Brother Rice continues D1 dynasty
June 9, 2012
BIRMINGHAM – Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice remains the only Division 1 boys lacrosse champion in MHSAA history. But not without having to withstand pesky Ann Arbor Pioneer in Saturday’s Final at Seaholm High.
The Pioneers hadn’t lost a game this season and jumped out to a 2-1 lead. But after breaking the game open in the second quarter, Brother Rice hung on for a 14-8 victory to continue a title streak that has included every MHSAA championship since it became an association sport in 2005.
Senior Riley Kennedy had five goals – including four straight during the 10-2 second-quarter run – plus two assists for the Warriors. Senior Henry Nelson added three goals and three assists.
“The most important thing is we’ve got to play our game,” Brother Rice coach Robert Ambrose said. “We weren’t doing that. We weren’t executing like we should, playing a little selfish or (not) moving the ball. So we just said, ‘Hey guys, we’ve got to regroup. We’ve gotta go after it. We’ve got to get into our zone, and play our game.’”
Pioneer (21-1) held its early lead until Nelson’s first go
al tied the score 2-2 just more than a minute into the second quarter.
But despite outscoring the Warriors (20-2) by two goals during the second half, Pioneer could never make up for the early barrage.
Senior Eric Loveless led Pioneer with three goals and an assist in the team’s first championship game appearance.
“The second quarter, we just got shell-shocked. We went from being up 2-1, and then all of a sudden it’s 11-3. … We just sorta got overwhelmed from where we were,” Pioneer coach James Corey said. “And we battled. For three quarters we hung with this team, and I think we have a lot of talent, a lot of heart.
"But they’re the best team for a reason, and they showed it in the second quarter.”
Click for the complete scoring summary.
PHOTOS: (Top) Brother Rice senior Henry Nelson (shooting) fires one of his three goals into Pioneer's net Saturday. (Middle) Warriors senior Liam Timmis (41) leads a run during the Division 1 boys championship game. Photos by John Johnson/MHSAA.
Moment: 1st Lead Only Lead EGR Needs
May 18, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
East Grand Rapids never led during regulation of the 2009 Division 2 Boys Lacrosse Final, trailing Orchard Lake St. Mary’s at most by six goals during the second period.
But with the end of overtime staring the Pioneers down, Josh Drummond gave his team the only advantage that mattered.
Drummond scored an unassisted goal with 1:36 to play in the extra period, giving EGR its first and only lead and a 13-12 win that clinched the program’s third-straight Division 2 championship.
Drummond also had scored twice during the fourth period as East Grand Rapids mounted its comeback and outscored St. Mary’s 5-2 to deadlock the score and send the game to overtime.
Drummond went on to play at Grand Canyon University. Jake Coretti, who netted the tying goal with 3:43 to go in regulation, was a sophomore that season and went on to play at Rutgers.
Watch Drummond’s game winner below from the MHSAA Network.