Catholic Central claims CHSL titlewithwin over Cranbrook
Two unbeaten teams met in the Catholic High School League Bishop Final on Wednesday night, and the Detroit Catholic Central Shamrocks emerged with a 3- 0 win over the BloomfieldHills Cranbrook-Kingswood Cranes.
“I think we have veteran players. I think we have good discipline. I think we have great leadership. We’ve been here, so we’re composed,” Shamrocks head coach Gene Pulice said. “As a strength, I think, you know, we’re a brotherhood at school. Being a brotherhood on the field as well as at school is one of our big strengths.”
Catholic Central broke open a scoreless game with two quick goals midway through the first half.
The Shamrocks opened the scoring with 17:11 remaining in the first half when Vincent Stockton rifled a penalty kick into the right side of the net for a 1- 0 Catholic Central lead.
The Shamrocks doubled their lead less than threemin
utes later on a goal by Ali Jaffer .
atholic Central dominated possession all night, but especially in the first half as their midfield consistently recycled possession and shut down Cranbrook’s counterattack for much of the night.
“Defensively, we put a stop to some really good attack that they had. Cranbrook, they were playing a little bit where they would sit back. But when they won it, they attacked hard and you know, we were fortunate enough to break up some of their really good plays,” Pulice said.
The Cranes were highly organized defensively all night, anchored by center backs Garrett Gantz and SamMorawski. Goalkeeper Lukas Schaub made eight saves as Cranbrook held up well under the pressure.
Offensively, the Cranes were able to create more offensive opportunities in the second half. But Cranbrook was never able to solve the Shamrock defense sufficiently to put in a goal, and ultimately, Catholic Central would earn another penalty kick. This one was converted by Clay Moscovic to provide the final 3-0 margin.
“I know we lost 3-0, but I thought defensively we were strong,” Cranes head coach Chad O’Kulich said. “I think we came in with a really good game plan that the players executed to a tee. I thought we created some good opportunities as well against CC. I know it doesn’t show on the score sheet, but I was pleased with the quantity and the quality of opportunities that we did create, although CC created more and hats off to them.”
With the win, Detroit Catholic Central (7- 0- 3) claims its fourth Bishop title in the last five years.
“The postseason is always more fun than the postseason because this is what we’re after. The first training session that we get, our goal is to get to the postseason. Now we’re here. Everybody is on fire. We’re peaking at the right time. We’ve been fortunate enough all season to have successes,” Pulice said.
“I appreciate that the Catholic League always puts on a quality tournament. I appreciate the fact that they’re making us social distance and taking the COVID stuff very seriously. And I think it’s important that we respect everybody’s opinion and handle ourselves responsibly during these times of the COVID-19 virus.”
Cranbrook suffers their first loss on the season, falling to 6-1.
“We’re really proud of our team. These boys came out and played; they played as a team. I though tour bench was incredible,” O’Kulich said. “Credit CC for creating opportunities and finishing those opportunities. We’re grateful that the Catholic League lets us compete and be in this final, andwe don’t take anything for granted with corona(virus). We’re grateful just to be out here and to compete, and we’re proud of the way our team played today.”