Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ lacrosse teams in action Wednesday. Neshaminy/PW photos provided courtesy of Michael Rice. Check back for a gallery of photos: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f900124885
SOL National Conference
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 11, PENNSBURY 8
Andrew Zazoff scored seven goals in a standout offensive performance to lead the visiting Indians to their fourth conference win without a loss.
“This was a great victory against a very good opponent,” Rock North coach John Fitzpatrick said. “Pennsbury is very tough at home, so this was a very good victory for North.”
The Indians, who led 4-2 after one quarter, took a 9-3 lead into halftime. The Falcons outscored the Indians 5-1 in the second half.
In addition to scoring seven goals, Zazoff also had four ground balls. Sam Lewis added two goals, three assists and six ground balls. Liam Dudley had two goals while Nick Colovita had three assists. Billy McBride chipped in one assist.
“Our defense did a great job keeping Pennsbury’s offense in check,” Fitzpatrick said, crediting the efforts of Noah Epstein (4 ground balls, 2 caused turnovers), Tyler Rodowicz (3 ground balls) and Logan Atkinson (3 ground balls, 1 caused turnover).
For the Falcons, Mike DeZutel had a big game, finishing with three goals, three assists and three ground balls. He won 1 of 1 faceoff. Kolby Ranniello also had a hat trick to go along with one assist. Will Taylor contributed two goals and one assist while Logan Thorne and Jake Kalinowski both had one assist.
Jon Vereb had 10 saves in goal for the Falcons. Brad Hill won 13 of 21 faceoffs and also led the Falcons with eight ground balls.
Council Rock North (6-3, 4-0 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks East for a key conference battle Wednesday (4pm), and Pennsbury (3-3, 2-1) is off until Tuesday, April 18, when the Falcons will host Harry S Truman.
Council Rock North 4-5-1-1 11
Pennsbury 2-1-4-1 8
PENNRIDGE 17, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 8
The Rams used a balanced scoring effort to win their third conference game without a loss.
Matt Kriney’s four-goal effort led the Rams while Frank Fanelli and Drew Ferguson added a hat trick. Ryan Carickhoff and Matt Seiler both had four-point games that included two goals and two assists. Levi Souder also had a four-point game, scoring once and assisting on three goals. Adding one goal each were Rocco Fanelli and Kevin Matthews, and Cooper States had one assist.
Ben Souder won 14 of 24 faceoffs, and Pennridge goalie Calvin McGuire had six saves.
For the Golden Hawks, sophomore Bill Houser had a huge game in, recording 24 saves in the loss.
Pennridge (6-1, 3-0 SOL) will travel to Holy Ghost Prep for a non-league game on Wednesday, April 18. Council Rock South (3-5, 0-4) will host Plymouth Whitemarsh next Wednesday.
Non-league
NESHAMINY 9, PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 7
Cory Hemberger turned in a dominant performance at the faceoff X, winning 14 of 16 faceoffs. Teammates Colin Demi and Jared Edmister combined for seven goals and three assists to lead the visiting Redskins to a win in Thursday’s non-league thriller.
The Redskins, who trailed by one heading into the final period, led 7-6 only to watch the Colonials knot the score with just over a minute remaining in regulation.
“We won the faceoff, called a timeout, set up a play,” Neshaminy coach John Donato said.
That play worked to perfection as Demi turned a pass from Edmister into the go-ahead goal, but the drama was far from over.
“PW got the ball with time left, they went down, and our defense came up with a stop,” Donato said. “They took a weak shot, and our goalie, Will Irving, because we were down to the final seconds, he just gilmanned it – threw it all the way down the field, and Jack McVey caught it in front of the net and scored with five-six seconds left. That put the finishing touches on it, and the fun part was the goalie got the assist.”
The win brought a welcome end to a four-game losing streak for the Redskins.
“We had a run of four straight games where we were outmanned and overmatched,” Donato said. “Even today, we were missing two of our starters.
“It’s the cliché – guys have to step up. As coaches, we mixed and matched. We did a lot of configurations. We had middies on attack, attack on middies. A lot of people were on the field a long time. We were just switching people on the field instead of running them off.
“I always tell the team – (in order) to compete, everyone has to play above their level. That’s the only way we’re going to compete – each individual has to play above what they’re capable of playing, and that happened today. Everyone stepped up.”
The Redskins’ coach credited the play of his defense.
“Our defense was solid,” Donato said. “Our defense has been pretty annihilated. We had four games in a row where goals were in the teens.
“Timmy Fisher is a senior defender who really wants to do well. He’s had some difficulties, but he played really well today.”
Demi’s six-point game included four goals and two assists. Edmister added three goals and an assist. McVey had a goal and two assists, Evan Martini added one goal, and Ryan DeMatteo had an assist. Jack Sexton had nine clears, and Irving recorded nine saves in goal and also was credited with an assist.
“It was a lot of fun,” Donato said. “The beauty of the game is that you have kids – what’s behind them is behind them, and they take on the challenge in that current moment.
“Plymouth Whitemarsh is a good program. They had some talented kids. It’s not a gimme game by any stretch. The kids put everything behind them, they go out and they compete. Everyone has to pick up where we’re missing.
“Neshaminy this year is thin as far as personnel, and we’re missing some talent as well. We’re coming on, we’re getting better every game. The whole idea of lacrosse at whatever level is that each kid gets better on a day-to-day basis and with each game gets better and basically takes on a greater level of confidence. That’s the big thing. You have these games when you’re young or you’re inexperienced and haven’t played the game before and you’re playing against teams in the league who have kids that are club players, kids that are aspiring to go to college and play. We don’t have any of that.
“We had a good opening win against Upper Moreland and we played well. What made this one even better was that we’re missing two starters, and we made up for it with everyone stepping up.”
For the Colonials, Justin Bainbridge (2 goals, 1 assist, 3 ground balls, 4 caused turnovers) led the way and Ben Backenstose (2g, 2a, 1gb, 1 cto) led the way. Jared Kolsun (1g, 1a, 1gb, 1cto), Luke LaViola (1g, 2gb), Jack Cooper (1g, 1gb, 1cto), Frank Lynch (3gb, 2cto), isaiah Bainbridge (2gb, 2cto) and Dylan McCourt (2gb) also made important contributions. Jake Licwinko recorded nine saves and one ground ball in goal for the Colonials).
Neshaminy (2-4, 0-3 SOL) will travel to North Penn on Tuesday, and Plymouth Whitemarsh (1-4, 1-1) will be on the road at William Tennent on Tuesday.
Neshaminy 1-1-3-4 9
Plymouth Whitemarsh 2-0-4-1 7
About the Author
