Howell — Detroit Catholic Central is no stranger to the big stage, and that showed true Saturday after coming away with the Division 1 boys lacrosse championship.
After falling short in last year’s title match against Birmingham Brother Rice, Catholic Central made a return trip and beat Hudsonville, 14-10, to capture the state crown. Hudsonville had sparks of poise, but Catholic Central never let the opposing runs materialize.
“It always feels good to win,” Catholic Central head coach Dave Wilson said. “It got a little hairy at the end there, and I thought Hudsonville did a fantastic job and gave us everything they can handle. But the boys were gritty when they needed to be, and we work on that a lot. Sometimes you just got to find a way to hang on and be tough.”
As soon as the game began, Catholic Central (17-5) had complete control, using dominant faceoff wins from senior FOGO Nick Edwards to stop Hudsonville from gaining possession until near the end of the first quarter.
Catholic Central scored six unanswered goals in the first eight minutes of the game, highlighted by a pair of goals each from junior midfielder Peyton Sofran and senior attacker Ryan Dye. Junior attacker Asher Miscovich and junior midfielder Luke Kramer also got into the scoring action, the latter of which hit a deep shot from over 10 yards out.
Hudsonville (21-2) was able to overcome the slump with three minutes remaining, getting goals from sophomore attacker Carson Campbell and senior attacker Will Zuiderveen. With the goals, however, Hudsonville still trailed 6-2 going into the second.
Catholic Central’s early onslaught would end up playing a big role in the win, with the team crediting experience to its quick attack.
“We knew one of the things we had an advantage on was that we had a lot of players on our team who have played in a state championship, whether it was lacrosse, hockey, football or other sports,” Dye said. “We wanted to use that into our advantage, as well as them having a longer bus ride than we did, so we knew that would also be something that we could get them on early.”
Catholic Central started the second quarter where it left off, scoring four unanswered goals in the first six minutes. Sofran netted his third to begin the quarter in a man-up possession, while sophomore attacker Carter Stahl scored one of his own in a possession showcasing heavy ball movement.
Kramer added three more in the quarter to complete his four-goal outing before Hudsonville used the back end of the second to rally a hopeful comeback. Senior midfielder Lawsyn Weber started the action with Zuiderveen following, while Campbell scored twice to cut the Catholic Central lead to 12-6 going into half.
Coming out of the half, Hudsonville carried the momentum and opened the third up with a goal from junior midfielder Dom Moliterno. That sparked a stretch of four unanswered goals as Hudsonville threatened a serious comeback.
Hudsonville’s physical and tight defense along with a number of Catholic Central penalties opened up the field for Zuiderveen to add his third goal. Senior attacker Andrew McAleece and senior midfielder Zaidan Dykstra each scored to cut the deficit to 12-10 early in the fourth.
“We were just getting a little sloppy,” Wilson said. “With moving picks or a little something after the whistle. I can’t say I agree with all of those but that’s the way it goes. They are just teenagers, so just had to keep reminding them to calm down and that the only thing that matters is the ball and getting the ball to the offense.”
As the fourth quarter progressed, Catholic Central’s defense began to settle down more while the Hudsonville offense showed signs of fatigue following the monster run. Despite its second-half push, Hudsonville couldn’t get any closer and couldn’t overcome the early-game goals, as Catholic Central thwarted the threat and scored two more times in the final eight minutes to secure the title.
Doug Doty is a freelance writer.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: ‘Gritty’ Catholic Central holds off Hudsonville for Division 1 lacrosse crown
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
