Check out the results for SOL boys/girls lacrosse teams in action Monday.
Boys
Central Bucks East 16, Central Bucks South 6
(Information included in this article was submitted by the respective teams.)
“It’s not how many times you get knocked down that count, it’s how many times you get back up.” – George A Custer
A paraphrase of that famous quote by General Custer was shouted out to no one in particular by a Central Bucks East player as the stunned Patriots headed to their postgame meeting after a 15-6 loss to archrival Central Bucks South on April 8.
The Patriots have gotten back up all right, winning six straight heading into Monday night’s rematch with the Titans, and they made their only 'knockdown' of the season seem like nothing but a distant memory with a dominating performance this time around.
"I was very pleased with the way they played," East coach Bruce Garcia said. "They have been playing that way for the last couple of games.
"Our loss to CB South in the middle of the season was probably – the way I look at it – a positive thing for us because it grounded the team, it humbled them. I did discuss with the team the following day the grounding (effect), and it seemed to propel them forward.
"As we prepared for last night's event, they remembered that bittersweet taste of how they felt that night and the next. Basically, they left no stone unturned, and they played a very, very good team, a very fast team, a very well-coached team."
According to senior Mike Vetter, the Titans caught the Patriots by surprise in the initial meeting.
“We came out that night – we had never had a problem with South in years past, and we didn’t know they were as good as they were,” Vetter said of East's first loss to CB South since 2007. “They came out, and they got up on us early. That put us down, and we struggled to come back.
“At the end of the game, we were so put down – we all knew we never wanted to have that feeling again, so we used that for the games after that, and that really helped us.”
The Patriots responded to that setback by defeating defending district champion Avon Grove 8-7 three days later. They went on to win their next five games by an average of eight goals, and not a whole lot changed on Monday night – a date the players had circled on their calendars since their disappointing loss.
“That loss made us very determined to prove ourselves,” said Vetter, who along with Owen Griffin led the Patriots with five goals and one assist. “It was such a bad loss – we lost by nine goals, and we just didn’t feel that South was that much better of a team than us at the time.
“We really wanted to prove ourselves that we were the best team in the SOL. We played Avon Grove, who made the state championship game last year, and we were all so mad about the loss. We just used our anger towards that game and just kept it going into the games after that until this game.”
Just over two minutes into Monday’s rematch, South led 2-0. It was hardly an omen of things to come as they did not score the remainder of the half while the Patriots reeled off seven unanswered goals to go into halftime with a 7-2 lead.
“On the defensive side, our coach figured out how to stop their two attackmen that really killed us that game,” Vetter said of Brendan McGrath and Chris Tanner. “We just game planned around what they did the last time, and it worked out great this game.”
McGrath and Tanner, who combined for eight goals in the early season meeting, had just three in Monday’s rematch.
The Patriots went on to open up a 13-4 lead after three quarters and increased that to double digits by the final horn.
“We were all very, very pleased,” Vetter said. “I feel like the last game was the same way for us as it was for them in this game.
“Now we share the SOL with them assuming they don’t lose any more games and neither do we. We’re hot right now, and this is a really good time to be where we are. We’re going to use that going into playoffs.”
In addition to Vetter and Griffin, Ryan Brown and Matt Brown both contributed two goals and two assists, and Jack Auteri added two goals and one assist. Logan Nelson had one assist. Auteri also won 19-of-25 face-offs.
"Our strength at face-off was a defining moment," Garcia said. "Also the production we got out of our attack – there were 12 goals our attack scored last night. The midfielders were purely that last night. We went deep on our bench, so the speed of our game in the fourth quarter was same as it was in the first quarter, whether we were playing defense or playing offense."
The Patriots’ team defense was clicking on all cylinders as they played their most physical game of the season. Seniors Mike Eveland and Dustin Buchanan led the stingy defense with several strong body checks at critical times in the game.
"Mike Eveland received a game ball last night," Garcia said of his close defenseman. "He started back there last night along with Austin Prime and Brian McIntosh.
"Dustin Buchanan and Matt Krumanacker were just huge. They shared the LSM position, and they were huge."
Goalie Sean McGovern was strong in cage, turning away nine shots.
Buchanan led the defense with six ground balls and four caused turnovers. Ryan Brown and Matt Brown each had four ground balls while Griffin and Austin Prime both had three. Vetter had two ground balls while Kevin D’Andrea and Matt Krumanacker each had one. Griffin also had one caused turnover.
"As far as our poles were concerned, they came to play, and they limited their attack to only four goals, and their other two goals were scored at midfield," Garcia said. "CB South's production is usually three times that in any given game.
"Not discounting Sean McGovern's ability in cage. He came and did an outstanding job in both stopping and clearing. There was a lot to be said for players all the way around. Jack Auteri was our face-off guy. Vetter and Owen Griffin on attack along with Ryan Brown. Matt Brown, at midfield, was like a Schwinn bike. He was unstoppable. What a stellar utility player he was last night. He and Jack on face-offs were huge."
For the Titans, Tanner had a pair of goals while Jake Henze had a goal and an assist to go along with seven ground balls. Dillon Kelly, Even Falkowski and McGrath each had one goal. Austin Naessens had one assist.
Robbie Richick turned away 13 shots in goal for the Titans.
Both squads boast identical 9-1 records in league play. East is 12-1 overall while South is 11-2.
Central Bucks South 2-0-2-2—6
Central Bucks East 5-2-6-3—16
Plymouth Whitemarsh 10, North Penn 9 (OT)
Austin Betterly – the focal point of the Knights' defense all night – scored in the final minute of the first overtime to propel the Colonials to the win in Monday's thriller. The game winner was set by a Riley White goalie clear.
"It was very exciting," said coach Bryan Gregg, whose team trailed by two in the second half. "The whole game they had locked off and were kind of face guarding Austin Betterly.
"At the end of the game, we had him running midfield, and our goalie dumped him a clear in the midfield. He outran a few players to the cage and scored within the last minute of overtime."
It took a man-up goal with three seconds remaining by Alex Savaerese to send the game into OT for the Colonials, who showed a definite flair for the dramatic.
"With 45 seconds left in regulation, Riley White came out and checked a kid, took the ball, cleared it and gave us the opportunity to even put it into overtime," Gregg said. "He (White) played very big for us."
Zach Zygmunt and Pat McGrath each connected for a hat trick to lead the Colonials to the overtime win. Alex Savarese and Betterly both added two goals.
White had big nine saves in a strong showing, and Gregg credited his defense for playing tough.
"Liam Golden takes the face-off wing and plays down low for us," the PW coach said. "We ask a lot of him.
"Alex DeCarlo is also a staple down low for us. Both of them are seniors, and they just both played pretty strong through the day. We didn't play our best defensive game, but we hung in well enough to give ourselves an opportunity to score and finish strong."
Council Rock South 7, Council Rock North 2
The Golden Hawks led 2-1 at the end of one quarter and still found themselves clinging to that lead at halftime. The Hawks came out of halftime and seized control of the game, keeping the Indians off the scoreboard in the third quarter while opening up a 5-1 lead on their way to the hard fought win in Monday’s battle of neighboring rivals.
“We just came out harder – ran harder and got in front,” coach John Hiron said of his team’s second half performance. “We got a lot of momentum with Brendan Patterson through the middle.
“Our goalie was the difference in the game. Adam Reifer was outstanding. Without him, we would have been torched. He was the difference in the game today.”
Sam Presley, Peter Mignacca and CJ Sweeney each scored two goals to lead the Golden Hawks. Tom Vanderslice added a single goal. Sweeney also had an assist.
For the Indians, Zach Conners and Zach Bark both scored single goals while Jackson Earley had an assist.
Council Rock North 1-0-0-1—2
Council Rock South 2-0-3-2—7
Girls
Neshaminy 14, St. Hubert’s 5
Fran Donato had herself a Senior Night to remember. The senior standout scored eight goals to lead the Redskins to the big win under the lights at Harry E Franks Stadium.
“The girls had so much excitement for Senior Night,” coach Ashley Belmonte said. “Before the game, I told the girls to keep up the energy they had and good things would happen.
“They played well tonight.”
Katelyn Denis added three goals while Mia Sexton, Ashley Nicoletti and JoAnne Mamie added one goal each for the ‘Skins, who led 10-2 at halftime.
Goalie Devon Iffrig turned away five shots in goal for the Redskins.
St. Hubert 2-3—5
Neshaminy 10-4—14
Springfield Township 18, Interboro 6
The Spartans led 7-3 at halftime and added to that lead in a dominant second half.
Ellie Hamilton led the attack with six goals while Lindsey Smith had five goals and seven draw controls. Marley Berger had three goals, three assists and two ground balls, and Caroline Pape added two goals, two assists, two ground balls and two caused turnovers. Zoe Edalatpour had one goal and three assists to go along with three draw controls and three ground balls.
Bailey Krewsoon had one goal and two assists as well as five ground balls, and Allison Yoder had one assist. Emily Giampietro had three draw controls while Molly Fitzpatrick was credited with three ground balls.
Goalie Margarethe Leis had six saves.
Springfield 7-11—18
Interboro 3-3—6
Southern Lehigh 10, Central Bucks South 9
Southern Lehigh took a 5-3 lead into halftime on its way to the hard fought win over the Titans.
Krysta Reading led the Titans with three goals and one assist while Kasey Dietzel added a hat trick. Courtney Dietzel had two goals and one assist, and Sarah Poli had one goal and two assists.
South goalie Erin Putnam was credited with eight saves.
Southern Lehigh 5-5—10
Central Bucks South 3-6—9
Downingtown West 20, Council Rock South 6
Caroline McGovern connected for the hat trick while Nikki Boyd, Anna DiDonato and Becca Daly each added single goals for the visiting Golden Hawks.
Rock South goalie Kim Starke was credited with 11 saves.
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