Five SOL teams were winners in Tuesday’s opening round of the District One Tournament. To view photos of the Wissahickon/Holy Ghost Prep and CB South/Perk Valley games, please visit the Photo Gallery.
#7 Upper Dublin 15, #26 Lower Merion 8
With only one loss during the regular season, Upper Dublin went into its first round district playoff game with plenty of confidence.
“It was a great opportunity to get us out against a quality opponent that came out to play hard the whole day,” Upper Dublin coach J.P. Banks said. “They’re a well-coached team with a number of good players, and we just wanted to get out there and play somebody new. It was nice to get that first playoff win under our belt.”
Michael Mullen scored five times and Michael Sowers added a goal and a whopping nine assists while leading the Cardinals to the convincing win.
“Michael Sowers did just a phenomenal job taking what the defense gave him, and Michael Mullen was shooting the ball very well, so it worked out for us today,” Banks said. “They did a nice job of finding guys and it was good to see us spreading the production around.”
Connor Wall scored four times for Upper Dublin (18-1), while Winebrake and Nick Vernacchio each scored twice. Winebrake also assisted on two goals, while Vernacchio assisted on one. Goalkeeper Bobby McPeake stopped 11 shots in net to earn the win.
The Aces, who beat six district playoff teams during the regular season, finished their season at 8-10 overall.
Upper Dublin will host 10th-seeded Conestoga on Thursday. On May 2, the Cardinals got a chance to play and defeat the Pioneers (8-6), so Banks knows that Conestoga will come out ready to play this time around.
“We were lucky enough to come away with a win the last time, but they’ll be fired up to play us and to play for a chance to get into the quarterfinals,” Banks said. “We know the history of the Conestoga program and where the kids come from, so we’re just hoping to work hard to play our best when we play them on Thursday.”
Lower Merion 2-2-2-2—8
Upper Dublin 4-6-2-3—15
#9 Central Bucks East 11, #24 West Chester Rustin 6
Central Bucks East hosted West Chester Rustin in the first round of the District One playoffs Tuesday evening at War Memorial Field. East scored first at the 10:35 mark of the first quarter when sophomore Ryan Brown scored the first of his six goals on the night with an assist from Jack Auteri. The score at the end of the first quarter was knotted at two goals apiece.
East held ta 4-3 lead at intermission by a score after a hard fought first half. The Patriots caught fire in the third quarter, scoring four goals and opening up an 8-4 lead after three quarters. East found the back of the cage three more times in the fourth quarter and went on to a convincing victory by a score of 11-6.
The Patriots were led in scoring by Ryan Brown with six goals to go along with two assists, followed by Owen Griffin who had two, Logan Nelson, Matt Vetter, and Jeff Circuit each chipped in with one goal apiece. Vetter also added an assist while Auteri had a pair of assists and Matt Brown had one.
Auteri won 8-of-15 face-offs while Mike Ott won 3-of-5.
The Patriot defense was led by their senior goalie, Sean McGovern, who was strong in goal, recording 11 saves. East caused 11 turnovers. The Patriots were led in that department by Mike Eveland (3), Dustin Buchanan (3), while Bryan McIntosh, Kevin D'Andrea, Matt Krumenacker, Owen Griffin, David Gresgott, and Austin Prime each were credited with one.
Ground balls were a huge factor for East as Buchanan led the way with six, Ryan Brown had four, followed by Matt Brown who had three, McIntosh and D'Andrea each had two, while Eveland and Nelson had one apiece.
With the victory, East improves their record to 16-2 and advances to the second round of the District One playoffs on Thursday with a rematch against Avon Grove. The Patriots won the first contest back on April 11 with a dramatic come-from-behind double overtime win by a score of 8-7.
West Chester Rustin 2-1-1-2—7
Central Bucks East 2-2-4-3—11
#16 Abington 12, #17 Strath Haven 11
Things got tense in the game’s closing moments, but thanks to a large enough cushion, the Ghosts – who led by five goals heading into the fourth quarter – held on and now find themselves set up for a huge rematch on Thursday night.
The win sets the stage for a second round meeting with No. 1 seed Garnet Valley, a team that Abington lost to by just one goal less than a week ago.
“It’s a crazy situation,” Abington coach Peter Burns said. “They’re a well-coached program, and we just played them in a back-and-forth game. I thought there were some things we didn’t do well, but I think both teams are looking forward to playing one another and to the best of each team’s ability. Hopefully this time we can find ourselves on top.”
In Tuesday’s win, Abington was led by Cameron Leech, who scored three goals and added five assists. Joey Lomady scored four goals and did a great job on face-offs, while Hunter Jones finished with two goals and two assists.
The Ghosts (14-5) broke a 6-6 halftime score by outscoring Strath Haven (8-10) 5-0 in the third quarter. That proved to be the eventual difference-maker in the game.
“They got down by one late, but we held on,” Burns said. “Cameron had a great game. He set expectations very high with his game throughout the entire season, and we needed him to step up against a good Strath Haven team.
“Joey (Lomady) had an awesome game and battled incredibly well on face-offs and he played great on defense. Cameron had another normal, solid game. We knew (Strath Haven) was going to show up, and they’re a well-coached team full of energy. We knew it wouldn’t be a game we could just come in and expect to pull out, but that’s exactly what happened in the fourth quarter. Our guys weathered the storm and stayed with it and we were fortunate to come out on top.”
Besides the offensive output of Abington’s top three players, it was the play of freshman goalkeeper Connor Reed that helped the Ghosts to come out on top in the end.
“Connor changed the flow of the game with seven saves (and zero goals against) in the third quarter,” Burns said. “Without him making those saves, it would’ve been a totally different story in the second half.”
Reed finished with 14 saves in the win. John Wink added two goals for Abington, while Jack Kurtz scored one.
Strath Haven 2-4-0-5—11
Abington 4-2-5-1—12
#12 Central Bucks South 14, #21 Perkiomen Valley 7
(Submitted article)
Kelly, Henze and Witchey Lead Central Bucks South to 14-7 Playoff Win Over Perkiomen Valley
Warrington, PA: Central Bucks South made its first ever home playoff game a memorable one.
The Titans scored six goals in the third quarter, including three by Dillon Kelly, to pull away and defeat Perkiomen Valley 14-7 in first round District One playoff action at Titans Stadium.
“It was probably the largest crowd we’ve ever had for a lacrosse game, which was exciting,” CB South coach Mike Sharman said. “We have a lot of alumni who played for me in the past that came and cheered us on and it was very exciting. To come away with a win in our first home playoff game was just very special.”
The turning-point in the game came midway through the third quarter, when the CB South defense killed a two man down situation and Jake Henze raced end-to-end on a Viking turnover to score and give the Titans an 8-5 lead.
“Jake had a fantastic game and he also just got elected to the All-First Team Suburban One Continental Conference for the second year in row,” Sharman said. “He had an unbelievable game.
The Titans extended the lead to 11-5 on consecutive goals by Kelly (4 goals), Ian Vogt (1 goal) and Chris Tanner (2 goals, 1 assist) to put the game away midway through the fourth quarter.
“The kids played outstanding on both sides of the ball. The defense was doing a great job pushing it out and the offense settled the ball,” Sharman said. “We had a huge second half and I’m just really proud of them. They followed the game plan and they executed.”
Tanner, Brendan McGrath (2 goals, 2 assists) each had six groundballs, while Henze (3 goals, 1 assist) and Evan Falkowski (2 goals, 1 assist) each added four groundballs, which were essential in helping the Titans dominate offensive possession. Rounding out the scoring for CB South was Jaimie Renneisen, who added an assist.
The relentless CB South defense was led by Kevin Witchey, Tim Ross, Jake Lautt, Steve Nowelski and Joe Vitelli (5 groundballs). Witchey, a four year starter, wreaked havoc on the Vikings’ offense, causing eight turnovers, three of which were of the “yard sale” variety, while also adding a team high seven groundballs. Witchey, Vitelli, Henze and Austin Naessens had an outstanding night clearing the ball for the Titans. Goalie Robbie Richick had seven saves for CB South.
For the Vikings, Ben Menardi had four goals, while Matt Dudley, Shaun Caulter and Rob Posatko each added a goal. Kevin Mo had 11 saves.
With the win, #12 seed CB South (14-4) advances to the second round of the District One playoffs at #5 seed Spring Ford on Thursday night.
Perkiomen Valley ends their season at 12-8.
Perkiomen Valley 2-1-2-2—7
Central Bucks South 2-2-6-4—14
#15 Wissahickon 10, #18 Holy Ghost Prep 5
After allowing Holy Ghost Prep to take an early 1-0 lead, Wissahickon came back on fire, scoring four unanswered goals to go into halftime with a 4-1 advantage. The Trojans would eventually cruise to the convincing win in a first round playoff at Wissahickon High School.
Trailing 1-0, Jack Shea fired a shot low past the Holy Ghost Prep goalie to get the Trojans on the board, and then a late first quarter goal by Eric Kaufmann gave Wissahickon a 2-1 lead going into the second. In the third quarter, leading by three, John Carrozza and Nate DeGroat scored to give the Trojans complete control.
HG Prep (8-11), the No. 18 seed, made a run in the fourth quarter, but Wissahickon goalkeeper Jack Meyers was able to help the Trojans close things out with some timely saves.
Wissahickon (15-3) will now visit Penncrest, the No. 2 seed in the district, this Thursday night at 7.
Holy Ghost Prep 1-0-1-3—5
Wissahickon 2-2-5-1—10
#13 Downingtown East 7, #20 Hatboro-Horsham 6 (OT)
Hatboro-Horsham – playing on the road as the underdog against 13th-seeded Downingtown East -had a golden opportunity to pull off the upset, but in the end, things just didn’t go the Hatters’ way.
The Hatters saw a late two-goal lead slip away, and they eventually fell in overtime to the Cougars in a first round playoff at Downingtown West High School’s War Memorial Stadium.
Downingtown East (11-7) scored with three minutes to play in regulation and again with 1:40 showing on the clock to force overtime before eventually winning in the extra period.
The Hatters, whose season ends at 10-8 overall, received a three-goal effort from Chris Hammel. Owen Wilson, Pierre Armstrong and Conor McPoyle all scored goals for Hatboro-Horsham, which got a solid effort in net from Kurt Dick.
Hatboro-Horsham 1-2-2-1-0—6
Downingtown East 2-1-1-2-1—7
#11 RIDLEY 14, #22 PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 2
#8 AVON GROVE 11, #25 SPRINGFIELD (MONTCO) 3
About the Author
