SOL Boys’ Lax District Preview (Second Round)

Five SOL boys’ lacrosse teams will be in action in Tuesday’s second round of the District One Tournament. Check back for a recap of all the action.

It promises to be an interesting day Thursday when five SOL teams are in action in the second round of the District One Tournament.
Upper Dublin will host Conestoga in a rematch of a May 2 game that saw the Flying Cardinals earn an 8-6 win on their own field.
Conestoga (10-9) just went over the .500 mark Tuesday with its win over Haverford, but the program boasts a tradition of excellence. Last year, Conestoga lost in the second round of districts to Garnet Valley. It broke a string of five straight trips to the PIAA title games with Conestoga winning three state titles during that span.
This year’s squad includes seven Division One recruits, but the Flying Cardinals – led by Princeton commit Michael Sowers – boast plenty of talent of their own. Sowers has an uncanny knack for setting up his teammates, and the junior standout is on the verrge of surpassing the 400-point plateau. Heading into Thursday’s showdown, he has 398 career points with 267 assists. Teammate Michael Mullen is having quite a career of his own with 174 career goals and 207 career points.
Equally intriguing is Central Bucks East’s rematch with Avon Grove. On April 11, the Patriots won a double overtime thriller, defeating the Red Devils 8-7 at War Memorial Field when Ryan Brown scored the game winner with 3:04 remaining on the clock in the second OT.
The Patriots fell behind early, trailing 4-1 after one quarter, and they were on the short end of a 5-3 score at halftime. The two teams were deadlocked 6-6 after three quarters and 7-7 after regulation. Brown led the Patriots with four goals while Matt Vetter had two goals and three assists. East’s defense was led by goalie Sean McGovern (13 saves) and senior LSM Dustin Buchanan, who had five ground balls and six caused turnovers.
Not to be overlooked is a third rematch pitting 16^th-seeded Abington against top-seeded Garnet Valley. The Ghosts have already proven they can play with the Jaguars, falling 14-13 in a non-league contest on May 7. The contest was close from the opening face-off until the final horn with the Ghosts leading 5-4 after one quarter but the Jaguars taking a 9-8 lead at the intermission. It was a two-goal game heading into the final quarter. Hunter Jones (five goals, three assists) and Joe Lomady (five goals, one assist) led the Ghosts’ attack.
Central Bucks South and Wissahicon will take on brand new opponents when the Titans travel to Spring-Ford and the Trojans make the trek to Penncrest.
All five games promise to be interesting. Stay tuned!

Around the SOL
Firsts at Souderton – According to Souderton coach Mark Princehorn, senior goalie Remi Reeves is the first player in program history to sign a National Letter of Intent, accepting a Division 2 scholarship to play at Colorado Messa. He closed out his final high school season with 211 saves (11.7 saves per game) with two shutouts, both firsts for the program. He also had 29 ground balls and one assist.
“Remi is the complete package,” Princehorn said. “His athletic ability creates transition and clearing opportunities that help us in every phase of the game. His lacrosse IQ is off the charts, and his communication helps the entire team be more efficient.
“His work ethic is second to none, and it was an absolute pleasure to coach him. I look forward to watching him throughout his career. There were countless times this year when I literally turned to my assistants and said, ‘Did he really just make that play?’ He’s a great kid and great leader on and off the field.”
In another first, sophomore mid Jake Phaup verbally committed to play lacrosse at Syracuse University, which boasts the number one lacrosse program in the nation. Phaup is the program’s first ever Division One commit, and his signing will represent one of the biggest signings in Souderton’s history.
Phaup had 12 goals and six assists to go along with 50 ground balls, but it’s in the face-off circle that the sophomore mid excels. Phaup has a winning percentage of 70.6 on face-offs, winning 195 of 276, and he is going to Syracuse as a face-off mid.
“Jake is one of the best leaders I have ever been around,” Princehorn said. “Every day you can hear him sending positive messages to his teammates. Every time he opens his mouth, he has something positive to say. His heart and work ethic have no limits, and he comes ready to give his all day in and day out.
“He is a thrill to coach and also be around. He’s one of the guys that really brings the team together. The sky is the limit for this kid.”

Magelinskas leaves his mark – Matt Magdelinskas is a throwback athlete who excels in not one or two but three sports. The Neshaminy senior will take his talents to West Chester University this fall where he will play football, but during his four years as a starter for the lacrosse team, he was an impact player, scoring 190 career goals and finishing with close to 275 points. Both, according to coach Len Quici, are believed to be program records.
“It’s rare to get a kid who comes close to 200 goals,” the Redskins’ coach said. “As a freshman, not a lot of people saw him coming, so he had a big year his freshman year, and he’s sustained it through his sophomore, junior and senior years.
“He was always the fastest kid on the field.”
On Saturday, the senior speedster – who competes in winter track – captured first place in the 100m dash at the SOL National Conference Championships.
“He got faster but he also got bigger as he got older,” Quici said. “He was a very dynamic player, and he was a fearless player.
“I just never heard him complain about getting hacked or slashed. He had a knack for going to the cage and putting the ball in the net. He finished. I didn’t have to do a lot of coaching where he was concerned. He knew what to do.
“He’s just a solid, nice kid and an outstanding athlete. We’re going to miss him.”

Pennsbury's Petty hits milestone – Pennsbury senior Jared Petty surpassed the 100-goal mark for his career. Although the Falcons started slowly this year, they began to turn it around during the second half of the season.

#10 Conestoga at #7 Upper Dublin (7 p.m.)

Upper Dublin

18-1 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 and is closing in on the 400-point mark.

How they got here: In Tuesday’s district opener, Upper Dublin opened up a 10-4 halftime lead on its way to a 15-8 win over #26 Lower Merion. Michael Sowers had a busy night, handing out nine assists and scoring one goal. Michael Mullen added five goals, and Connor Wall had four. Winebrake had two goals and two assists.

Conestoga

10-9 overall
7-4 Central League fifth place
Scored 160 goals in regular season and allowed 147
Regular season wins over #4 Springfield-Delco (9-8 OT), #11 Ridley (7-6), #13 Downingtown East (9-8 OT), #14 Owen J Roberts (14-7), #23 Haverford (12-3), #26 Lower Merion (14-6), #27 Marple Newtown (13-10) and #28 Harriton (14-11).
Lost to #9 Central Bucks East on March 28 (6-4).

How they got here: In an opening round game, Conestoga defeated 24^th-seeded Haverford 13-6. Steve Hildebrand and Greg Taicher each had three goals in a game that saw the Pioneers open up a 6-1 lead after one half. The Fords never threatened.

#9 Central Bucks East at #8 Avon Grove

Central Bucks East

16-2 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.

How they got here: In Tuesday’s opening round win over West Chester Rustin, the Patriots took a 4-3 lead into halftime but seized control with a 4-1 third quarter burst on their way to the 11-6 win. Ryan Brown led the Patriots with six goals and two assists to go along with four ground balls. Dustin Buchanan led the defense with six grounds balls and three forced turnovers. Mike Eveland also had three forced turnovers.

Avon Gove

13-6 overall
9-1 Ches-Mont League in second behind Bishop Shanahan
Regular season wins over #11 Ridley (12-6), #13 Downingtown East (10-3), #19 West Chester Henderson (11-4) and #24 West Chester Rustin.
Lost to Central Bucks East 8-7 in double overtime on April 11. Also fell to #7 Upper Dublin (4-3) on March 28.

How they got here: In Tuesday’s opening round win over #25 Springfield (Montco), the Red Devils raced to an 8-1 halftime lead on their way to an 11-3 win. Doug Jones led Avon Grove with four goals and an assist.

#12 Central Bucks South at #5 Spring-Ford

Central Bucks South

14-4 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.

How they got here: In Tuesday’s opening round, the Titans knocked off 21^st-seeded Perkiomen Valley 14-7 in the program’s first ever home playoff game. Leading the attack were Dillon Kelly (four goals), Chris Henze (three goals, one assist) and Brendan McGrath (two goals, two assists). Kevin Witchey had a huge night defensively, contributing seven ground balls and eight caused turnovers. Goalie Robbie Richick had seven saves.

Spring-Ford

20-1 overall
14-0 PAC-10 champions
Defeated Owen J Roberts 8-7 in overtime in PAC-10 title game to capture fifth consecutive title.
Kevin Todd was PAC-10’s top scorer in the regular season with 35 goals and 38 assists.
Rams have allowed 10 or more goals just once this season, and that was in a 16-10 win over Perkiomen Valley. Defense has allowed five goals or less in 13 games.
Only loss of season came on April 2 in fifth game of season to Radnor (9-8).
Regular season wins over #8 Avon Grove (6-5), #14 Owen J Roberts (8-7, 13-8 & 8-7) and #21 Perkiomen Valley (16-10, 13-6)

How they got here: Spring-Ford upended 28^th-seeded Harriton 8-5, opening up a 5-2 halftime lead and then playing the Rams even in the second half. Kevin Todd (three goals) and Danny Cassidy (two goals, one assist) led a balanced offense). Goalie Chris Morgan had 14 saves.

#15 Wissahickon at #2 Penncrest

Wissahickon

15-3 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.

How they got here: In Tuesday’s opening round game against Holy Ghost Prep, the Firebirds scored first, but goals by Jack Shea and Eric Kaufman gave the Trojans a lead they would not lose. They took a 4-1 lead into halftime and opened the third quarter with goals from John Carrazzo and Nate DeGroat. Prep made a late run in the fourth quarter, but Trojans’ goalie Jack Myers came up with clutch saves.

Penncrest

14-4 overall
9-2 Central League second place behind Garnet Valley
Captured 2014 PIAA state championship
Lions have scored 205 goals and allowed 145
Regular season wins over #2 Bishop Shanahan (9-7), #4 Springfield-Delco (11-10), #10 Conestoga (12-4), #11 Ridley (8-7), #17 Strath Haven (12-7), #19 West Chester Henderson (6-5), #26 Lower Merion (15-6) and #28 Harriton (20-12).
Lost to #9 Central Bucks East (9-6) on April 2.

How they got here: Opening round bye.

#16 Abington at #1 Garnet Valley

Abington

14-5 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.

How they got here: In Tuesday’s opening round, the Ghosts opened up an early 4-2 lead over 17^th-seeded Strath Haven only to find themselves deadlocked 6-6 at halftime. They won it with a 5-0 burst in the third quarter and then held off a late Strath Haven surge. Cameron Leech (three goals, five assists), Joe Lomady (four goals) and Hunter Jones (two goals, two assists) led the attack. Goalie Connor Reed was credited with 14 saves.

Garnet Valley

13-3 overall
9-1 Central League champions
Scored 178 goals and allowed 118
Regular season wins over #2 Penncrest (12-10), #6 Radnor (11-7), #8 Avon Grove (14-8), #11 Ridley (6-5), #14 Owen J Roberts (13-7), #16 Abington (14-13), #17 Strath Haven (16-6), #18 Holy Ghost Prep (12-7), #23 Haverford (11-10) and #28 Harriton (10-4)

How they got here: First round bye.