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Abington 16, Pennsbury 4
FAIRLESS HILLS - The final horn had barely sounded on Abington’s 16-4 win over Pennsbury when the players converged on Jesse McGinley, burying the Ghosts’ goalie in a jubilant pile-on near the net.
McGinley had just turned in a stellar 12-save effort for the Ghosts, who made a clear statement that – although Pennsbury may have been number one in the latest rankings - a trip to the top of the National Conference standings still goes through Abington.“We knew we were coming out here to prove something,” McGinley said. “We know they were 10-0, and we wanted to prove we’re the best in our league. I think we proved that out here today.”
McGinley certainly did his part, turning away one shot after another in an inspired performance, including six in the fourth quarter when the outcome had long since been decided.
“He stood on his head,” teammate Ryan Ambler said. “He’s ridiculous. I’ve never seen him play so good.”
“I was just simply having fun out there playing the game of lacrosse,” McGinley said. “I was just doing what I was expected to do.”
While McGinley was working his magic in the net, he received plenty of support from his teammates. Rich Rambo scored four goals while Ryan Ambler added the hat trick. Ambler also had four assists while Rambo had one.Matt Rambo contributed three goals and one assist, and Nick Pisko also had three goals. Joey Jones had one goal and three assists while Anthony Hensley (one goal, one assist) and Matt Figueroa (one goal) closed out the scoring.
With the win, the Ghosts kept their impressive SOL win streak intact.
“Thirty-eight straight in the league, so this is a big win,” Ambler said. “Today was a big win, but it’s not the end of the season yet. We have to build on this.
“I thought we played the first complete game of the season. It’s just awesome.”
The Ghosts seized control of this one early, opening up a 5-1 lead over the stunned Falcons who actually led 1-0 after a Ricky Jutkiewicz goal, and by halftime, the Ghosts had extended their lead to 10-2.
“I think we just came out on all cylinders, and we were ready to play,” Ambler said. “On the bus ride here, there was no nonsense. We were ready to go from the start.”
On their behalf, the Falcons were without starting defenseman Sean Rinko.
“We were moving guys around, and their transition – they were beating us down the field,” said Kevin Zwick, who filled in for coach Jamie Huber who was serving a one-game suspension. “In the second half, we adapted and played much better.
“In the first half, we were kind of asleep. Everything was a little slow for us.”The Falcons played the Ghosts tougher in the third quarter when they were outscored by a scant 2-1 margin, but the Ghosts closed out the game with a 5-0 tear in the final quarter.
“This was for first place in the league, and we haven’t lost a league game in three years,” coach Randy McNeill said. “We stressed that this was important and that Pennsbury was going to be ready to play.
“I thought they were. We had to take care of business.”
McNeill credited his defense – anchored by McGinley, Paul Berger, Austin Pifani and Anthony Greco – for its role in the big win.
“We have been giving up a lot of goals in a lot of our games,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “We played West Chester Henderson, and it was 20-17.
“The key was Jesse – that’s the best game he has played in a long time. His outlook passes were right on the money.”
The Falcons received single goals from Jutkiewicz, Tim Considine, Shawn Caven (one assist) and Evan Caterson. Calvin Hopkins and Kenneth Warren each contributed an assist.
While the Falcons fell to 4-1 in league play (10-1 overall), the Ghosts improved to 4-0 in the SOL (7-1 overall), and this one – according to the players – was special.
“I can’t compare it to anything else,” Ambler said. “It’s awesome.
“I’m just drained. That was a big win. It took a lot.”
According to Ambler, the Ghosts enjoyed playing the role of underdog.
“We like coming out here with something to prove,” he said. “No one is going to hand it to us, and that just pumps us up.
“This is the first time I’ve actually seen us play a full game. No one was selfish – we were spreading the wealth. We played well on defense. Our defense was firing on all cylinders.
“Pennsbury is still good. They’re going to be out for us. They’re a well-coached team.
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Norristown 12, Upper Moreland 5
Dan Staufenberg contributed two goals and six assists in the Eagles’ big win over the Golden Bears. Shane Franzone added three goals and an assist. Jesse Prante had four goals. Jake Naseef and Sean Calhoun each had one goal and two assists, and Kristain Angelucci added a goal and an assist.
Upper Moreland received scoring from Aaron Kim (two goals), Austin Saro (one goal, one assist), Nick Nolan (one goal) and John Lance (one goal). Matt Kickert had two assists.
Upper Merion 16, Plymouth Whitemarsh 8
Luc Minnich scored seven goals, and Nate Hare added four goals and two assists in the Vikings’ convincing win over the Colonials. Trevor Kupecky contributed three goals and three assists while James Brennan added a pair of goals. Wes McDowell (one goal, two assists) and John Widmaier (one goal) closed out the scoring for the Vikings.
For the Colonials, Zack Schulman contributed the hat trick and also added an assist. Colin Joka, Shawn Kaplan, Shane Isett, Andrew Cox and Patrick Kennedy each added single goals.
PW goalie Kevin Hennessy had five saves while Upper Merion’s Conor Crowe had 16 saves.
Wissahickon 17, Springfield 2
Ten Trojan players contributed goals or assists in Wissahickon’s big win. Leading the way were Nick Lucchesi (four goals, one assist), Jeff Gebert (three goals, two assists) and Shane Ziegler (two goals, two assists). Closing out the scoring were Brandon Irvine (one goal, one assist), Brian Frankenfield (one goal, one assist), AJ Anderson (one goal, one assist), Steve Carrozza (one goal), Matt Sivel (one goal) and Ward McMasters (one assist).
Trojan goalie Sean Smith was credited with two saves while the Spartans’ goalie turned away 22 shots. The Trojans are 7-0 in the SOL (7-3 overall).
Hatboro-Horsham 13, Souderton 7
Hatboro scored five first quarter goals, but Souderton rallied to knot the score 7-7. The Hatters broke the tie in the final minutes of the third quarter with two quick goals from Ryan Kreston and Kevin Sweeney.
The Indians never could regain the momentum they lost and did not score the rest of the way as the Hatters scored four unanswered goals in the final period.
Sweeney led the Hatters with four goals while Kreston added the hat trick and one assist. Eddie Coombs also had the hat trick and two assists. Robert Nagel added a pair of goals and Dom DeFazio, one goal. Jake Durkin had a pair of assists. Ben Knowles and Joey Palo dominated the face-offs.
J.P. Carroll and Bryan Ziegler each had two goals for the Indians (4-3 SOL, 7-3 overall). They also received goals from Brad Sawhill, Lee Stiles and Tim McIlhenny.
Souderton goalie Grant Nice recorded 14 saves while Dan Berret and Keith Lockman were strong on the defensive end for the Indians. Hatboro’s Dino Vitale recorded five saves.
The Hatters (5-1 SOL, 7-3 overall) return to action on Saturday when they face Archbishop Wood at the Katie Samson Festival at Radnor.
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