Birmingham — The 2025 Division 1 title rematch saw a different outcome in this year’s semifinal battle, as Detroit Catholic Central defeated Birmingham Brother Rice 13-7 to make its way to a second straight finals appearance.
Nerves took a bit to settle in what was a slow start for both teams. The first four minutes of the game saw no scoring, but tight defense and a handful of saves by each goalie.
The silence finally ceased with seven and a half minutes to go, as junior midfielder Luke Kramer took the ball up into the doorstep himself to open up the game’s scoring and give Catholic Central the early 1-0 lead.
The lead was short-lived, however, as Brother Rice used a two-minute span midway through the first period to score two quick goals in what was a patient-attack approach. Junior midfielder Lucas Grochowski and junior attacker Joe Lee each got a goal of their own, with Lee assisting on Grochowski’s goal.
Brother Rice’s 2-1 lead in the first period was short-lived, however, as Catholic Central used a man-up situation to score two goals within 10 seconds to end off the late-scoring first with a 3-2 lead. Kramer scored the first of the pair, performing a quick deke on the goal to toss one in, while junior attacker Asher Miscovich took advantage of a faceoff win immediately after and swiftly found the net for his first of the night.
The faceoff played an immense role in the win for Catholic Central, as senior Nick Edwards won nearly every faceoff of the match.
“[Nick] is a moose. He’s a big kid,” Catholic Central head coach Dave Wilson said. “He missed all of last year with a knee injury, worked on his craft, and is hot at the right time now.”
Coming into the matchup, Edwards knew that it would be a battle at the X.
“I know [NJ Tuliao] is good, I trained with him, and I know his game,” Edwards said. “I just had to do the opposite of what he does, and did it and got the job done.”
Catholic Central carried the momentum of the first period ending into the second with ease, using an unanswered 12 minutes to widen the scoring gap in its favor.
Miscovich and senior attacker Blake Papke opened up the first two minutes with a goal each, using quick faceoff wins by Edwards to make the game 5-2. The two early goals were then followed by one more, this time from senior attacker Ryan Dye who was assisted by Kramer.
Brother Rice was limited to only a few scoring opportunities in the period due to stout Catholic Central defense, but couldn’t find the net when given the rare chance. Senior midfielder Connor Ryan was a wall to the opposing offense, shutting down any open lane.
“[Ryan] was the unsung hero, you know,” Wilson said. “Defense wins championships. He’s not huge in stature and doesn’t have the long pole, but he does his job and he’s tough and clears the ball. We think the world of Connor Ryan.”
The second period was topped off by two more Miscovish goals to complete the hat-trick and give Catholic Central an 8-2 lead heading into the second half. With five minutes to go, Dye found the junior attacker in the crease to easily toss the ball into the net with ease. Stellar defense by Catholic Central allowed for the second Miscovish goal, which was taken right through contact from the crease.
Miscovish ended the night with four goals total, playing as the spark on the offensive end.
“The offensive coaches have been working with him to be a little more confident with what he can do,” Wilson said. “I think it’s just been the last couple of weeks. He’s figuring out he can do all of that stuff, he’s just never done it before. Practice, practice, practice and low and behold he’s having a monster game at a monster time.”
The high-scoring first half allowed Catholic Central to ease through the remainder of the game for the most part, while also tacking on a few more goals.
Sophomore attacker Connor Stahl added his own, while Dye also found the net again. Senior midfielder Brady Salach and freshman attacker Daniel Skandalaris each scored for Brother Rice, but each were quickly answered by Catholic Central to end the third with a 12-4 lead.
The fourth period saw Brother Rice use aggressive offense to desperately dig out of the deep hole, but were never able to get out of the large disadvantage. Sophomore attacker Lucas Jerneycic, junior midfielder Brennan Carmichael and senior midfielder Frank Baiardi each found the net, but it wasn’t enough to reach back.
Doug Doty is a freelance writer.
Boys lacrosse semifinals
Division 1
Detroit Catholic Central 13, Birmingham Brother Rice 7
Hudsonville 11, Grand Ledge 3
Finals: Saturday, at Parker Middle School, Howell, 2 p.m.
Division 2
Detroit Country Day 10, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern 7
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central 14, East Grand Rapids 13
Finals: Saturday, at Parker Middle School, 11 a.m.
Girls lacrosse semifinals
Division 1
Rockford 9, Hartland 4
South Lyon 23, Bloomfield Hills 8
Finals: Saturday, at Parker Middle School, 11 a.m.
Division 2
East Grand Rapids 20, Haslett 6
Detroit Country Day 23, Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard 3
Finals: Saturday at Parker Middle School, 7 p.m.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Detroit Catholic Central boys lacrosse advance to second straight final
Reporting by Doug Doty, Special to The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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By Doug Doty, Special to The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
