Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ lacrosse teams in action in Tuesday’s opening round of the District 1 3A Tournament.
District 1 3A opening round
#11 SOUDERTON 7, #22 HATBORO-HORSHAM 6
After the conclusion of a game that saw a lot of defense played on both sides, Souderton coach Craig Hunsberger gathered his players.
“This isn’t uncharted territory for us anymore,” Hunsberger said to his players of making the playoffs and advancing out of the first round.
What was a little bit of uncharted territory was how the Indians got out of this one. They scored a grand total of one goal in the second half, but it was all they needed thanks to a defensive effort that posted a 23:13 scoreless spell to end the contest.
“It was important for everyone to stay within our plan,” Souderton freshman long pole defenseman Max Ryon said. “Everyone had to constantly be talking and communicating. Any time we needed a slide or someone’s moving, we needed to communicate that. We just had to get each other through every single play and stick to our systems.”
Souderton jumped out to a 2-0 lead behind goals from John Martin Vince and Sean Landis, but the hosts trailed 3-2 early in the second quarter. David Benjamin scored the first goal, then assisted the first of back-to-back goals by Alex Cerminara in the first quarter before Cerminara ripped a take from range for the Hatters’ first lead with 10:33 remaining in the first half.
Souderton answered in short order, putting together three straight goals from Seth Grossman, Landis and Ty Quintois to build a 6-3 lead. While the Indians led by three goals, they didn’t come easily against Hatters goalie Brendan Kim, who recorded 12 saves, and an energized defense led by Will McCabe’s four caused turnovers.
Benjamin willed the Hatters to some momentum going into the half, scoring two goals around a score by Vince that cut the lead to 6-5. The visitors would make it interesting off the faceoff to start the second half when Max Mariano, who tallied three assists, found the cutting Shane Phillips for the tying goal 47 seconds into the third quarter.
Hatboro-Horsham didn’t score again. While the defense did a nice job, they also had some help as Indians goalie Matt Malaga (6 saves) turned in a strong showing between the posts that included a couple crucial fourth quarter stops.
“He takes the pressure off you a little bit,” Ryon said. “If you make a mistake, it’s not an automatic goal because Matt, he’s a stellar goalie and makes a ton of saves every game.”
Souderton still needed a goal to break the tie and an over-and-back turnover by Hatboro-Horsham presented the opportunity. The restart led to a quick chance in transition, Souderton getting numbers up the field fast and allowing Vince to find Tyson Bui for a one-time laser that found the top shelf of the goal.
“It was really important to get that goal and switch the momentum back going our way,” Bui said. “I knew their goalie was really good, we knew coming in he was good, so I told myself at halftime just stop thinking and shoot the ball like I know how to shoot.
“I take plenty of reps so at some point, you have to take everything you know about a goalie, throw it out the window and be confident in what you do.”
Souderton moves on to face No. 6 seed Wissahickon on Thursday. The Indians handed the Trojans a stunning 8-6 defeat back on April 22, a fact that Hunsberger noted would likely make for an angry Wiss squad when they meet in the round of 16.
The silver lining for Souderton (13-6, 6-4 SOL) was that the Indians not only won, they did so while playing far from their top form.
“We knew we weren’t playing our best, but it’s the playoffs, you just have to grind,” Bui said. “A win’s a win, we wanted to open it up a little bit more but it’s just grit. It’s why we train the offseason so hard so when we come into this kind of second half, we just work hard.”
Peyton Bannak won 10 of 17 faceoffs for the Indians and also was credited with six ground balls.
The loss concluded a special season for Hatboro-Horsham, which made its first postseason appearance in five years. Benjamin, a senior who led his team with three goals and two assists, had nothing but positives to take away from the season.
“We talked a lot before the game about playing as a family,” Benjamin said. “We had all the boys read an article by Marc Poust, he’s an HH alum, a really great goalie who played at Stevenson, which was all about family. I think that helped connect us all together.”
Max Mariano contributed three assists for the Hatters. Tommy Pedicone had two ground balls and three caused turnovers. Matt Duggan had two ground balls while Kevin Allison and Brett Yorko both had four ground balls and three caused turnovers. In addition to four caused turnovers, McCabe had two ground balls.
Hatboro-Horsham closed out its season with a 12-7 record overall, 7-2 in the SOL.
Hatboro-Horsham 2-3-1-0 6
Souderton 2-4-1-0 7
#16 COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 13, #17 DOWNINGTOWN WEST 12
Council Rock North made history on Tuesday night, edging the Whippets to capture the program’s first ever district playoff win.
“It’s been really tough – we’ve always seemed to run into a roadblock in the playoffs, having to go up against really talented teams, and we never completed the job,” Rock North coach John Fitzpatrick said. “This year, the seniors really stepped up – Zach Borden, Noah Epstein. These guys really stepped up in the game, and we’re moving on.”
Borden had himself quite a game in goal, turning away 21 shots in a stellar performance.
“Zach was outstanding between the pipes,” Fitzpatrick said. “He was standing on his head, and he was a real reason why we’re going to move on in the playoffs.”
Borden wasn’t the only player to turn in a monster performance in Tuesday’s win. Sam Lewis was all but unstoppable on attack and had a hand in nine goals, leading the Indians with seven goals and two assists.
“He was just incredible the whole game – his senior leadership,” Fitzpatrick said.
EJ Allian had a huge night at the faceoff X, winning 14 of 25 faceoffs. He also contributed two assists and led the Indians with nine ground balls.
“He just really battled the whole time and helped us in that area to gain possessions,” Fitzpatrick said. “The rest of the guys just filled in for me. Andrew Zazoff (3 goals, 2 assists) and so did freshman Liam Dudley, who had two goals and an assist.”
Also for the Indians, Jake Wellwood added one goal. Logan Atkinson had four ground balls
“The game went back and forth,” Fitzpatrick said. “We went up two, and they came back and went up 3-2 on us. We took the lead and never gave it back.
“It was just back and forth the whole game – back and forth, back and forth. We had a run in the third (quarter), and we were up four goals in the third. We just held on and finally a 13-12 win. They are very talented, they have very good players all over the place.”
Council Rock North (12-6, 7-3 SOL) will travel to #1 Radnor for a second round game on Thursday.
#12 UPPER DUBLIN 12, #21 ABINGTON 3
The Flying Cardinals outscored the visiting Ghosts 11-1 over the middle two quarters, seizing control of the game with a 5-0 second quarter burst to go into halftime with a 6-1 lead. They doubled that in the third quarter.
Will Bailey’s four-point game included three goals and two assists. Ben Gualiardo also had a hat trick, and Cam Osborne added two goals. Matt Shohen and Kyle Spirt both contributed a goal and an assist. Contributing one goal each were Al Eby and Chris Kohlbrenner.
Nate Fechter (7 saves) and Bubba Reape (3 saves) shared time in goal.
Upper Dublin (13-5, 8-1 SOL) will travel to #5 Downingtown East for Thursday’s second round game.
Abington 1-0-1-1 3
Upper Dublin 1-5-6-0 12
#14 RIDLEY 20, #19 PENNSBURY 7
The Falcons, who trailed 4-2 at the end of one quarter, found themselves on the short end of a 9-4 halftime score. The Green Raiders controlled play in the second half on their way to the win.
Mike DeZutel’s five-point game included two goals and three assists. Kolby Ranniello added a hat trick. Troy Haynes and John Curtis both had one goal. Jon Vereb was credited with 15 saves in goal.
Pennsbury closed out its season with a 12-7 record overall, 7-3 in the SOL.
Pennsbury 2-2-3-0 7
Ridley 4-5-6-5 20
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