2 weeks Ago
CLARKSTON – The Birmingham United boys lacrosse program made a big step toward achieving the long-sought goal of an outright OAA Red championship on Tuesday.The Bulldogs went on the road and managed to pick up a 12-11 OT victory in a highly competitive match with Clarkston, giving Birmingham wins over the perennial conference favorites in the Wolves and Lake Orion.“We want Birmingham to be back to winning championships,” Birmingham coach Nick Stensen said.
“This is a big step toward accomplishing what we want to do.Related ArticlesNew-look Seaholm improves to 8-1 with win to open series against AvondalePhotos of Auburn Hills Avondale vs. Birmingham Seaholm in OAA baseball actionMIGCA Lower Peninsula boys golf rankings through April 21, 2025MHSTeCA statewide girls tennis rankings through April 20, 2025Adams leverages power in doubleheader sweep of Lakeland“It was just grit.
These guys have so much heart, and they believed in themselves. That’s what it really came down to. Hats off to Clarkston, a well-coached team.
It was a great game.”The overtime session didn’t last long as Birmingham senior Penn Roberts fought his way to a faceoff win and found open field in his sights. Roberts took the ball and fired off the game-winning shot just seconds into the extra frame.
“I knew I wasn’t going to have another opportunity like that, so I just took the shot and it went in,” Roberts said. “I didn’t even realize it was overtime until my teammates ran onto the sideline. It was a great feeling.
”The two teams couldn’t have been more evenly-matched.Throughout the entire contest, neither Birmingham United (7-2, 3-0) or Clarkston (7-2, 2-1) led by more than one goal.Overall, the contest was tied on 11 occasions and featured eight lead changes.
Birmingham United’s Penn Roberts (25) tries to avoid the defense of Clarkston’s Paul Lemieux (8) during Tuesday’s OAA Red boys lacrosse match. (DREW ELLIS – For MediaNews Group)“I think it was the battle that has come to be with this matchup,” Clarkston coach Brian Kaminskas said. “Nick has done a great job with that program.
He’s got those guys primed and ready, and it shows. We knew it would be a battle.”The Wolves held two leads in the fourth, scoring the opening goal just 20 seconds into the period on a goal from Luke Darnell to make it 9-8.
Birmingham responded with back-to-back goals over a 10-second span just a minute later. One goal came from Cole Garrett and the other from Frank Hill, putting the Bulldogs up 10-9.Clarkston answered in turn, with Lucas Dillon tying the game with 8:40 to play.
Charlie Formaro would then net the go-ahead goal with 7:24 to make it 11-10.Birmingham wouldn’t be deterred, as the Bulldogs have been in plenty of close games already this season, including an 11-10 win over Lake Orion two weeks ago.“One of our players talked about us being in this position before, so it was very apparent to our guys what we needed to do to find a way to win,” Stensen said.
“They felt like they were prepared to win.”Photo gallery of Birmingham United vs. Clarkston in OAA boys lacrosse action/*! This file is auto-generated */!function(d,l){"use strict";l.
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The Bulldogs came through with some late defensive stops, including a penalty kill to end regulation.That led to the game-winner from Roberts.“It was the most incredible play I have seen as a coach,” Stensen said of Roberts’ goal.
“I didn’t have to do anything. It was all him, all heart.”Roberts finished with two goals, while Hill had three goals and two assists, and Jake Coyle had two goals with an assist.
Clarkston was led by Parker Royse, who had four goals and an assist, while Denny Wandrel had three goals.Tuesday marked the second one-goal loss for the Wolves this season.“It’s late April, so it’s a good place in the season to step back and reassess what we are doing,” Kaminskas said.
“We’ve lost two games by a total of two goals, so it’s not the end of the world, but we will adjust some things and keep moving forward.".
