Check out the Black Bear Lacrosse Club recaps for SOL boys’ lacrosse teams in action Friday. Upper Dublin/PW photos provided courtesy of Michael Rice Photography. Check back for a gallery of photos. CLICK HERE to go directly to Suburban One Sports’ BOYS’ LACROSSE GALLERIES.
American Conference
UPPER DUBLIN 7, PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 6
In a battle of a pair of unbeaten conference squads, Upper Dublin found itself in a hole early.
Trailing 4-1 after one quarter, the Cardinals put on a defensive clinic, holding Plymouth Whitemarsh to just 2 goals the rest of the game as the Cards jumped ahead and held off the Colonials to earn a hard-fought 7-6 victory in Friday’s American Conference game.
Leading 6-5 heading into the final quarter, the Cards extended their lead to 7-5 with 9:30 remaining in the game, but the Colonials answered just over 3 minutes later, trimming their deficit to 7-6 with just over 6 minutes left. That score held until the final whistle.
“The big thing was – it was a very tense game, it was exciting,” UD coach Pat Lacon said. “It was similar to a playoff atmosphere.
“We talked afterwards – that was the element that made it so much fun. Friday night, 7:30 under the lights. Definitely two teams fighting for playoff ground. Especially to be able to say – undefeated within the league. League standings – there were a lot of implications in this one, so it was exciting.”
Goalie Ben Shervin backstopped the Cardinals’ defense, which received outstanding efforts from Logan Fitzmaurice, Cole Rosenthal, Benji Ravitz, Dom Paone, and Jacob Reif. Short stick defensive middies Reilly McLaughlin, Frankie Mastroni, and Joey Burns provided strong efforts in their own end, while Aarush Pillai highlighted Upper Dublin’s efforts in the faceoff circle.
Will Hoffmann and Reece Taylor provided timely ground ball pickups, allowing the Cardinals to maintain possession during pivotal moments in the game.
Plymouth Whitemarsh received goals from Jack Cooper, who had a pair of goals, and Ciaden Lesczcynski, Luke LaViola, Dylan Ippolito, and Owen Cababe. Junior goalie Mason Best played exceptionally well in net with 10 saves. The defensive trio of senior poles Isaiah Bainbridge, Jackson Budin, and Dylan Imperial combined for 8 caused turnovers and 7 ground balls in holding the Cardinals to only 2 goals in the second half.
By the numbers: Upper Dublin: Matthew Shohen (2 goals), Reece Taylor (1 assist), Nate Brown (2 goals), Will Hoffmann (1 assist), Michael Pileggi (1 goal, 1 assist), Chase Foster (2 goals), Aarush Pillai (1 assist), Joey Burns (2 assist), Ben Shervin (10 Saves)
Plymouth Whitemarsh: Jack Cooper (2G, 1A), Ciaden Lesczcynski (1G, 1A, 1GB), Luke LaViola (1G), Dylan Ippolito (1G, 2GB), Owen Cababe (1G, 1A, 1CTO, 1GB), Isaiah Bainbridge (4CTO, 2GB), Jackson Budin (2CTO, 3GB), Dylan Imperial (2CTO, 2GB), Luke Smith (1CTO, 1GB), Luke Wynne (1CTO), Kevin Hegarty (1CTO), Scott Marguiles (1GB), Sean Herron (1GB), Drew Strohl (1GB), Kai Silverman (1GB, 2 for 11 FO), Fidel Greene (2 for 4 FO), Mason Best (10 Saves, 2GB).
Upper Dublin coach Pat Lacon on the game: “They came out very hot. The best analogy to compare it to is we were the hunted in the first quarter. After we survived some heavy onslaught, we regrouped at the end of the first quarter, refocused and sent the message that we’ve got to hit singles, and we’ve got to focus on the next piece of every play. Whether it be a ground ball, whether it be a shot or a pass or a feed or a defensive stop or a face-off – whatever component it was, we had to focus on making sure that we were in the best position to succeed with those elements. Then we started to control back. We tied it with about a minute left or so in the first half.”
–The turnaround: “We flipped the message – ‘We just have to go out there and do what we do. We have to compete. These guys came to compete. We built a schedule around making sure that we’re competing every day. We compete in practice. Let’s go back to the basic, simple principles of what we do.’ We started to get a break here and there because we were focused on the simple parts, and all of a sudden, we got on a little bit of a momentum run and were able to tie it going into half.
“It was a full team effort in the sense that once we started winning some face-offs – we had some great wing play on face-offs. We had some great transition with clears, we had a great ride set up. Our offense was able to make the right decisions, and we were able to bury the opportunities that we had.
“Give credit to (PW) because they definitely came in with a strong game plan. They executed the game plan, they made us have to work and earn everything we got.”
–The second half: “It was 7-5, and they scored with 6 minutes and 14 seconds to go. They got an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty right after they scored, so we went up a minute. Unfortunately, we didn’t capitalize, but at that moment, they started to regain momentum, and after the penalty, I wouldn’t say they lost a lot of momentum, but definitely, it shook their sideline a bit.”
–Credit the Colonials: “Their scores do not indicate what they are as a team. That team was a very seasoned, ready to compete team.”
Up next: Upper Dublin (7-6, 6-0 SOL) will visit Conestoga at 10 am today. The Colonials (6-7, 6-1) will host Pennsbury at 3:30 pm Monday.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 4 1 0 1 – 6
Upper Dublin 1 4 1 1 – 7
ABINGTON 15, CHELTENHAM 2
National Conference
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 13, NESHAMINY 1
Central Bucks East poured in 5 goals in the first quarter and rolled to a 13-1 victory over Neshaminy in Friday’s National Conference game.
Thomas Williams led the Patriots with 6 goals and 2 assists.
By the numbers: Central Bucks East: Thomas Williams (6 goals, 2 assists, 2 CTO), Matthew Bowen (2 goals, 1 GB), Ryan Atkinson (1 goal, 1 assist), Adam Volm (1 goal, 1 assist), Evan Riley (1 goal), Jack Williams (1 goal, 2 GB, 1 CTO), Ryan Williams (1 goal, 1 GB), Michael Smallwood (1 assist, 1 GB), Ben Bridegum (1 assist, 3 GB, 3 CTO), Tristan Smith (3 GB, 2 CTO), David Brown (2 GB, 1 CTO), William Menard (2 GB, 1 CTO), Luke Walters (2 GB), Jackson Jagoda (2 GB), Rowen Coverdale (8/12 FO, 6 GB, 1CTO), Jax Disantis (2/5 FO), Ben Snyder (8 saves, 0 GA), Nolan Gerstberger (0 saves, 1 GA).
Up next: East (8-5, 4-2 SOL) will visit Lansdale Catholic at 4 pm Monday. Neshaminy (1-13, 0-7) returns to action at Council Rock South at 7 pm Wednesday.
Central Bucks East 5 2 4 2 – 13
Neshaminy 0 0 0 1 – 1
SOUDERTON 8, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 1
Defense was the story of Souderton’s win over the visiting Titans on Friday. The Indians took a 4-0 lead into halftime and allowed only a third quarter goal.
Brody Anderson led Souderton’s attack with four goals.
Peyton Bannak dominated at the face-off X, winning 9 of 12 face-offs and coming up with a team-high seven ground balls.
By the numbers: Souderton: Brody Anderson (4 goals, 4 GB), Ty Sauerwald (2 goals, 1 GB),, Chris Touhey (3 assists), Logan Blair (1 goal, 2 assists, 4 GB), Trey Bui (1 goal), Dylan Brun (1 assist, 3 GB), Oliver Brewer (1 assist, 1 GB), Peyton Bannak (9/12 FO, 7 GB), Andrew Rivera (4 saves, 2 GB), Jackson Hirschman (1 CTO, 2 GB), Max Ryon (3 CTO, 6 GB), Alex Benfield (1 CTO, 3 GB)
Up next: Souderton (13-1, 8-0 SOL) will travel to Owen J Roberts for a non-league game Monday, and Central Bucks South (5-7, 2-3) will host Oxford for a non-league game Monday.
Central Bucks South 0-0-1-0 1
Souderton 1-3-0-4 8
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 5, PENNSBURY 3
Kanen Patel made 12 saves as Central Bucks West won a low-scoring affair against Pennsbury. The Bucks led 3-0 after one quarter and took a 4-1 lead into halftime on their way to the win.
Michael Rafalowski led the Bucs with 2 goals and 1 assist.
Pennsbury’s Bradley Hill won 7 of 11 faceoffs.
By the numbers: Central Bucks West: Michael Rafalowski (2 goals, 1 assist), Alex Greenspan (2 goals), Ben Greenspan (1 goal), Killian Eickman (4/11 FO), Kanen Patel (12 saves)
Pennsbury: Trent Becker (2 goals), John Curtis (1 assist), Logan Thorne (1 assist), Bradley Hill 1 goal, 7/11 FO, 5 GB), Jaden Beach (14 saves)
Up next: The Falcons will visit Plymouth Whitemarsh for a nonleague matchup at 3:30 pm Monday. The Bucks will host Pennridge at 7 pm Wednesday.
Central Bucks West 3 1 0 1 – 5
Pennsbury 0 1 0 2 – 3
Nonleague
BOYERTOWN 10, WISSAHICKON 9 (OT)
Wissahickon held a 6-3 lead at halftime, but Boyertown chipped away at the lead through the second half, forcing overtime and topping the Trojans 10-9 in the extra frame in Friday’s nonleague matchup.
Tyler Moore led the Trojans with 2 goals and 2 assists.
By the numbers: Wissahickon: Tyler Moore (2 goals, 2 assists, 4 GB), Chase Comer (2 goals, 1 assist, 2 GB), Kyle Intal (2 goals, 1 assist, 4 GB), Austin Myers (1 goal, 1 assist, 2 GB), Nolan Pounds (4 GB), Paulie Brogan (3 GB), Link Matozzo (1 goal, 2 GB), Colin Murphy (1 goal, 2 assists, 3 GB, 2/4 FO), Matt Frankenfield (1 CTO, 1 GB), Quinn McClintic (2 CTO, 2 GB), Logan Bruno (1 CTO, 2 GB), Danny Hussa (1 assist, 6 CTO, 7 GB), Cole Lilienfeld (2 CTO, 2 GB), Charlie Hussa (1 CTO), Nolan Reilly (8/19 FO, 5 GB), Kyle Crump (6 saves).
Up next: The Trojans (11-4, 5-1 SOL) will look to bounce back when they visit Upper Moreland at 3:45 pm Monday.
Wissahickon 1 5 1 2 0 – 9
Boyertown 2 1 2 4 1 – 10
Thursday, April 24
UPPER MORELAND 12, NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 5
Upper Moreland – which led 5-3 at halftime – finished strong to pull away in the second half and earn a 12-5 win over New Hope-Solebury in Thursday’s American Conference game.
Kevin Messina had a 6-point game (5 goals, 1 assist), while Judah Wood added a hat trick and 1 assist.
By the numbers: Upper Moreland: Kevin Messina (5 goals, 1 assist), Judah Wood (3 goals, 1 assist), Kevin Smith (2 goals), Paul Fell (1 goal), David Adamski (1 goal), Travis Quirk (2 assists).
Up next: The Golden Bears (8-4, 2-3 SOL) host Wissahickon at 3:45 pm Monday. New Hope-Solebury visits nonleague opponent Father Judge at 4 pm Monday.
Upper Moreland 2 3 2 5 – 12
New Hope-Solebury 0 3 1 1 – 5
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