Catholic Central unable to fend off Hartland in 8-7 loss in D1 semifinals
HOWELL » A fast start on Wednesday had Novi Detroit Catholic Central looking like it could make its return to the Division 1 boys lacrosse state finals.
Jumping out to a 4-1 lead on Hartland, last year’s state runner-up, the Shamrocks had all the momentum.
However, the resilient Eagles slowly chipped away at CC and seemed to sap their energy.
In the end, Catholic Central just couldn’t hang on to the lead, suffering an 8-7 loss to Hartland in the Division 1 state semifinals at Parker Middle School in Howell.
“I asked them if they gave it everything they had and they quietly said, ‘yes.’ I think you could tell (they did). Nobody rolled over,” Catholic Central coach Dave Wilson said of his team’s effort. “People are going to make mistakes. Hopefully you make them going 100 percent, and I think we did that. The kids worked really hard, we just didn’t have enough fire power at the end. It’s a great group of kids and I think this is a great accomplishment for them.”
After falling behind 1-0 midway through the opening period, Catholic Central (16-5) found its stride offensively. The Shamrocks scored four straight goals over the final 4:38 of the first to lead 4-1. Sean Donahue led the surge with a pair of goals.
While the CC offense was rolling, that kept the highpowered Hartland (18-4) offense from getting momentum. The Eagles averaged 20 goals a game coming into Wednesday’s contest. The eight goals for the game matches the lowest Hartland has scored all season.
“The best defense against that offense is to make sure that we have the ball. We were trying to grind it out on offense a little bit, take some longer possessions and limit their touches,” Wilson said. “(Hartland) is super athletic, so we were trying to limit that, and it was working.”
CC’s defense did what it could to slow down Hartland, but the Eagles still found ways to score. Drew Lockwood had a pair of goals in the second to cut the Shamrock lead to 4-3 at halftime.
“We just tried to make the next play. We struggled a little bit, obviously, more than we have this season, but this
is a super-resilient group,” Hartland coach Nick Levanti said. “They don’t care how they have to get it done, they are going to go and get it done.”
Hartland’s defense started to lock in as well. It held the Shamrocks to just one goal over the second and third periods combined to get back into the game.
“It was really a lot of selfinflicted wounds. We weren’t playing our game and we weren’t playing consistent to what we like to do defensively in a lot of ways,” Levanti
said of his defense’s turnaround. “We had a lot of mental errors. Once we cleaned up the mental errors and weathered the storm a little bit and settled in, we were able to buckle down.”
Hartland fought its way to a 5-5 tie after three, but Catholic Central’s Matthew Aleva scored his second goal of the night to open the fourth and put the Shamrocks back up, 6-5.
Hartland would answer a minute later when John Weber recorded his second goal to make it 6-6. The Eagles
then got their first lead since it was 1-0, when Mac Tognetti scored on an assist from Bo Lockwood. That gave Hartland a 7-6 lead with 6:02 remaining.
Just 40 seconds later, Catholic Central freshman Lachlan Moffatt scored to tie the game at 7-7.
It would remain that way until the 2:57 mark, when Lockwood connected again with Tognetti for the gamewinning goal.
“Tognetti is a warrior. He’s a tough kid. He’s as tough as they come,” Levanti said of the junior. “He has a really strong IQ. He’s worked hard for years for moments like this. For him to step up in this moment is really big for him and big for these guys.”
Catholic Central would have multiple possessions down the stretch, including two in the final 30 seconds. However, the Shamrocks couldn’t connect on a key pass to set up a shot.
The second half saw CC miss some shots close to the net as it was unable to find that first-quarter momentum.
“We missed four on the doorstep, and that’s pretty tough,” Wilson said. “(Hartland’s) defense was pretty good, but we weren’t helping ourselves. For the first time in a little bit, we weren’t capitalizing on our transition. Usually we get something from that.”
With the win, Hartland returns to its second consecutive Division 1 state final. The Eagles will get a rematch with Birmingham Brother Rice, which has won 15 of the 16 MHSAA Division 1 championships in history.
Last year, the Warriors bested Hartland 14-9 in the Eagles’ first finals appearance. The two met back on March 25, with Brother Rice earning a 15-11 victory.
“They are a strong team, year-in and year-out. They are a powerhouse in Michigan, there’s no two ways about it,” Levanti said of Rice. “We know their personnel and that game allowed us to see it at an eye level. It’s been a long time since then. They’re a different team, we’re a different team. They are a great program, and we just look forward to being able to see them again.”