Cranes Win Close When it Counts

June 8, 2013

By Dean Holzwarth
Special to Second Half

EAST GRAND RAPIDS – Before Saturday afternoon’s MHSAA Division 2 Final, the Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood boys lacrosse team had lost five games by one goal.

The Cranes reversed that trend in the most important game of the season, and celebrated the program’s first title since 2006 with a 10-9 win over defending champion Forest Hills Central at East Grand Rapids’ Memorial Field.

Cranbrook-Kingswood junior Matthew Giampetroni scored the game winner with 20.2 seconds left in regulation to snap a 9-9 tie.

“We’ve played a lot of one-goal games this year, so we were used to playing in these games,” Giampetroni said. “I think we learned a lot from those tough losses we had earlier in the year. We were confident.”

The Cranes suffered heartbreaking defeats against Detroit U-D Jesuit, Detroit Country Day, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, Detroit Catholic Central and Clarkston.

“Losing all those one-goal games, we learned a lot, especially the overtime ones,” Cranbrook-Kingswood coach Mat Wilson said. “If it had stayed tied and went to overtime, I think from those experiences, we would’ve been in good shape.”

The Cranes got a bit of redemption against Forest Hills Central after being routed 15-5 in the final regular-season game.

The rematch played out much differently.

“We were tired that game, they took it to us early and we struggled a little bit on that day,” Giampetroni said. “That was on our minds, and we wanted to prove we could play with them. They are a strong team, and I think the best team we’ve played, but we played well today and got the win.”

Giampetroni’s goal, which trickled past goalie Kyrn Stoddard, stemmed a late Rangers’ charge.

Forest Hills Central rallied from a 9-6 deficit with fewer than seven minutes remaining in the fourth period.

A goal by Forest Hills Central’s Neil Cunnigham tied it at 9-9.   

“We got it close and had some momentum, but it was squashed with that goal with 20 seconds left,” Rangers coach Tony Quinn said. “Our goalie made a nice play on it, but the momentum of the shot carried it over.”

Said Giampetroni: “I saw it go over the goal line, and I was hoping they saw what I was seeing. I was excited, but I needed to contain it because we still had 20 seconds left and we needed to finish it.”

Wilson said the parity of the division was evident in the Finals.

“We could’ve easily shown up today and they could’ve beaten us 15-5 again; they are that good,” he said. “But that’s what is cool about this year. Everybody had a chance at this thing going into it.”

Forest Hills Central (17-4) was aiming to defend its MHSAA championship from last season, when it beat Detroit Country Day 7-6 for the program’s third title.

Instead, the Rangers were handed their second loss in a Final. They finished runner-up to East Grand Rapids in 2008.

“It’s our goal every year (to win an MHSAA championship), and we tied it up with a minute to go and we had the ball,” Quinn said. “We felt like it was going to be our day, and it wasn’t. It’s hard, and it’s going to take us a while to get over it.

“Credit to Cranbrook, they played great today, and hopefully this will give us some incentive to get after it again next year.”

FHC fell behind 3-0 in the first period, but scored three straight goals in a span of two minutes to pull ahead 5-4.

Cranbrook-Kingswood answered with its own run to end the half, and the Rangers trailed 7-5.

The Rangers had an opportunity to send the game to overtime in the waning seconds, but misfired on a high shot as the clock ticked away.

“They are an explosive offensive team, and even with 10 seconds we knew we had to lock down defensively and focus,” Wilson said.

Two of Forest Hills Central’s three losses were against teams from Indiana. Its lone in-state loss before Saturday was to East Grand Rapids.

Click for full results.

PHOTO: Cranbrook-Kingswood's Jason Miller (11) circles the goal while the Rangers give chase Saturday.

Preview: New Champions Guaranteed as U-M Welcomes Boys Lacrosse Finals

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

June 7, 2024

Both MHSAA Boys Lacrosse Finals on Saturday will crown new champions – and one contender is seeking to clinch a title for the first time in its program’s history.

Those opportunities were created when Hartland defeated reigning Division 1 champion Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice to advance, and Ada Forest Hills Eastern ended a repeat attempt in Division 2 by Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central. A championship Saturday also would be the first in FHE history – but the Hawks must take on 2023 runner-up Detroit Country Day, which won their regular-season meeting 11 weeks ago. Hartland faces reigning Division 1 runner-up Detroit Catholic Central, the first time these two will meet for a Finals title.

Both games will be played at University of Michigan Lacrosse Stadium for the first time, and below is a glance at all four contenders. Rankings as part of “best wins” are based on the Michigan Power Rating formula. Tickets cost $11 and are good for both games, and may be purchased online only at GoFan.

Both games will be broadcast and available with subscription from MHSAA.tv.

Division 1

DETROIT CATHOLIC CENTRAL
Record/MPR: 20-3, No. 2
League finish: First in Catholic High School League Central
Coach: Dave Wilson, 19th season (269-99)
Championship history: Division 1 champion 2018, nine runner-up finishes.

Best wins: 16-5 over No. 1 Rockford in Semifinal, 19-4 over No. 8 Brighton in Quarterfinal, 15-2 over No. 5 Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice, 13-3 over No. 7 Birmingham Seaholm, 10-8 over Division 2 No. 1 Detroit Country Day, 17-8 over Division 2 No. 2 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central.
Players to watch:
 Joe Curtin, sr. D; Charles Graves, sr. G; Lachlan Moffatt, jr. A. (Statistics not submitted.)
Outlook: DCC returned to the championship game last year for the first time since 2019 and has dominated this spring, suffering its only in-state loss to Brother Rice 16-10 on April 9 but avenging it in the CHSL Central championship game a month later. The other two losses were by a goal apiece to Ohio powers Cincinnati St. Xavier and Dublin Jerome (the latter in overtime). Those three defeats were three of only four games during which the Shamrocks gave up more than eight goals; they’ve given up two or fewer in nine wins. Moffatt, Curtin and Graves all made the all-state second team last season.

HARTLAND
Record/MPR: 19-3, No. 4
League finish: First in Kensington Lakes Activities Association West
Coach: Nick Levanti, fifth season (80-12)
Championship history: Division 1 champion 2022, runner-up 2021.
Best wins: 11-10 over No. 5 Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice in Semifinal, 17-2 (Quarterfinal) and 14-13 (2OT) over No. 3 Lake Orion, 17-6 over No. 8 Brighton, 12-9 over Division 2 No. 4 East Grand Rapids, 11-7 over Division 2 No. 2 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central.
Players to watch:
 Dylan Ayotte, sr. A (44 goals, 16 assists); Jacob Ross, sr. A (67 goals, 23 assists); Drew Lockwood, sr. M (64 goals, 59 assists); Jake Lewis, sr. A (69 goals, 40 assists).
Outlook: After breaking through the DCC/Brother Rice hold on the Division 1 Final in 2021, Hartland will now make its third championship game appearance over the last four seasons and after avenging a mid-April loss to Brother Rice to get here. The other defeats came to Rockford by a goal in double overtime and also to St. Xavier, and the Eagles otherwise have mostly dominated as well with 10 wins giving up three or fewer goals including their first four of the postseason. Lockwood made the all-state first team in 2023, and Ayotte and Ross both made the second team.

Division 2

ADA FOREST HILLS EASTERN
Record/MPR: 16-4, No. 3
League finish: Third in Ottawa-Kent Conference Tier 1
Coach: Tony Boggiano, second season (30-9)
Championship history: Division 1 runner-up 2021 and 2019, Division 1 runner-up 2013 and 2011 as part of cooperative with Forest Hills Northern.
Best wins: 11-10 over No. 2 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central in Semifinal, 13-8 over No. 4 East Grand Rapids, 17-9 over No. 5 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern, 16-9 over No. 7 Byron Center, 17-5 over No. 10 Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, 14-1 over Division 1 No. 7 Birmingham Seaholm.
Players to watch:
 Preston Hoexum, sr. A (72 goals, 34 assists); Will Morgan, sr. A (60 goals, 32 assists); Jackson Arnold, jr. M (28 goals, 25 assists); Mark Fuehrer, sr. A (53 goals, 19 assists).
Outlook: Forest Hills Eastern avenged a 15-11 loss to Forest Hills Central from April 29 to advance to this weekend, and its only other losses were to Division 1 Rockford and Grand Ledge and 16-7 on March 23 to Country Day. Hoexum and senior Noah Benedict (24 goals, 21 assists) made the all-state first team last season, and Morgan earned an honorable mention. Senior Camden Klaes has been strong in goal giving up 7.9 goals per game and saving 54 percent of shots he’s faced. Boggiano played at Forest Hills Eastern as part of the school’s first cooperative seasons from 2004-07, and he also previously served as Country Day’s offensive coordinator from 2015-19.

DETROIT COUNTRY DAY
Record/MPR: 18-2, No. 1
League finish: Does not play in a league.
Coach: Chris Garland, sixth season (79-22)
Championship history: Three MHSAA titles (most recent 2014), three runner-up finishes
.
Best wins: 15-7 (Semifinal) and 12-9 over No. 4 East Grand Rapids, 18-4 over No. 9 Pontiac Notre Dame Prep in Quarterfinal, 13-9 over No. 7 Byron Center, 14-6 over No. 2 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central, 14-7 over No. 5 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern, 16-7 over No. 3 Ada Forest Hills Eastern, 9-8 over Division 1 No. 7 Birmingham Seaholm, 13-8 over Division 1 No. 6 Grand Ledge.
Players to watch:
 Caden Daley, sr. A (50 goals, 16 assists); Will Thompson, sr. A (50 goals, 30 assists); Oliver Aaron, sr. A (22 goals, 18 assists); Kellen Curby, jr. G (5.47 goals-against average, .570 save %).
Outlook: Country Day has finished runner-up the last two seasons, and the majority of last year’s top contributors are back for another title attempt after the 2023 lineup included only one senior starter. Daley, senior defenders Shafeek Halabi and Trevor Corless, and senior long stick midfielder Andrew Gryzenia all made the all-state first team last season, while Aaron and Curby made the second team and Thompson made the third. Sophomore Keaton Yearego (50 goals, 15 assists) is another big-time scorer as well, and four more players not listed above have found the net at least 17 times this spring.

PHOTO Ada Forest Hills Eastern’s Will Morgan (2) maneuvers to get off a shot during his team’s Semifinal win over Forest Hills Central. (Photo by Michigan Sports Photo.)