Wissahickon was edged by second-seeded Radnor in a classic District One 3A quarterfinal on Saturday.
District One 3A quarterfinal
No. 2 Radnor 8, No. 7 Wissahickon 7
RADNOR - They’re not finished yet. Not by a long shot.
Wissahickon – looking anything but the part of a seven seed – did everything but win Saturday’s District One 3A quarterfinal played in sweltering heat against heavily favored Radnor. Take away a two-and-a-half minute stretch late in the game, and the Trojans had the better of play.
The Trojans are one of four teams vying for the final two state berths, and they look like a team that has a whole lot of lacrosse left in it.
“We’re going to go back and watch film and correct some of the things that we did wrong,” senior captain Matt Fritz said. “Tomorrow starts a brand new day and Tuesday, it’s one-and-done, so we’ve got to win that one.
“This game we played a little bit more freely because obviously we were the underdog. That definitely did help us a little bit, but we’re just going to go back to work. Like I was telling the group right after the game, ‘Monday’s going to have to be the most focused practice that we have on the year’ because we have a lot of seniors on this team, including me, and I don’t want this to end right now. I want this to keep on going.
“We were all saying - you just have to survive and advance, you just have to make it into states. You don’t have to be the top team from District One, you just have to make it in there because we know what we’re capable of doing.”
Radnor certainly found out rather quickly what the Trojans are capable of doing as the visitors – behind a pair of Kyle Lehman goals - opened up a 3-1 lead and still led by one at the end of the opening period.
After Radnor knotted the score 3-3, the Trojans regained the lead midway through the second quarter on a goal by Nicholas Donofrio. Radnor evened the score late in the frame, and the two teams went into halftime deadlocked 4-4.
Playing no small role in the Trojans’ ability to control play was the dazzling effort of Fritz at the face-off X where he won every face-off in the opening half.
“The key for me is just keeping my composure,” Fritz said. “I have a chip on my shoulder because a lot of guys are coming after me in a way. In the beginning of the season, I let it affect me a little bit. I put a lot of pressure on myself, but now I’m just really playing loosely. I feel like – I have the talent, I just have to stay level-headed.”
It was a 5-5 game late in the third quarter when the Trojans turned the ball over on the defensive end, but they displayed their resolve by coming up with a takeaway before Radnor crossed midfield. Dean Wolfe scored off the takeaway to put the Trojans on top 6-5. Less than a minute later, Radnor evened the score, and the two teams were deadlocked 6-6 heading into the final period.
That score stood until Radnor scored back-to-back goals – both after Trojan miscues – to go on top 8-6 with 2:23 remaining. Fritz won the ensuing face-off and found teammate Jackson Intrieri, whose rocket found the net in a brilliant sequence that took just six seconds off the clock.
“That was an amazing goal by Jackson, and then I just kept my head up and walked straight back to the face-off X because – for me, the best thing is taking it one at a time, so in my head, it’s 0-0 every single face-off I take,” Fritz said. “I’ve just got to get the job done for my team.”
Fritz won the next face-off as well, but a Trojans’ turnover gave Radnor possession, and the Raiders were able to run out the clock.
“We knew coming into the game it was going to be tough in the heat, and we’re not the deepest team,” Wissahickon coach Matt Conway said. “We started to run out of gas in the fourth, but still, we had our opportunities late in the game.
“Fritz came down on the face-off, we scored, we got the ball back, and we had our opportunities in the fourth quarter, but we just didn’t capitalize. And we had some turnovers that against a team like Radnor you can’t make because they’re going to capitalize on everything.”
Conway – when asked about Radnor after Thursday night’s second round win over Downingtown East – said that the district’s second-ranked team would be a ‘handful.’ It turns out the Trojans were every bit as much of a handful for Radnor.
“We have a bunch of athletic kids,” said Fritz, who won a ridiculous 15-of-18 face-offs. “I’m so proud of every single kid on this team honestly, and as I said before, I’m best friends with every single person on this team. Radnor has a bunch more guys going to play in college. We have a few on our team, but even the guys that aren’t going to be playing in college, they know how much it means to us, and they carry that passion. I’m so proud of how hard they’re working.
“(Radnor) deserves all the credit. That was an amazing game. I’m sure as a spectator it was a lot of fun to watch. That’s a game you could see deep in states too. It just happened that it occurred in the quarterfinals.”
Conway’s message to his team after the game was simple.
“I said, ‘Hey, we’ve got to forget about this one, and Tuesday if we win, we’re on to states, it’s as simple as that,’” the Trojans’ coach said. “I think the guys know that. It definitely stings – you can tell they hate to lose, but the bottom line is – win Tuesday, and we’re on to states.”
Shortly after the final whistle sounded on Saturday’s game, Fritz and Radnor senior Grant Pierce – a Fairfield University commit and teammate of Fritz’s on the club circuit - were talking at midfield.
“Hopefully, we’ll see you in states,” said Pierce as they parted way.
“For sure,” said Fritz.
It certainly could happen, but first, the Trojans (15-5, 9-0 SOL) have to take care of business on Tuesday night when they travel to No. 3 Perkiomen Valley. The winner of Tuesday’s playback game earns a state berth while the loser goes home. Perk Valley – which fell to Wissahickon 9-2 in a late-season game – lost to Downingtown West 11-3 in quarterfinal action.
EXTRA SHOTS: All but lost in the shuffle on Saturday’s dramatic game was the stellar 13-save effort of Trojan goalie Scott Pfeiffer….Kyle Lehman’s two goals and one assist led the Trojans. Wolfe added a pair of goals while Intrieri, Brody Myers and Donofrio each had one goal.
Radnor 2-2-2-2 8
Wissahickon 3-1-2-1 7
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