East Grand Rapids Scores Repeat in OT
June 9, 2018
By Jason Schmitt
Special for Second Half
HOWELL – Defense is the specialty of East Grand Rapids boys lacrosse coach Rick DeBlasio.
But even the veteran coach had to be impressed with the offensive exploits of his high scoring tandem of seniors Eric Solberg and Chris Owens.
Solberg tied an MHSAA championship game record with six goals and Owens netted the game-winner as the Pioneers won their second straight Division 2 title with an 11-10, double-overtime victory over Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central on Saturday at Parker Middle School in Howell.
“When he gets his hands free and sweeps, and if you give him a half a step, it’s over,” said DeBlasio, talking of Owens, the team’s leading scorer this season. “For him to get the game-winning goal, it was really special. It’s something the whole team celebrates.”
The game-winner, which came with 2:04 left in the second overtime, may have caught the Rangers by surprise – and some of Owens’ teammates as well.
“We had decided to settle it down, maybe get on offense, but I saw an opening and I just took a shot,” said Owens, taking in the moment just minutes after being swarmed by his teammates on the north end of the field. “It’s crazy, all these people watching. It feels really good to finish it off.”
It seemed like neither team would be able to finish things off. East Grand Rapids looked like it was going to close out the game in regulation, only to see Forest Hills Central tie it up at 10-10 on a goal by junior Luke Majick with 33 seconds remaining.
“To get back to this game, after what happened last year, has really been a driving motivator for us this year,” Rangers coach Andy Shira said. “Obviously our guys didn’t want to lose (the game). Especially against East Grand Rapids, we’re not going to go down without a fight.”
That was evident throughout the game.
Forest Hills Central kicked off the scoring less than five minutes in, with senior Tobey Hendricks scoring off a pass from Majick. But East Grand Rapids would answer, with Solberg scoring a pair of goals to cap off a low-scoring first quarter.
Forest Hills Central and East Grand Rapids then went on a scoring binge, combining to tally seven goals in just less than four minutes, the last three scored by the Pioneers. Solberg had three of them, Owens had the other, giving their team a 6-4 lead at halftime.
Though the Pioneers continued to maintain a lead into the fourth quarter, Forest Hills Central would not go away. On three occasions, the Rangers tied the game up. Junior Tate Hallock scored two of those tying goals, with Majick scoring the other.
Solberg’s six goals tied a championship game record held by three Birmingham Brother Rice players (Morgan Macko, Jason Alessi and Devin Peurach). He’s a converted midfielder, something his coach said has worked in favor of the Pioneers.
“We were hoping his dodging would free him up, but we went through a period where offensively we weren’t getting the kind of production we wanted and I moved him to attack,” DeBlasio said. “Since I moved him to attack, he’s averaged four to six goals a game. He’s a pretty special kid.”
Junior Jack DelVecchio and senior Drew Poortenga also scored goals in the Pioneers’ victory.
Hallock finished with four for Forest Hills Central (18-2), while Majick and senior Patrick English each had two. Seniors Hendricks and Bryce Clay each added one goal for the Rangers, who entered the postseason as the top-ranked team in Division 2.
It was the third straight year the two schools played for the Division 2 title, with the Pioneers winning last year and the Rangers picking up the 2016 title. Central had defeated East Grand Rapids, 14-7, earlier this season.
“They executed a little bit more (today),” Shira said. “Everything they did today, we’ve seen on film. We just didn’t execute as much as them. We had our chances, but they’re an excellent team, very well coached.”
The championship was the fifth for East Grand Rapids (19-4), which also won titles from 2007-09 and again last year.
Click for the full scoring summary.
VIDEO: East Grand Rapids’ Chris Owens scores the game-winner in overtime.
PHOTOS: (Top) East Grand Rapids celebrates its Division 2 championship game win. (Middle) EGR and Forest Hills Central players battle for possession.
Country Day Wins Close to Close Title Run
June 7, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
TROY – Detroit Country Day this spring earned one of the most notable wins in Michigan boys lacrosse history.
But despite handing Birmingham Brother Rice its first in-state loss since 2002, by a score of 8-7, the Yellowjackets also lost four one-goal games – and coach Michael Cappelletti wasn’t sure how his team would respond when Saturday’s MHSAA Division 2 Final began to play out in a similarly low-scoring way.
Reigning champion Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood pulled within two of Country Day’s lead just 12 seconds into the fourth period. But this time the Yellowjackets finished like champions and hoisted their third MHSAA championship trophy after a 12-8 win.
Country Day didn’t allow another goal over the final 11:48, and only two shots with a chance before the Cranes fired off a quick volley during the final minute.
“It’s the hardest-working group of kids I’ve been around in my life, the best team I’ve coached in my life,” said Cappelletti, who took over the program this year after previously coaching in North Carolina and Rhode Island. “They’re together, from the kid who knows he’s not going in ever to the kid who had the best game, which I can’t tell you who that is right now – which is the best part about coaching this team.”
Country Day previously had won Division 2 championships in 2011 and 2005 and finished runner-up in 2012. Cappelletti is the team’s third coach in three seasons, but inherited what he called a “lunch pail and hard hat group.”
The Yellowjackets (17-6) were disappointed to fall in the rematch to Brother Rice, 11-9, and then by a goal apiece to Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central and East Grand Rapids. But they gave the history-making win over the Warriors even more merit by finishing off an impressive tournament run that included wins over four top-10 teams, including 11-8 over East Grand Rapids when they met again in the Semifinal.
“Brother Rice was a huge win. … We’ve been rivals with them since sixth, seventh, eighth grade, and we knew this year we had a chance to beat them,” Country Day junior Devon Callaghan said. “We just seized that opportunity.
“(But) this was always our main goal, the state championship game.”
Country Day and Cranbrook-Kingswood had combined for 35 goals during the regular season when Country Day earned a 21-14 victory.
The low-scoring rematch might not have played to the fast-strike Yellowjackets’ best-known strengths. But while offense often gets headlines in lacrosse, Country Day’s defense was just as impressive.
Cranbrook-Kingswood’s eight goals tied its second-lowest output of the season – and came despite five from senior Matthew Giampetroni, who will join NCAA champion Duke next season.
The Yellowjackets were keyed on their side of the field by a trio of sophomores. Defenders Matt Dolan and Jonathon Boos were assigned to Giampetroni and junior all-state attack Johnny Wagner, who was held scoreless. Sophomore goalie Jackson White had 16 saves including a handful from close range.
“(Bowes and Dolan) have never been in a game like this, and we just said, ‘Hey guys, you’re on an island, limit their touches. … You take care of you, on them,’” Cappelletti said. “It was nothing fancy. Those kids are just tough kids.”
Six players scored for Country Day, including five who scored twice. Junior attack Emilio Sosa netted three goals.
Despite drawing even three times, Cranbrook-Kingswood never led and trailed by as many as five goals, five minutes into the third period.
“We got down, and it’s hard to use a lot of energy coming back,” Giampetroni said. “Then we had some bad turnovers later, and they had the ball the last 10, eight minutes. It’s hard to score when you don’t have the ball.”
Junior goalie Ryan Rosenthal, however, was up to the task of facing plenty of shots, stopping 26 in a gallant effort.
Cranbrook-Kingswood finished 12-9, but 11-5 against in-state opponents.
“The fact that we made it to this point is a testament to the seniors. They were great leaders,” Cranes coach Mat Wilson said. “The good news is we’ve got a ton of juniors coming back, and the future is very bright.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Detroit Country Day celebrates one of its goals during Saturday’s Division 2 Final. (Middle) Country Day’s Nick Martin (6) looks to get past Cranbrook-Kingswood’s Michael Langdon.