Warwick Youth Lacrosse

by posted 06/21/2010

'Outlandish' play is just the norm for Grace

By Mira Wassef
Times Herald-Record
Published: 2:00 AM - 06/20/10

WARWICK — Dwight Clark has The Catch.

Michael Jordan has The Shot.

Mike Grace has The Goal.

So maybe Grace's end-to-end goal wasn't as dramatic as Clark's grab in the end zone or Jordan's game-winning jumper against Cleveland in the playoffs.

But it was still pretty cool.

The Warwick senior goalie made the save in the cage and sprinted upfield with the ball. By the time he got to midfield, any thoughts of giving it up had clearly escaped his mind. He looked to the left, then to the right before he saw the opening. His eyes lit up. It was time.

Grace reached back and ripped a hot shot past Pine Bush goalie Mike Moore for his first career varsity goal.

"It was a lot of fun," Grace said. "I always wanted to do it in a big game. I wanted to make a big play."

Grace's goal late in the first quarter against Pine Bush only gave Warwick a 1-0 lead. But it was more than that. Warwick was playing with the pressure of remaining undefeated in the section and was trying to win its first game at Pine Bush. The Wildcats came out flat, but Grace's goal relieved all the pressure, like a pin popping a balloon.

And after that, there was no doubt Warwick was going to win.

"We were fired up," he said.

Grace, the Varsity845 Player of the Year, is a fiery leader. He's the loudest in the huddle. He always finds something motivational to say, like in the Pine Bush game. Grace said his team was insulted that Pine Bush scheduled them on senior night, which is usually reserved for an easy win.

And his game matches his flair. He's aggressive when he clears the ball and likes to take risks in the cage. He dares his opponents to shoot at him. In the Class AA championship game against Minisink Valley this season, Grace was frustrated with Minisink holding the ball and was screaming at them to shoot.

"I'm outlandish," said Grace, who had 146 saves this season. "It's not typical you see a goalie running around. I like to gamble. I go as hard as I can. And I'm the vocal leader."

Grace, 17, credits his big game to his older brother, Branden Grace. Grace had broken his ankle and got restless sitting around the house, so he put on his dad's hockey gear and let his brother fire shots at him. Branden would tell his little brother that he needed to be able to make the save and clear the ball.

He fell in love with being a goalie. Early in his Warwick career, coaches asked him to play the field, but he refused. Grace missed most of his sophomore year with a wrist injury, and when he came back with four games left in the season he had lost his starting job. Then he came out with a vengeance his junior year. He finished the season with a school record 204 saves and had 22 saves in a win over Saugerties.

"I think that experience made me a lot better," said Grace, who was named a U.S. Lacrosse all-American this year. "It made me work harder in the offseason. And I wanted to come back and make a statement."

Grace played the entire season despite tearing his labrum, and he had surgery on his shoulder last October. His brilliant junior campaign garnered him attention from Division I programs like Albany and Siena. But he found it hard to shake the stigma of playing in Section 9. Coaches loved his game and his athletic ability, but once they knew where he played and that he had an injury, they lost interest.

"I had a chip on my shoulder coming to this year — I didn't think it was fair," said Grace, who will play at Division II Assumption College next year. He has a solid shot at starting.

Grace also has a shot of playing on the Hudson Valley team at the Empire State Games. After two tryouts of intense scrimmages, Grace is one of six goalies still in the mix. Grace even broke out the end-to-end play, but settled for an assist this time.

"I have a really good feeling about it. I'm excited," he said. "I got a lot of good feedback from the coaches. They like how I take command of the team and my ability to clear the ball. They would come over and say, 'Where are you from?' I would say Warwick, and they would say, 'Really?'"

Grace was frustrated with people disrespecting Section 9 lacrosse. So he became an instructor at Primo Sports and works with kids ages 6-14 every Sunday. A lot of Grace's fans are kids. During a game this season, two kids were watching him play when one said, "Why is he running around like that? He's a goalie."

"He's Mike Grace, he can do whatever he wants," said the other kid.

Mike Grace File
School: Warwick

Age: 17

Year: Senior

Position: Goalie

Credentials: Grace went 15-2 with three shutouts and averaged 3.82 goals against this season. He had 146 saves and a 68 percent save percentage. He is the first Warwick goalie to get a shutout and has three in his career. He has a career 404 saves. And he holds school records for goals against average in a career (2.6), goals against in a season (2.2), saves in a game (22), and saves in a season (204). He was named a U.S. Lacrosse all-American this year and has won two consecutive Class A championships.

The highlight: "The team chemistry. We spent a lot of time together and we're all really good friends," Grace said. "The whole season was one big highlight."

Varsity845 past
Players of the Year

2010: Mike Grace, Warwick

2009: Tony Spada, Saugerties

2008: Drew Cook, Valley Central