- Michigan
GLOD-EN GOAL: Brother Rice regains D1 lacrosse crown from Catholic Central on Justin Glod’s last-second goal
HOWELL — Justin Glod redefined the term “flair for the dramatic” Saturday afternoon.
The senior attack from Birmingham Brother Rice scored twice in the final 1:55 in leading the top-ranked Birmingham Brother Rice to a thrilling, 14-13, victory over second-ranked and defending state champion Novi Detroit Catholic Central in the MHSAA Division 1 Boys Lacrosse State Finals at Howell Parker Middle School.
Glod’s final goal came with a mere one tick left on the scoreboard — the final chapter of a dream come true for Glod.
“It’s amazing,” gleamed Glod. “I have been watching this team growing up a Brother Rice fan since the fifth grade and all I wanted to do was be a part of it and contribute to it. This year I was a senior and got the chance to do something about it and lead my team to victory. I thought that I had to make it happen. The only thing upholding this legacy was myself. I had to make it happen when it counted.
“When I saw the ball go in to the net I immediately went into shock,” added Glod. “To see the ball go across the frame like that — it’s special. I knew I had to do something about it. I got the ball with eight seconds left and I knew I had to do it.”
It marked Brother Rice’s 14th state title in the 15 years since the MHSAA adopted the sport.
Combining the old Michigan High School Lacrosse Coaches Association state tournaments (1979-2004) with the MHSAA state tournaments (2005-present), the Warriors have now won 25 state crowns over 34 years dating back to their first state title in the 1986 MHSLCA state finals.
Perhaps none were as dramatic as Brother Rice’s comeback in this year’s title game.
Glod tied the contest at 13-13 with 1:55 to play when he uncorked a shot from 12 yards out.
The Warriors later retained possession, ran down the clock inside 20 seconds and misfired on a shot with eight seconds left on the clock. Glod got off the heroic final shot with one second remaining the school’s place atop the charts and cap a perfect season.
“What a great finish and it couldn’t have happened to a better kid,” said Rice coach Ajay Chawla. “He’s a great kid and a great player. He’s a senior and the kid we wanted to have the ball and get off that shot. The idea was when we got the possession we wanted to run it down and play for the last shot. We ran a play, missed a shot (with eight seconds left), but we got it in the hands of a guy who we trust and Glod put it in the cage. He’s a senior who has been here before and he earned the right (to take that shot).”
And the Warriors regained the title belt after a rare year off the top of the charts. Prior to 2018, Brother Rice last tasted defeat in a state final of the MHSLCA state tournament since 2002. The Warriors have single-digit losses to Michigan opponents combined over the past 20 years.
“It’s great to be back (on top),” smiled Chawla. “We returned most of our starters this season except maybe our goalie. These kids wanted it back more than anything. We had a great senior class and we wanted the perfect season. We worked hard for that and we accomplished our goals.”
Catholic Central, now 1-8 all-time in MHSAA state finals, unseated Brother Rice with a 11-10 victory during the 2018 state title match. It mark the sixth straight season the two CHSL powerhouse schools met in the D-1 state finals.
Catholic Central, which had fallen into a 4-0 hole in its state semifinals match Wednesday with Lake Orion — a 14-13 overtime win — was the aggressor from the start against Brother Rice, taking a 6-2 lead after the first quarter.
The Warriors (23-0-0) did fight back for a 7-6 advantage in the second quarter thanks to a 5-0 run that was capped by Dylan Braddock’s tally with 5:17 to go in the second quarter.
The Shamrocks (20-4-0), who lost twice in the regular season to Rice by scores of 16-5 and 16-12, did not go away in the third meeting. CC just fell shy of a second crown.
“Their kid just made a great play,” said Catholic Central coach Dave Wilson of the game-winner. “The goal is always to get here and try to win. What are you going to do? They had possession and their kid made a great play with the goal to win it.
“We had the lead (inside two minutes). I think I am disappointed in the fact that we didn’t get the possession and have the (last) shot. We did a much better job at possession in this game than we did the (previous games) against Rice,” continued Wilson. “And we did a better job and working for those shots. We put ourselves in position to win this game after not even being close the last two times. We knew if they had 16 (goals) again that we wouldn’t have a chance. But we were right there. If we could have had a couple of more (scoring chances) we could have won it.”
DJ Dixon and Braddock both notched hat tricks for Brother Rice. Glod and Patrick O’Hara added two goals apiece and Jacob Hannawa added three assists for the Warriors.
Joey Hanish scorched the nets for a game-high five goals and one assist to pace Catholic Central. Ryan Birney added four goals and an assist for the Shamrocks.
BROTHER RICE STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS IN BOYS LACROSSE:
MHSAA — 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019
MHSLCA — 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004
