A sluggish first quarter ultimately dug the boys varsity lacrosse team a hole it’d be unable to dig itself out of after going down 6-2 to Hartland in the opening 12 minutes. Despite improved play throughout the game for FHC as the Rangers tried to crawl back into the game, the deficit was never reached less than three goals after the opening eight minutes.

Following a massive win for the Rangers on Thursday night over Forest Hills Eastern, the boys moved their attention to another big-time test against the Hartland Eagles. A Division 1 opponent, Hartland sits near the top of its division year in and year out. The two programs are familiar with each other, as FHC took down the Eagles 17-15 in 2019 in a hotly-contested game. 

With revenge on their mind, the Eagles return a lot of talent, including a Michigan commit in All-American attackman Bo Lockwood, a player that scored 66 goals in his freshman campaign in 2019. Lockwood and the rest of the Hartland attack got things going early, scoring two quick goals in the opening few minutes; however, the Rangers were ready to go too with junior John Tomsheck picking up from where he left off on Thursday with another goal. 

Once the game was knotted at two goals apiece, Hartland went on a 5-0 run. After three unanswered goals, head coach Andy Shira and the FHC staff took a timeout in an attempt to halt the run, but it was unsuccessful. The Eagles tagged on another before the end of the quarter to make it 6-2 at the first interval before adding another just into the second quarter. 

“We came out flat. Friday and Saturday, I preached we had to put Thursday’s big win behind us,” Shira said. “Our energy and effort just weren’t there unfortunately, and Hartland is a well-coached team who took advantage of that.”

After sophomore Magnus Salmon got one back for FHC with 9:27 to go in the second quarter, Hartland responded with two goals of its own. With 20 turnovers on the day, the Rangers suffered defensively in transition. Once FHC got the ball back, the Eagles’ defense was well-organized and packed in, making it difficult for the Rangers to piece together some momentum and make a run. 

Although, the Rangers scored three unanswered right before the half to make it a tighter game before it could get out of hand. Senior Collin Ward netted the first one before sophomore Rowan Clay and senior Reid Davison rounded out the scoring. After Hartland got one to go just before the teams talked it over at halftime, the score was 10-6 in favor of the Eagles at the break. 

The third quarter was slower than the previous two, and the Rangers were much better defensively. Sophomore Jack Elliott used his momentum from Thursday’s performance for another impressive shift on Saturday against Lockwood. Sophomore goalie Crandall Quinn opened eyes too, showing what makes him the big-time prospect he is with an outstanding 12 saves. Despite the flurry of goals let in by FHC throughout the contest, Crandall held his own, making plenty of saves when he was held out to dry in unfavorable situations.

In the third, the duo of Rowan and John connected once again, with John finding Rowan for the goal to bring the game back to within three with four minutes to go in the third. These two led the way for the Rangers once again offensively, as Rowan finished with four goals and John with two goals and four assists. 

Despite the 2-1 win in the third quarter to bring the score to 11-8, the game slipped away from the Rangers in the fourth. FHC had long spurts of possession but ultimately couldn’t capitalize. On one end, senior Brady Nolan found junior Jack McNamara as he made his way through the Hartland defense, but the Eagle goalie made an impressive kick save. On the other end almost immediately in transition, Hatland got one to go, largely ending the Rangers’ comeback efforts with seven minutes to go. 

The Eagles ended the game with a 5-1 run in the final 12 minutes, ending the game with a final score of 16-9 in Hartland’s favor. Despite the shortcomings of a loss like this, this non-conference loss does not affect any of FHC’s short or long-term goals. With three away games on deck this week, the Rangers will look to rebound with two comfortable wins against Hudsonville and Caledonia before taking on state and national powerhouse Brother Rice on Saturday. 

“We had moments where we played really well, but against a good team like that, we have to find a way to put 48 minutes together,” Shira said. “All that said, it’s still very early on, and this was a great test for us to show what we need to work on to be playing our best in May and June.”