BOYS LACROSSE: Top-ranked Brother Rice eliminates first time Final Four member Clarkston
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BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
BIRMINGHAM — Clarkston proved that it is one of the most improved boys lacrosse programs in the state over the past three years.
After finishing below the five-hundred mark in 2010, the Wolves reached the regional finals the past two years and the Final Four this season for the very first time.
A few steps ahead, top-ranked Birmingham Brother Rice has time and time again proved that it is the most superior team in the state of Michigan and did so again Wednesday night. The Warriors captured a 22-9 triumph over No. 2 Clarkston in a Division 1 state semifinal at Birmingham Seaholm.
With the win, the Warriors, who have not lost to a Michigan team in nearly a decade, are going after their 11th straight state title when they take on Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern-Eastern Unified Saturday at East Grand Rapids.
SLIPPING PAST: Birmingham Brother Rice’s Chris Lievois attempts to get around Clarkston’s Kyle O’Grady during Wednesday’s Division 1 state semifinals. Photo | Larry McKee, www.lmckeephotography.com, lmckeephotgraphy@comcast.net
“We don’t talk about it, the streak. That’s all in the past. We go out and control right now,” offered Brother Rice coach Rob Ambose.
Brother Rice improved to 19-5-0, with all losses to out-of-state opponents. The Warriors dominated Clarkston for long stretches of the game, building an 8-2 lead after the first quarter and 12-4 advantage at the half.
Clarkston was never able to trim its deficit down to single digits for the remainder of the game. Rice led 19-5 through three quarters of play.
Playing at a step quicker than Clarkston, Brother Rice led 7-1 only eight minutes into the game to build its regular, comfortable cushion. The Wolves found themselves in a hole against the predominant program in the state.
Still Clarkston, which lost to Rice in the regional finals the previous two years, has shown that it is amongst the state’s elite program after having its fair share of ups and downs from 2004-2010.
“We have come a long ways,” noted Clarkston coach Brian Kaminskas. “Our goal now is to win a state championship (someday), not just beat Brother Rice. We want to beat whoever we face. This team took another step this season by getting this far.”
Joe Dudley slammed home six goals to pace Brother Rice, who have not lost a state tournament game since 2002 in the old coaches’ association state tourney. J.P. Forester and Sergio Perkovic each added four goals and an assist, Jason Alessi, Liam Reaume and Alex Timmis contributed two goals each and Gerald Dietz and Graham Macko chipped in with single goals for the Warriors.
“Our goal is to always try to play our best and make a run (to the state finals,” offered Forester. “We don’t talk about our streak much. We just want to win.”
Clarkston, which finished 16-3-0 this season and 50-8-0 over the past three years — the best three-year run in its program history — has proven its worth since finishing 8-9-0 in 2010.
Connor Ward led Clarkston with three goals and an assist, while Kyle O’Grady chipped in with three more goals for the Wolves. Connor Dziewit followed with two goals and Reid Kaminski had the other goal for Clarkston.
The Wolves had only nine seniors on this year’s team, as compared to 16 last season. Clarkston boasted 16 sophomores and one freshman on the roster this season.
“We are still very young, so we’re hoping that these younger guys gained some valuable experience and learned what it takes to get this far (in the tournament),” added Kaminskas.
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FOR MORE LACROSSE COVERAGE: http://northoaklandsports.com/?s=lacrosse&x=12&y=9
Have photos or video of this event that you wish to share? E-mail pertinent information to www.northoaklandsports.com Senior Editor Dan Stickradt at dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com or e-mail results@northoaklandsports.com.
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