Eight SOL boys’ lax teams will be in action Tuesday when the District One Tournament gets underway. Check back for a recap of all the action.
Tuesday marks the start of the District 1 Class AAAA boys’ lacrosse playoffs, with a total of eight teams from the Suburban One League set to take on their respective opponents. But before advancing to the postseason, a number of firsts happened during what was an exciting 2015 regular season campaign.
After watching Central Bucks East mow through the Continental Conference during his years there as an assistant, Central Bucks South coach Mike Sharman led the Titans to their first ever conference championship, sharing the title with none other than CB East.
“I’m very proud of the way the team has played and persevered,” Sharman said. “I couldn’t be happier with their accomplishment. I’m so happy for them. As a former coach of CB East, I’m used to winning, so it’s exciting for these guys to realize this (feeling).”
On April 8, CB South defeated CB East 15-6, earning the program’s first win over the Patriots since 2007. The win would eventually allow Sharman’s team to finish the season with a share of the title, as CB East won an April 27 meeting 16-6, giving the Titans their only conference loss of the year.
That 19-goal swing between the same two teams in games played less than three weeks apart might seem unusual, but according to Sharman, emotions played a large part.
“The first time we beat (CB East), it was an amazing game,” the Titans’ coach said. “The kids played flawlessly and with so much passion and energy. It was exciting to win and to have a significant win was huge for us. Unfortunately, they came out with a lot of passion the second time and just beat us.”
With the regular season behind them, Sharman and company are now preparing for a meeting with No. 21 seed Perkiomen Valley Tuesday night at 7 in a game which will mark the first ever boys’ lacrosse playoff game at Central Bucks South High School.
“When we’ve made the playoffs before, we’ve always traveled, but we’re real excited to host our first game,” Sharman said, “and if we keep playing with the energy we did that one night against CB East, we have a lot of promise in the playoffs. We’ll just have to play consistent and protect the ball and play with a lot of energy and tenacity.”
While the Titans will be playing in their first ever home playoff game, Springfield took it one step further this season.
After finishing with an above-.500 record both overall and in the conference, the Spartans have found themselves preparing for postseason play for the first time in team history.
Not too far removed from their days of being an opponent many local teams beat up on, the Spartans have built themselves a solid foundation on both sides of the ball and have finally earned a chance to prove themselves after the final day of the regular season.
“It’s a great honor,” Springfield assistant coach Bill Krewson said. “Any time you get to the playoffs, especial with us being a smaller school playing a lot of bigger schools, it’s an honor. We were always battling to get better and to move up in the rankings. Being able to beat some of those teams is great for our kids and hopefully it helps to continue to build the program.”
With Ryan Donofry and Jack Gizzard leading the way on the attack and with Colin O’Hara standing tall in front of the cage, Springfield has itself some serious talent on the field. But arguably the main star out there is still just a sophomore.
George Baughan, a defenseman, may only have two years of high school lacrosse under his belt, but he has already committed to Syracuse University to play for one of the top lacrosse programs in the country. His level of play is a big reason for Springfield being where it is today.
“It’s great that we have most of the pieces in place this year,” Krewson said. “We had a very good team season. George (Baughan) is a great player and he’s very fast-paced, aggressive and his engine always runs. When you have one or two kids like that, it tends to bring other players up and get them moving and run at a different pace.”
Springfield visits Avon Grove Tuesday at 7 p.m. in a first round playoff.
#7 UPPER DUBLIN vs. #26 LOWER MERION
Upper Dublin
- 17-1 overall
- 14-0 SOL American Conference champions
- Third consecutive conference title
- Beat #8 Avon Grove 4-3, #10 Conestoga 8-6, #15 Wissahickon (14-7 & 12-4), #22 Plymouth Whitemarsh (17-3 & 15-5), #25 Springfield (17-2 & 14-4).
- Led offensively by Michael Sowers and Michel Mullen while Jack Rapine and goalie Bobby McPeake lead the defense.
- Sowers, who is only a junior, surpassed the 300-point mark for his career on March 31.
Lower Merion
- 8-9 overall
- 5-6 Central League
- Beat #12 Central Bucks South (12-8), #17 Strath Haven (9-8), #18 Holy Ghost Prep (13-12), #21 Perkiomen Valley (8-4), #23 Haverford (13-12), #27 Marple Newtown (10-8)
#9 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST vs. #25 WEST CHESTER (BAYARD) RUSTIN
Central Bucks East
- 15-2 overall
- 11-1 SOL Continental Conference Co-champions
- Have won at least a share of the conference title 10 of the last 11 years, with 2013 being the only non-championship season.
- Beat #2 Penncrest 9-6, #8 Avon Grove 8-7, #10 Conestoga 6-4, #12 Central Bucks South 16-6, #20 Hatboro-Horsham (12-6 & 9-3).
- Led by Matt Vetter, Matt Brown, Ryan Brown and Owen Griffin offensively, as well as Sean McGovern in net and Dustin Buchanan on defense.
West Chester Bayard Rustin
- 10-8 overall
- 5-5 Ches-Mont League
- Offense scored nine or more goals in 11 of 19 games this season
#12 CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH at #21 PERKIOMEN VALLEY
Central Bucks South
- 13-4 overall
- 11-1 SOL Continental Conference Co-champions
- Beat #9 Central Bucks East 15-6, #16 Abington 20-10, #20 Hatboro-Horsham (15-11 & 17-6).
- Led by Chris Tanner, Brendan McGrath and Jake Henze on the offensive side of things, while Robbie Richick stood tall in net for CB South all season. Kevin Witchey leads the Titans’ defense.
Perkiomen Valley
- 12-7 overall
- 10-5 third place PAC-10
- Beat #18 Holy Ghost Prep (6-4)
- Scored in double digits in eight games while allowing three or less goals in eight games.
#15 WISSAHICKON vs. #18 HOLY GHOST PREP
Wissahickon
- 14-3 overall
- 12-2 second place SOL American Conference
- Beat #16 Abington 11-9, #22 Plymouth Whitemarsh (4-1 & 6-4), #25 Springfield (4-2 & 11-2).
- Led by Nate DeGroat, John Esposito, John Carrozza, Alex Chiodo-Ortiz and Eric Kaufmann on offense, while Jack Meyers minded the net all season for the Trojans.
Holy Ghost Prep
- 8-10 overall
- Bicentennial League champions
- Haven’t lost a BAL game since 2011
- Beat #12 Central Bucks South (8-7), #16 Abington (12-8), #20 Hatboro-Horsham (8-6)
#16 ABINGTON vs. #17 STRATH HAVEN
Abington
- 13-5 overall
- 10-0 SOL National Conference champions
- Won third consecutive conference title, as well as ninth since 2006.
- Third consecutive year without a conference loss.
- Lost to #1 overall seed Garnet Valley by only one goal (14-13) on May 7
- Allowed six goals or less in nine of last 14 games.
- Led by Hunter Jones, Cameron Leech and Joey Lomady on offense. Defensively, Ryan Fetzer, Brian Nolan and Connor Reed led the way for the Ghosts.
- Jones scored 10 goals in one game to break the school’s all-time single game record.
- Leech’s 133 points this season is also a record for Abington, breaking the previous mark of 129. Jones has 129 points this season, good for fourth on the Ghosts’ single-season point total list.
Strath Haven
- 8-9 overall
- 5-6 Central League
- Beat #4 Springfield-Delco (7-6), #10 Conestoga (10-5), #19 West Chester Henderson (9-8), #23 Haverford (7-6), #27 Marple Newtown (5-4)
#20 HATBORO-HORSHAM at #13 DOWNINGTOWN EAST (at Downingtown West H.S.)
Hatboro-Horsham
- 10-7 overall
- 8-4 third place SOL Continental Conference
- Beat #16 Abington 14-11.
- Led by Pierre Armstrong, Logan Eldridge, Conor McPoyle and goalkeeper Kurt Dick.
Downingtown East
10-7 overall
8-2 third place Ches-Mont League
Beat #12 Central Bucks South (7-6), #19 West Chester Henderson (8-3), #25 West Chester Rustin (7-2)
#22 PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH AT #11 RIDLEY
Plymouth Whitemarsh
- 10-8 overall
- 9-5 third place SOL American Conference
- Beat #25 Springfield 9-4.
- Led offensively by Austin Betterly, Alex Savarese and Zach Zygmunt, while Riley White protects the net for the Colonials.
Ridley
- 12-6 overall
- 7-5 Central League
- Beat #6 Radnor (11-6), #15 Wissahickon (7-5), #17 Strath Haven (9-1), #23 Downingtown East (14-6), #23 Haverford (13-8), #25 West Chester Rustin (12-9), #27 Marple Newtown (11-9), #28 Hariton (12-6)
#25 SPRINGFIELD at #8 AVON GROVE
Springfield
- 10-7 overall
- 8-6 fourth place SOL American Conference
- Beat #22 Plymouth Whitemarsh 7-6 (4OT).
- This year marks the first time in team history that Springfield has advanced to the district playoffs.
- Led offensively by Ryan Donofry and Jack Gizzard. Colin O’Hara protects the net for the Spartans, while George Baughan, a sophomore who is already a Syracuse commit, leads the way on defense
Avon Grove
- 12-6 overall
- 9-1 second place Ches-Mont League
- Beast #11 Ridley (12-6), #13 Downingtown East (10-3), #19 West Chester Henderson (11-4), #25 West Chester Rustin (12-4)
- Took Upper Dublin to overtime before losing
- Finished either first or second in Ches-Mont League in each of the last three seasons.
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