Moment: Close Finish Goes Cranes' Way
May 21, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood boys lacrosse team finished 17-6 in 2013, with five of those losses by one goal apiece.
But the Cranes’ one-goal win on the last day of the season surely made those defeats almost immediately forgettable.
Matt Giampetroni scored with 20.2 seconds to play in the Division 2 Final that June 8, pushing Cranbrook past reigning champion Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central 10-9.
The goal was Giampetroni’s fourth of the game and came after Central had scored three straight to tie things up at 9-9 with 2:10 remaining.
Cranbrook had lost to Central 15-5 in the regular-season finale.
“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.”
Giampetroni, a junior that season, eventually went on to continue his career at Duke.
Check out coverage of the Final from Second Half and watch the game winner below from the MHSAA Network.
Moment: Owens Rings in Repeat Celebration
May 28, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Eric Solberg tied the MHSAA Final record with six goals to set up East Grand Rapids to repeat as Division 2 champion in 2018.
And Chris Owens’ bouncer into the net with 2:04 left in second overtime finished the perhaps unexpected 11-10 Pioneers’ win over Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central, which had doubled up EGR 14-7 earlier that spring.
The teams played to a scoreless first overtime and nearly matched it during the second during the June 9 rematch before Owens made his deciding run. He’d also scored during the second quarter.
“We had decided to settle it down, maybe get on offense, but I saw an opening and I just took a shot,” Owens said shortly after. “It’s crazy, all these people watching. It feels really good to finish it off.”
East Grand Rapids also had defeated FHC 11-9 in the 2017 Final after the Rangers took their Division 2 championship matchup 10-6 in 2016.
Click for coverage of the 2018 Final from Second Half and watch the winner below from the NFHS Network.