And then there were 8. All that remains in the 2011 MHSAA lacrosse season is the semi-final and final runds for both Divisions 1 and 2. How did we get here?
Division 1
Brother Rice 18, Clarkston 5
Though Clarkston drew first blood, Rice came right back with 10 straight goals, and finished the game on cruise control:
“It was definitely good to see us respond,” Brother Rice senior K.C. Kennedy said. “We didn’t get down and play down just because we got down by one goal.”
#BrotherRiceProblems. The clock ran for the entire second half, and the game was never really in doubt. Junior Henry Nelson and Michigan-bound senior Will Meter led scoring with 7 and 4 goals, respectively.
From a “grow the game” standpoint, there was another positive aspect:
Clarkston had a large crowd on hand to support the team – including two bus loads of Clarkston area youth lacrosse teams on hand to help cheer the team on. “In 19 years of coaching, I’ve never seen something like that,” Clarkston coach Brian Kaminskas said of the crowd.
MLive also has a couple post-game videos with the victors:
And with Clarkston coach Brian Kaminskas.
Forest Hills Eastern 12, Holt 3
Charlie Farmer returned from a shoulder injury to score 5 goals for FHE/N:
“Boy, does it feel good to have him back,” said FHN/E coach Jake Heglund, whose team improved to 17-1. “This is a historic moment for our program; the furthest we’ve been. Every year, we’ve consistently improved and have gone further and further. They all earned it.
A lot of the quotes in the article relate to FHE/N’s upcoming game against Detroit Catholic Central, which is awkward because…
Novi 13, Detroit Catholic Central 12 (OT)
This was a semi-historic upset for the Wildcats, as their cross-town school probably can’t even be considered a “rival,” given the relative profiles of each team. Nick took in the game and provided a report:
the game started out punch for punch until CC managed to get a few turnovers and take a 7-4 lead going into half. Novi had a clear advantage on face-offs with future all-state Joe Mikkelson. The Novi offense was stagnant first half and didn’t take many shots on cage. CC’s offensive involved a lot of back cutting on crease which led to some wide open shots.Second half Novi came out on fire immediately cutting the lead. CC took control for a bit with a few quick strikes and led 11-7. The Novi players, despite an undisciplined style of play were able to score 4 straight to tie the game. Once they started hitting the net with shots, the tiny CC goalie couldn’t keep them out. Mike Birney (Detroit Commit) of CC took the ball off of the next face, ran down the right alley, faked a pass, stepped around a Novi defender and shot one low off-hip on the Sophomore Novi goalie. Novi managed to tie the game up with under two minutes left, and the teams both went into a shell until the clock hit 00:00.In overtime Novi’s Taylor Howell had the ball behind the cage, dodged to his right and took a wrap around shot that blew by the CC goalie.
Troy Athens 11, Ann Arbor Pioneer 3
Athens’ Dan Kreza double up the Pioneers on his own, scoring six goals. Joe Kemp and Kevin Lining each had a pair for the RedHawks.
Division 2
East Grand Rapids 16, Portage Central 4
Portage Central’s Aaron Kosbucki opened the scoring, but EGR’s Jacob Coretti got the last laugh as he scored 6 goals in the Pioneers’ lopsided win. Gunnar Elder added five goals and an assist.
“Today we had it,” Pioneers coach Adam Vincent said. “Defensively, I thought we played really well, thought that Brendan Mulder, our goalie, had a heck of a game and overall defensively I thought we played one of our better games.
Something Something.
Detroit Country Day 4, Forest Hills Central 3
In a defensive battle, Bobby Weiner scored 2 goals to lead the Yellow Jackets to victory. DCD’s offense has gotten a bad rap (and deservedly so) this season, but it doesn’t matter how few you score as long as you hold the opponent to even fewer.
Notre Dame Prep 14, Cranbrook-Kingswood 3
Didn’t find any game reports.
Grosse Pointe South 7, Warren De La Salle 5
Didn’t find any game reports.
Brackets
That means your semifinals in D-1 and D-2 look like this (all games Wednesday):
Division 1
Brother Rice vs. Troy Athens at Detroit Catholic Central, 6 pm
Forest Hills Eastern vs. Novi at Holt, 6 pmDivision 2
Detroit Country Day vs. Notre Dame Prep at Grosse Pointe South, 6 pm
Grosse Pointe South vs. East Grand Rapids at Howell Parker Campus, 6 pm
The Finals take place Saturday at Birmingham Seaholm. The D1 final is at 2, followed by the D2 final at 4:30.
Best of luck to all remaining teams.