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5/23/2010- Lacrosse
Eaglets defeat Cranes in regular season finale
By ROSS MAGHIELSE
Special to The Oakland Press
ORCHARD LAKE — An overall record of 9-8 at season's end is right around the pre-season prediction St. Mary's lacrosse coach Greg Normand had for his team. Saturday, the Eaglets defeated Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 12-8, to edge above the .500 mark on the final day of the regular season. Although the expectations for the regular season were met, the overall record is also irrelevant to the larger cause.
The Eaglets only concern now is to return to the Division 2 state championship game, where they lost to East Grand Rapids last season, and take home the title. The Eaglets hold one of the four No. 1 seeds in the Division 2 bracket.
“We figured at the beginning of the season, given the schedule that we played, we said we would be very close to .500 and now we're 9-8 going into the tournament,” Normand said. “We won seven out of our last nine games so that's something for us to feel good about.”
Like St. Mary's, the Cranes (10-6) are also focused on the state tournament and used this game as one final measuring stick before district play.
“We're going to go one game at a time, obviously, but it's not by default that our last three games of the season were against U-D (Jesuit), Forest Hills Central, and St. Mary's,” Cranbrook coach Justin Ronayne said. “We want to try and face the best competition that we can going into the tournament. It comes down to the fact that you've got to get hot for five games (in the tournament) or you don't accomplish your goals.”
In Saturday's game, both teams got off to a hot start offensively. One goal was almost immediately answered by another, and the Cranes and Eaglets were tied 3-3 after one quarter of play.
St. Mary's changed the tone of the game in the second quarter and took control on the defensive end. Cam Schulze, the Eaglets goalie, turned away an array of shots in the second period and kept the Cranes off the board until late in the third quarter. Brendan Austin and Drake Chwalibog each scored in the second period for St. Mary's, putting the Eaglets up 5-3 at halftime.
“Keeping them (Cranbrook) off the board was huge, because they're a very well coached team and we were playing pretty sloppy at times in this game, like we have all year, so we needed that from our defense,” Normand said. “Cam (Schulze) kept us in it. In the third quarter they had five shots in a row at point blank range that didn't go in. If they hit two of those it's a different game.”
Schulze faced a total of 18 shots on his net and made nine key saves in what was an otherwise even game.
“In a close game like this, it's kind of a playoff atmosphere so you know you have to give everything you've got,” Schulze said. “I was diving all over the place out there and just trying to keep the intensity up because you're never out of the play.”
His efforts on defense were complimented by the collective firepower of the St. Mary's offense. The Eaglets scored the first two goals of the third period, one from Austin and the other from Taylor Docking, to build a 7-3 advantage with 7:10 remaining in the third quarter. On the day, a total of seven players scored a goal for the Eaglets. Chwalibog and Ian Brambs both had hat tricks.
“To play with guys who can score like that helps a ton because when you get a defensive stand you know the offense is going to keep the ball for a while and possibly get a goal,” Schulze said. “Playing with those guys, you know all you need to do is get the ball to the other side of the field and then you can take a deep breath because you know they're going to do something with it.”
St. Mary's largest lead was 11-5 with just over 10 minutes remaining in the game, but the Cranes didn't go quietly. Cranbrook cut the deficit to 11-7, and then 12-8, before eventually bowing out. Andrew Stanton scored five goals provided two assists to lead the Cranes. Billy Stacy added two goals and Alec Schimpke accounted for the other Cranbrook score.
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