BLOOMFIELD HILLS >> The Farmington Hills Mercy Marlins knocked off the host Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood Cranes 14-9 in an early season matchup Wednesday evening.

With the game tied 4-4 early in the second period, the Marlins took control, exploding for five straight goals. Led by Alison Smiley, Mercy dominated faceoffs in the period, which translated into a big edge in possession, and most importantly, translated into goals.

Smiley would score with 7:26 to play in the second period to give Mercy the lead for good at 5-4, touching off her team’s uninterrupted run. Olivia Lorelli, Ella Kizy (two straight) and Smiley again all found the back of the Cranes’ net by halftime, sending the Marlins in up 9-4.

“The second quarter, we won most of the draws, and we won most of the ground balls,” Marlins head coach Steven Schimpke said. “This sport is all about possession. That’s what we did in the second quarter, and the more we do that, the more we’re going to win games.”

Even so, Cranbrook still had plenty of fight left. With the score at 11-6 midway through the third period, the Cranes’ defense clamped down and held the Marlins without a goal for nearly 11 minutes. That allowed Cranbrook to claw back a few goals and get within a pair at 11-9 by early in the fourth quarter on goals by Trinity Dougherty, Iris Kozak, and Sloane Cannarsa.

“We have a really young team,” Cranes head coach Hilary Pitcoff said. “Four starting freshmen, actually, two starting freshmen defenders, you’ve just got to figure out those kinks, and especially the last five minutes, our defense really held tough and put pressure on them when we’re two men down (which) is incredible.”

But as Pitcoff alluded to, Cranbrook’s comeback was cut short by penalties. Cranbrook was a player down for almost the entire fourth period and two players down with eight minutes to go.

“First game, a little sloppy, and the penalties are what killed us, because being a man down for an entire quarter, and then two men down for the last eight minutes, that’s the killer, because we were coming back,” Petcoff said.

After the Cranes got things to 11-9, Mercy called a timeout and then immediately scored a pair of quick goals to push the lead back to four.

Smiley led all scorers with five goals. Lorelli added four goals, and Kizy finished with three to lead the Marlins’ attack.

“We had a few different people (score), mostly our senior leaders, which is great. We had a freshman put a couple in, so the more balanced we are, the better,” Schimpke said.

Cannarsa led Cranbrook (0-1) with three goals, while Dougherty scored twice for the Cranes.

With the win, Mercy, who opened the year two days prior with a win at Notre Dame Prep, improves to 2-0. The Marlins host Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard today.

Both teams were eliminated in last year’s playoffs by Detroit Country Day. It came in regionals for the Cranes, while Mercy lost to the Yellowjackets in the D2 semifinals. Country Day has been the stumbling block in the postseason for Cranbrook for three years in a row after the Cranes beat DCD for a regional championship en route to their last finals appearance in 2021.

Cranbrook’s quest for its first win will have to wait a least a week as the Cranes don’t resume action until they travel to Marian next Wednesday.

“We just need to clean it up. It was our first game, and we’re a little unhealthy. I had two captains not playing. So we’ll be better prepared for the next one,” Petcoff said.