Lacrosse News - 2009 Lacrosse News - 2009
News | Roster | Schedules--Results | Archives
6/7/2009- Lacrosse
St. Mary's loses an OT heartbreaker in Division 2 lacrosse final
By SEAN SHAPIRO
Special to The Oakland Press
TROY — Orchard Lake St. Mary’s lacrosse team never trailed in regulation, but a second-half comeback and an overtime game-winner gave East Grand Rapids a 13-12 victory in the Division 2 boys lacrosse state final at Troy Athens High School Saturday.
It was the third consecutive title for East Grand Rapids.
Josh Drummond scored with 1:36 remaining in the first overtime session after beating his defender one-on-one from the right wing. He fired a shot from the top of the crease that beat Eaglet goalie Cameron Schulze.
“We noticed earlier how we take it on the wing and that was a little weakness on their defense,” Drummond said. “Our whole offense spread out and it was me and that one guy at the end. Then we just took it to the hole.”
For St. Mary’s, it was a bittersweet ending after turning around a program that used to struggle.
Just two years ago, the Eaglets had won a combined five games in two seasons. All that changed when head coach Greg Normand took over during the 2008 season and helped lead St. Mary’s to a respectable 10-9 finish. Just one year later, St. Mary’s advanced to the state title game.
“I’ve got a runner-up trophy, now that’s a pretty good thing from two years ago when we were 5-26,” Normand said. “This is a program were I lose three guys, I get back two kids who are over 100 points, so we’re fine [for next season].”
It was an even more frustrating loss for the Eaglets considering they led, 7-1, late in the second quarter.
St. Mary’s had its chances in overtime to make amends for the allowing the Pioneers to come back. With a man-advantage, the Eaglets had a point-blank shot that was turned away by Grand Rapids goalie Cullen Haskins. Just 32 seconds later, Drummond scored the game-winner.
“Cullen came up big, he’s clearly one of our most improved players,” Pioneers coach Adam Vincent said. “He just really played big today, that’s good for him especially as a senior goaltender.”
During regulation, the Eaglets took an early lead in first quarter, as Scott Koenigsknecht scored on a pass from Drew Shupback. St. Mary’s would keep the ball in the Pioneers’ zone for most of the first quarter, as the Eaglets entered the second quarter leading, 3-1.
In the second quarter, St. Mary’s junior Ian Brambs took control of the contest, assisting on or scoring on four straight goals, including an individual effort where he spun around two Pioneer defenders to complete the hat trick.
With the exception of a 12-second span when Grand Rapids scored two straight goals, St. Mary’s controlled play for most of the opening half and entered the third quarter with a four-goal lead, 9-5.
The Pioneers began their comeback early in the third quarter, as they outscored St. Mary’s, 2-1, to pull within three before the start of the fourth quarter.
In fact, St. Mary’s was fortunate to get out of the third only conceding two goals, as East Grand Rapids controlled most of the play, hitting one post and the referees ruled a by goal Jake Coretti at the horn didn’t cross the line before time expired.
Grand Rapids continued to control the pace in the fourth quarter, as they scored three goals in the first five minutes, pulling within one of the Eaglets. At this time, Normand decided to switch from his starting goalie Adam Hatcher to Schulze.
The change in goal didn’t give the momentum shift St. Mary’s was looking for, as four minutes later Coretti tied the game 12-12.
Down a man for the final 36 seconds of regulation, St. Mary’s almost saw its championship hopes come to an end in regulation, as an East player had the chance to win the game with a second left, but he dropped the pass in front of an open net.
St. Mary’s finished its season with an 18-5 record.
Copyright 2009, St. Mary's Preparatory, Orchard Lake, Michigan. All rights reserved.
No logos, photographs, or graphics on the site may be reproduced without written permission.