Six SOL boys’ lacrosse teams will be in action in Thursday’s second round of the District One 3A Tournament.
Central Bucks East makes winning championships look easy.
Perhaps too easy.
“A lot of people are tired of hearing the word East,” coach Bruce Garcia said. “They’re sick and tired of the word lacrosse and East and winning. They want somebody else at the top. I don’t want that to happen.”
The Patriots rolled to a 9-0 record and yet another SOL National Conference crown this season. It was their fourth straight title after a one-year hiatus in 2013 when Hatboro-Horsham won the crown.
“We’ve been faced with a lot of good teams, a lot of well-coached teams, a lot of athletic players in our conference,” Garcia said. “Our conference is very strong.
“We’ve been fortunate to come on the winning side of the scoreboard.”
The Patriots are 14-3 overall with all three of their losses coming at the hands of non-conference opponents, including top-seeded Avon Grove.
“They all took something away from those games that helped propel us to where we are right now,” Garcia said.
The conference champion Patriots are the fifth seed in the District One 3A Tournament, the highest seed of any SOL school.
“The team that is playing now in the middle of May is not the same team we started with on March 6,” Garcia said. “They have all evolved, and they have peaked and learned and come such a long way.
“It is an absolute pleasure to be around these young men and watch them give 110 percent regardless of the weather in practice, so when they go on the field, playing the game is sometimes a little bit easier than practices are. They are a self-motivated group of players.”
This year’s squad boasts 13 all-conference players. Ask Garcia to name several who are catalysts, and he insists that’s an impossible task.
“We have a lot of individual players, but what makes this team different – we would not win with any one of these individual players,” the Patriots’ coach said. “We win with the group.
“The group is what makes everything work. If we take any one player out of the mix, the group still performs at a high level, which is a very good position to be in. We have a lot of people on the bench that we can rotate in, and the group will still continue to perform at the highest level with these new players.
“We do have some very, very good players, and I would have to name probably the whole team. Ryan Brown, Michael Ott, Bryan McIntosh, Joey Thiroway…I could just go on and on and on. Defensive middies – Colin Stein…we have some very good players in the midfield. Our first five, six, seven midfielders – I could put the sixth one in first. They’re interchangeable. There are a lot of people to play, and we’ll need all of them (Thursday against CB West). It will probably be 90 degrees temperature-wise and 100 degrees on the turf.”
Garcia jokingly suggested the secret to his team’s success might be in the water, but on a more serious note, he pointed to his assistant coaches – Jim Mithofer, Joe Brodzik and Dan Gray. According to the Patriots’ coach, they are the difference makers.
“They bring the nuts and bolts,” he said. “They do what is needed to be done. If I were to lay any accolades on anyone, it would be to all of those assistant coaches that are coaching today.
“The ones we’ve had in the past that may no longer be here that have coached some of these seniors and juniors. They’re the ones that deserve the kudos, they’re the ones that have gotten us to where we are today.”
Mithofer and Brodzik are the offensive coordinators. Gray, the Patriots’ defensive coordinator, has returned this season after stepping away to devote more time to his family. He follows in the footsteps of defensive coaches Brian Vetter and Dan Brown.
“Both Dan Brown and Brian Vetter are not back this year, but they’re the two that I also have to give kudos to because they have helped all these players,” Garcia said. “Just because they’re not back this year doesn’t mean their work was done in vain.
#12 CENTRAL BUCKS WEST at #5 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST (Thursday, 4 p.m.)
Central Bucks East
- 14-3 overall
- 9-0 SOL National Conference (first place)
- Regular season wins over #6 Hatboro-Horsham (10-8), #7 North Penn (9-8), #12 Central Bucks West (10-4), #14 Pennridge (15-7), #15 Owen J. Roberts (6-5), #16 Council Rock North (11-5), #20 CB South (13-4)
- Regular season loss to #1 Avon Grove (8-3)
- Have won 11 of 12 games heading into the postseason
Coach Bruce Garcia says: “We’re playing a rivalry game, and bets are all off. You never known what’s going to happen. It will be an exciting game. These teams both match up very well, and I’m proud to be a part of it.”
How they got here: Opening round bye.
Central Bucks West
- 13-5 overall
- 7-2 SOL National Conference (third place behind CB East and North Penn)
- Joey Rockovich scored his 100th career goal and set a single-season record for goals in a season.
- Regular season wins over #14 Pennridge (7-6), #16 CR North (8-4), #20 CB South (11-3), #23 Wissahickon (9-4)
- Regular season losses to #5 CB East (10-4), #6 Hatboro (12-5), #7 North Penn (7-6), #9 Downingtown East (10-5)
- 3-3 record in last six games heading into postseason
How they got here: CB West defeated #21 Boyertown 7-6 in an opening round game. Joey Rockovich scored had three goals and added one assist, and Ben Sexauer had two goals and an assist. Garrett Hitchens won 11-of-16 face-offs, and Nick Werner had eight ground balls.
#22 WEST CHESTER RUSTIN at #6 HATBORO-HORSHAM (Thursday, 4 p.m.)
Hatboro-Horsham
- 16-3
- 9-0 SOL American Conference (first place)
- Led by senior co-captain Ian Eldridge (39 goals, 29 assists), face-off specialist Brian Hood (80 percent success rate), defenders Jeff Marshall (junior, Del-Val) and Drew Robinson (sophomore, Air Force) and sophomore goalie Joe Brophy
- Regular season wins over #11 Souderton (11-9), #12 CB West (12-5), #13 Upper Dublin (9-6), #20 CB South (16-4), #23 Wissahickon (15-2)
- Regular season losses to #2 Garnet Valley (12-6), #5 CB East (10-8)
- Have won four of five games heading into the postseason
How they got here: Opening round bye.
West Chester Rustin
- 10-9 overall
- 6-5 Ches-Mont League (tied for fifth with Unionville and West Chester East, behind Avon Grove, West Chester Henderson, Downingtown East and Bishop Shanahan)
- Led by goalie Kyle Mullin, Cal MacKenzie, Mike Burke, Nick Madonna, Tim Durant, Will Pileggi
How they got here: Rustin upset #11 Souderton 8-6, outscoring the host Indians 7-3 in the middle two quarters. Cal MacKenzie’s two goals and two assists led Rustin. Goalie Kyle Mullin turned away 11 of 17 shots.
#10 HAVERFORD at #7 NORTH PENN (Thursday, 7 p.m.)
North Penn
- 13-4
- 8-1 SOL National Conference (second place behind CB East)
- Led by Reece Udinski, Nick Keim, Eric Diamond, Tanner Nelson, goalie Matt Rinck
- Regular season wins over #12 CB West (7-6), #14 Pennridge (15-5), #16 CR North (13-9), #20 CB South (14-12), #23 Wissahickon (9-7), #24 Great Valley (10-9)
- Regular season losses to #5 CB East (9-8), #9 Downingtown East (12-6)
- Have won seven of eight games entering postseason
Head coach Rick Smith says: “We are excited to be the seventh seed, and we are looking forward to the challenge of the district playoffs. The bye gives us an extra day to prepare and also allows us to get some players healthy for the playoffs.”
How they got here: Opening round bye.
Haverford
- 14-5 overall
- Regular season wins over #17 Ridley (13-12 OT), #18 Council Rock North (16-10) and #19 Unionville (17-4)
- How they got here: Haverford defeated #23 Wissahickon 10-3 in an opening round game that saw the Fords shut out the Trojans in both the second and third quarters. Nick Dilorio’s hat trick led a balanced attack.
#13 UPPER DUBLIN at #4 SPRING-FORD (Thursday, 7 p.m.)
Upper Dublin
- 12-6 overall
- 8-1 SOL American Conference (second place behind Hatboro-Horsham)
- Graduated 14 seniors from 2016 District One championship squad
- Regular season wins over #11 Souderton (11-5), #15 Owen J. Roberts (10-8), #23 Wissahickon (9-3)
- Regular season losses to #1 Avon Grove (14-2), #6 Hatboro (9-6)
- Won 10 of 11 games heading into the postseason
How they got here: Upper Dublin defeated #20 Central Bucks South 8-7. Goalie Dillon Lojeski had nine saves, two down the stretch to preserve the win. Max Winebrake led the Cardinals with four goals and one assist. Luke Roselli won 12 of 19 face-offs.
Spring-Ford
- 16-2 overall
- 9-0 Pioneer Athletic Conference regular season champion
- Captured seventh straight PAC title with 9-5 win over Owen J Roberts
- Led by Boston University commit Danny Cassidy
- Regular season wins over #15 Owen J Roberts (10-4, 9-5), #20 Central Bucks South (16-5) and #21 Boyertown (12-1, 11-6)
- Only losses of the season came at the hands of #1 Avon Grove (8-9) and #2 Garnet Valley (8-12).
How they got here: Opening round bye.
#14 PENNRIDGE at #3 CONESTOGA (Thursday, 5:30 p.m.)
Pennridge
- 12-7 overall
- 6-3 SOL National Conference (fourth behind CB East, North Penn, CB West)
- Led by Kyle Fanelli (41 goals, 28 assists), Chris Warner (33 goals, 33 assists), Tristan Banks (.590 save percentage)
- Regular season wins over #16 CR North (8-7), #20 CB South (8-7)
- Regular season losses to #3 Conestoga (19-1), #5 CB East (15-7), #7 North Penn (15-5), #11 Souderton (7-5), #12 CB West (7-6), #23 Wissahickon (10-4)
- Won four of its last five games heading into postseason
How they got here: Pennridge held on for a 13-12 win over #18 Unionville. Junior goalie Tristan Banks turned away 18 shots, including a pair of shots in the closing minute. Nick Fanelli led the attack with four goals and two assists.
CLASS AA
#7 SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP at #2 WEST CHESTER HENDERSON (Saturday, May 20)
Springfield Township
- 13-5
- 4-5 SOL American Conference (sixth behind Hatboro, Upper Dublin, Souderton, Wissahickon and PW)
- Senior co-captains George Baughan (Princeton University commit) and Charlie Rittenhouse lead the Spartans
- 3-3 in last six games heading into the postseason
How they got here: Springfield defeated #10 Pope John Paul II in an opening round game. Cam Callands and Paul Richardson both scored two goals. Paul Asman had seven saves in goal.
West Chester Henderson
- 15-2 overall
- 10-1 Ches-Mont League second place behind Avon Grove
- Impressive resume includes regular season wins over Class 2A #4 Bishop Shanahan (7-6) and Class 3A #9 Downingtown East (9-5), #10 Haverford (10-2), #12 Central Bucks West (14-7), #19 Unionville (7-6), #22 Rustin (8-5) and #24 Great Valley (11-4).
- Closed regular season with 14-game winning streak after losing two of three games to open the season.
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