed a young girls lacrosse program into territory it had never reached before.

The regional opening victory was more than a round advanced on the bracket. It marked the first time Traverse City United had won two playoff games in the same season, a milestone for a program that was established in 2023 and has been trying to turn fast growth into postseason credibility. With the home crowd at Thirlby Field watching, United controlled enough of the game to keep Mona Shores at arm’s length and keep its season alive.

Traverse City United entered the postseason with a 12-7 record and had already shown it could build momentum late. The team beat Portage Northern 13-10 in a regional contest on May 14, then followed with a 16-7 regular-season win over Forest Hills Northern at Thirlby Field on May 8. Those results helped set up a run that has given the program a sharper profile across Grand Traverse County and beyond.

That rise has been especially meaningful because the girls lacrosse program is still so new. Traverse City Area Public Schools hired Rich Axtell as varsity coach in November 2023, and the original co-op brought together players from Traverse City Central High School, Traverse City West High School and Elk Rapids High School. Earlier coverage described it as the first official girls lacrosse program at the MHSAA level in northern Michigan, a development that gave local athletes a new path and created a clearer pipeline for youth players coming up behind them.

The playoff win over Mona Shores made that growth visible on a bigger stage. Gerber’s scoring burst gave Traverse City United the kind of offensive punch that can change a postseason bracket quickly, and the 16-10 final showed a team that did not merely survive its opener, but won with enough control to look ready for another step.

United will face Hudsonville in the regional semifinals on May 26 at Forest Hills Eastern, known as Hawk Stadium, in Ada, with a 7 p.m. start. For a program still defining itself, the next game carries the same message as the last one: Traverse City United is no longer just building for the future, it is forcing its way into the present.