The Okemos boys lacrosse team fell in the Division 2 state semifinals, 16-15, to East Grand Rapids.
GRANDVILLE – Wednesday night brought back a distinct memory for senior Charlie Ciuk.
It was around this time last season that the Okemos boys lacrosse team rallied back in the fourth quarter of the Division 2 state championship, only to lose in the final seconds to Cranbrook-Kingswood.
But it wasn’t the fear of defeat that maneuvered to the front of Ciuk’s noggin on this night, as his team once again battled back – this time by erasing a three-goal deficit against East Grand Rapids in the late stages of the state semifinals. It was the program’s foundation.
“I thought about the character of the guys on this team,” he said. “The guys that aren’t going to give up if their backs are against the wall.
“They’re not going to quit.”
In the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s semifinal matchup, No. 6-ranked Okemos scored three goals within the first three minutes to even the contest with the No. 5-ranked Pioneers. But the Chiefs would go on to eventually lose, 16-15, in a double-overtime thriller at Grandville High School.
“East Grand Rapids is a good team,” said senior Bennett Sherman, who scored seven goals on the night. “They just beat us.”
With 7:45 remaining in the game, it was Ciuk that gave the Chiefs (17-3) the lead, 13-12, for the first time since the midway point of the second quarter. A goal nearly two minutes later from Evan Jamieson made it 14-12 in favor of Okemos, but East Grand Rapids retaliated with a 3-0 run to take a one-goal lead with less than 40 seconds to play.
However, Sherman, the State Journal boys lacrosse player of the year, gave his team an extra life when his final goal made it 15-all with 18.8 seconds remaining in regulation.
And after neither team could put home the game-winning goal in the first overtime, it was the Pioneers’ Connor Davis that lifted his team to Saturday’s state title game with a score early in the second.
“The seniors took this team further than anyone would have dreamed,” said fifteen-year coach Shawn Grady, who patrolled the Chiefs sideline for the last time Wednesday night. “Their leadership was awesome.”
Both Jamieson and Ciuk scored three goals for Okemos. Junior Mario Gonzalez and senior Jack LaPres each added a score.
Freshman goalie Joseph Ciuk recorded 13 saves.
Contact James L. Edwards III at jledwards@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JLEdwardsIII.