By Alex Frazier
Highlighting…Paul Reutemann
It certainly wasn’t the way he wanted to go out.
A senior midfielder at North Penn, Paul Reutemann played his final high school lacrosse game Wednesday evening.
After winning the SOL National Conference as a freshman, Reutemann has not enjoyed the same success in his final three years.
The Knights were hoping to end the season with a .500 record, but Wednesday’s 11-7 loss to Central Bucks South dropped them to 5-7, tied with the Titans for fourth place.
“You always want to win the last one,” said Reutemann.
Despite his team’s dismal season, Reutemann can take solace in the fact that he had a stellar career for the Knights.
Reutemann finished this year with 39 goals and eight assists. He was also the fourth leading scorer in North Penn history.
“Paul has been our offensive catalyst throughout the season,” said coach Jeff Greiner. “When we need a goal, we give the ball to Paul, and he consistently comes through.”
As North Penn’s go-to player, Reutemann always drew a lot of attention from opposing teams.
“It is important to remember that Paul's value to North Penn is no secret, so game after game he is assigned our opponent’s best defender, and he still is averaging just under three goals a game,” said Greiner. “He has a talent for finding a way to score. “There are times when I see him get worked over by a double team and you think there is no way he is going to get out of it, and the next thing you know, Paul finds a way to clear his hands and he scores.”
Reutemann’s value to the team isn’t just on the stat sheet. As a four-year starter and captain, Reutemann had a lot of experience and knowledge to impart to his younger teammates.
“Paul has been a tremendous leader for us this season, as a captain he demonstrates to the younger guys, through his work ethic, what it takes to be a successful lacrosse player,” said Greiner.
Some guys are reluctant leaders as captains, but not Reutemann.
“I’ve been waiting to be team captain for four years,” he said. “I like when other guys look up to me for what to do and showing them what they have to do next year to be better than what we were this year.”
Two of Reutemann’s greatest qualities as an athlete are his competitiveness and his equanimity.
As Greiner explained it, “He plays to win and I've yet to see him quit. It's not uncommon, when somebody gets the attention he gets and receives the amount of hard checks he takes in a game to see a player’s temper flare, but it just doesn't happen with Paul; he keeps his focus on the game and just plays.”
Reutemann started playing in lacrosse in fourth grade, thanks to his mother who found a flyer advertising the youth program.
“She thought she’d introduce me to a new sport,” he said. “I fell in love with it once I touched the stick.”
He now plays with Rebel Elite. He’s traveled in the tri-state area as well as to Florida for a big tournament.
Reutemann will be attending Syracuse next year on an academic scholarship. He considered other schools such as Cabrini and Hofstra, but when he visited Syracuse, he decided that it was for him.
“I’m looking more at academics,” he said. “It was my best choice. That’s why I’m going to college.”
He plans a double major in business and international relations.
Reutemann will play lacrosse at Syracuse, but whether it will be on the college or club team remains to be seen.
He will try to walk on in the fall, and if that’s not successful, he will play club ball.
“I talked to the recruiter there, but they were done recruiting,” said Reutemann. “I sent all my stuff, but the coach said he couldn’t guarantee me a spot. If I’ve got a shot, I’ve got a shot. If it comes down to it, hey, there’s club and I’m still playing.”
Over the summer, he will do his best to get ready for the challenge of trying to make the team of last year’s defending NCAA champions.
He plans to play in an adult summer league in Central Bucks, practice on his own, lift weights and even attend a camp or two.
“Paul loves the game,” said Greiner. “He responds to the pressure, thrives on the challenge. He is a very mature player in that he monitors his own play and seeks to correct flaws in his game.”
Hopefully that’s enough to make the Orange.
Trojans serve – When Wissahickon lacrosse coach Anthony Gabrielle attended Boston College, he learned the value of helping others.
“The big push, a Jesuit thing or maybe a BC thing in general, was always about serving others and giving back to your community,” he said.
Now he’s trying to impart that to his team.
After graduating from BC, Gabrielle returned to his alma mater and took over the lacrosse program.
But he only stayed with the program for two seasons.
“I was a year or two out of college and not really ready for it,” he said, “so I stepped away and went back to school.”
Between then and last year when he took over the program again, he and assistant coach Jim Simmington started the Wissahickon youth program as well as a seventh and eighth grade program.
When he had graduated in 1994, there was no such thing as community service. He wanted to change that.
The Trojans were coming off of three losing seasons and weren’t very active in the community.
“I wanted to bring this piece in,” he said. “It’s important, for athletes especially. Part of that was wanting to change the culture that was around the lacrosse program.”
Last year he and his assistant decided to start a community service day. He called the township parks and recreation department and asked what his team could do.
Last year the Trojans chipped a walking trail at Wentz Run Park, a 49-acre multi-purpose outdoor recreation facility.
This year the team went to Prophecy Creek Park, 82-acres of open space with rolling meadows and ponds and an estate house and barn.
Despite having a game the night before, close to 50 guys rousted themselves out of bed Saturday morning and appeared at Prophecy Park ready to work.
“It wasn’t like waking up and going to work,” said junior attackman Garrett Rosiek. “We had fun doing it and it helped our team bonding.”
Their job this year was to clean up debris, plant flowers and mulch.
The team was divided up by position and sent off to a task.
“It took us about three hours,” said Gabrielle. “The guys were wiped at the end.”
Not only is the team involved in a community service project, but individuals also volunteer time to help coach in the youth league.
“We’re always telling the kids to be proud to wear that Wissahickon jersey,” said Gabrielle. “We’re always telling the kids, it’s not just about getting on the field and playing lacrosse, it’s about representing yourselves, your team, your school and in the long run your community.
“Especially the work we do with the youth leagues, the more you guys are out there and more the kids see you, the more they look up to you as role models and you need to set a good example, and part of that is showing them that even though you are a high school student and a student athlete you’ll still take the time and care enough to give back to the community that helped you get this far.”
What do the players think of community service?
If Rosiek is any indication, it is hugely successful.
“It’s always great to give back to the community,” he said. “When you sign up for Wissahickon lacrosse, it’s something that’s expected of you.”
“Personally, I think all of our teams should do it,” said Gabrielle.
Déjà-vu – Dave Sowers was fit to be tied. Last year the Hatboro-Horsham coach came up a game short of a piece of the Continental Conference title. A loss to Central Bucks West when he wasn’t on the sidelines, turned out to be the difference after the Hatters split games with eventual champ Central Bucks East.
This year followed nearly the same script.
On April 3, the Hatters lost to C.B. East 13-8 and followed that with an 11-9 loss to West 11 days later.
Then Hatboro-Horsham avenged both losses, beating West 10-6 on April 29 and two days later downing C.B. East 11-9.
East went up 2-0 early and the game became a back-and-forth affair. In the last seven minutes, Ryan Krestin took over, scoring four goals.
“Every time we play C.B. East, it’s a heavyweight title fight,” said Sowers. “I love playing C.B. East. They’re so well coached by Bruce Garcia. They have talent.”
The Hatters’ fate lay in C.B. West’s hands. If the Bucks upset East, Hatboro-Horsham would tie.
So, the Hatters chance for a league title came down to the C.B. East-C.B. West game on Wednesday. Once again the Patriots ruled supreme, defeating West 12-9, thereby relegating the Hatters to second place for a second straight year.
TO add insult to injury, the Hatters dropped their final game of the season Thursday night. After beating rival Abington a year ago, the Ghosts pulled off a 14-13 overtime win, which could have playoff-seeding implications.
Around the league – Can you believe it? The SOL season is already over and the inaugural District One playoffs are on the doorstep.
Despite the lousy spring weather, there was some very competitive and exciting lacrosse played.
The National Conference title came down to the last game of the year between Abington and Pennsbury. The Falcons had a chance of tying for the title, but the Ghosts would have none of that as they defeated Pennsbury 12-7 for their 33rd consecutive league victory and third straight championship.
The Continental Conference also came down to the wire with Central Bucks East defeating archrival West 12-9 to avert a potential tie with Hatboro-Horsham, which gave the Patriots their only conference loss.
Upper Dublin sailed through the American Conference with an unblemished 12-0 mark. A much-improved Upper Merion lost only twice, both times to the Cardinals. Plymouth Whitemarsh got off to a very slow start, but rebounded to finish third with a pair of losses to Upper Dublin and splits with Upper Merion and Wissahickon.
Next week I’ll compare my pre-season predictions with the final standings. Don’t worry; I’ll be prepared for the ridicule.
SOL Top Five
1. Central Bucks East
2. Abington
3. Hatboro-Horsham
4. Upper Dublin
5. Central Bucks West
EPSLA Top 15
May 4
Team (1st Place Votes) LaxPower Record, Last Week, Points
1. LaSalle College H.S. (12) 11-3, 2, 208
2. Conestoga (2) 15-1, 3, 195
3. St. Joseph’s Prep, 10-1, 1, 180
4. Downingtown East, 14-2, 4, 169
5. Episcopal Academy, 11-6, 5, 138
5. Radnor, 13-3, 7, 138
7. The Haverford School, 12-8, 9, 117
8. Springfield-Delco, 12-4, 6, 106
9. Emmaus, 11-3, 10, 89
10. Malvern Prep, 5-8, 8, 83
11. Lower Merion, 10-4, 12, 58
12. Central Bucks East, 11-3, 11, 51
13. West Chester East, 12-2, 13, 50
14. Abington, 12-3, NR, 26
15. Owen J. Roberts, 16-1, 14, 24
Others Receiving Votes (listed alphabetically): Archbishop Wood, Garnet Valley, Germantown Academy, Hatboro-Horsham, Ridley, Strath Haven, Unionville
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