CB East, North Penn & CB West were winners in boys’ lacrosse in Tuesday’s opening round of the District One Tournament on Tuesday. Photos of the PW/North Penn game were provided courtesy of Kim Supko. Check back for a complete gallery as well as Keith Clemens’ gallery of the CB East/Hatboro-Horsham game…CLICK HERE.
#9 Central Bucks East 10, #24 Hatboro-Horsham 8
Coach Bruce Garcia was ready to call timeout to gather his troops together after falling behind for the first time all game. The Hatters had just ripped off three consecutive goals and turned the game completely around in their favor, erasing a 5-4 halftime deficit to go on top 7-5 early in the second half.
However, rather than taking time to huddle with his players, Garcia watched as junior attacker Ryan Brown took it upon himself to go down field and find the back of the net. His goal started an offensive flurry for the Patriots, who reeled off five consecutive goals to go up for good in a District One first round playoff win over the 24th-seeded Hatters on Umbrell Field at Patriot Stadium.
In what was the seventh consecutive win for the ninth-ranked Patriots, who now sit at 14-4 on the season, Brown led the way with four goals, including the all-important game-tying goal that put all the momentum back on CB East's side.
"We were leading the whole game, but it was still not going the way I would've liked it (to be going). All of a sudden, Hatboro went up and had three unanswered goals," Garcia said. "A timeout was warranted, but Ryan made an all-out 100 percent hustle play and put it in the back of the net and tied it up. From that point on, the momentum was in our favor. Our players started playing their game."
The Patriots never relinquished their lead, and Owen Griffin scored twice before Brown scored the team's 10th and final goal to give the Patriots some breathing room.
Griffin, the Patriots' leading scorer, scored three times and picked up six groundballs. Ryan Stout scored once and added an assist, while Conor Larkin and Alec Bracken each scored once. Mike Ott won 11-of-20 face-offs and assisted on one goal, as did Logan Nelsen. Freshman goalkeeper Liam Rosenthal stopped nine shots in net.
CB East outshot Hatboro-Horsham 29-19, while recording 38 groundballs to only 19 for the Hatters.
The Hatters, who finished their season 10-9 overall, put up an excellent fight against a Patriot team that beat them twice during the regular season.
"We played a team that is very well-coached, strong offensively and defensively and that has a lot of athletes," Garcia said. "We were definitely being challenged by a very strong offense, but we were fortunate enough to be on the winning side of the score."
Junior Bryan McIntosh played a stellar game for the Patriots, picking up six groundballs while forcing three turnovers. Larkin had three ground balls and two forced turnovers while Ryan Schmidt and Austin Prime both had two ground balls and one forced turnover. Grant Porter and Cal Tyhansky also had two ground balls apiece, and Alec Bracken, Nelsen and Brown had one each. Joe Thiroway had one forced turnover.
The win puts CB East in the second round of the playoffs for a meeting with No. 8 seed Conestoga, which defeated the Patriots 10-4 earlier this year. The Pioneers beat Harriton on Tuesday in another first round playoff.
"We kind of imploded last time we played them so I'm kind of looking forward to getting back and playing them again," Garcia said. "They're a very strong team, but I think it will be good to play that kind of team early in the playoffs. It'll be good for the players, and maybe we can have the outcome be a bit different from last time."
Hatboro-Horsham 1-3-3-0—8
Central Bucks East 2-3-3-2–10
#11 North Penn 9, #22 Plymouth Whitemarsh 8
Plymouth Whitemarsh gave North Penn everything it could. After all, a 22 isn’t supposed to stay with a No. 11 seed down to the final seconds.
The 11th-seeded Knights, who improved to 16-3 with the win, took on a Colonial team that played one of its best games of the season. But senior captain Jake Diamond scored the game-winning goal to propel the Knights to the big win in a first round playoff game at North Penn.
The win was the first ever playoff victory for North Penn in program history.
Diamond scored the first and last goals of the game and won 15 face-offs while helping the Knights into the second round for a meeting with Garnet Valley, which defeated Pennridge on Tuesday.
"Our kids ride on momentum. When Jake Diamond is up, this team is up. When he's down, this team is down," North Penn coach Rick Smith said. "When he's winning face-offs, our team is really pulling in the right direction. Jake was on tonight and he put this team on his shoulders and he carried that out on the field with his offense, defense and transition.
“PW played the ball very well in transition and they're a very, very athletic team and super fast. I think they caught us off-guard, but it speaks to our team's character that they never stop fighting."
After scoring the game-winning goal, Diamond won the game's last faceoff with 2:45 remaining on the clock and the Knights were able to hold on until the end.
Reece Udinski led the way for North Penn with four goals and two assists, while Nick Keim scored twice. Matt Dickson added a goal for the Knights, while Luke Homan and freshman Eric Diamond tallied assists. Goalkeeper Matt Rinck made nine saves in net for the win. The Colonials season ended at 9-5 overall.
Smith and his team were extremely excited to celebrate after the Knights did something no other North Penn boys' lacrosse team had ever done in team history.
"It's a tribute to my seniors," Smith said. "They put in so much time and effort in the offseason and I'm just so proud of this entire team. A freshman scored a goal tonight – we have 14-15 year-old kids who were playing youth lacrosse just a year ago and now running out there with 17-18 year-olds. Everyone is pulling in the same direction. It's such a fun team, and a great group of humble kids are just so excited."
With No. 6 seed Garnet Valley waiting for the Knights, Smith realizes that the time to celebrate will be interrupted by the need to prepare for such a high quality opponent if North Penn wants to keep its season alive.
"I know they're extremely talented, but I just want my guys to go out there and have fun and play fast and just play the way we know how to," the Knights’ coach said. "Garnet Valley is a really strong team in the district and they have been for a number of years, but I'm looking forward to our guys putting in a great showing. If they play hard and fast and have fun, that's all I can ask of them, and I think we'll be in good shape."
For the Colonials, Zack Zygmunt led the way with three goals and two asssits. Alex Savarese and Jake Kelly both had a pair of goals. Austin Betterly contributed one goal and one assist, and Kenny Diamond had one assist.
The loss brought to a close a successful season for the Vikings, who were 13-5 overall and second only to Upper Dublin with a 12-2 mark in the American Conferece.
Plymouth Whitemarsh1-4-1-1—8
North Penn 2-2-2-3–9
#20 Central Bucks West 5, #13 West Chester Henderson 4
In the third quarter, junior defenseman Ben Karthaus drove the ball down field for Central Bucks West, eventually feeding senior midfielder Dawson Gable for a goal.
That tally would break a 4-4 tie, and after a scoreless fourth quarter, wind up being the game-winning goal as the Bucks escaped with an upset victory over host West Chester Henderson in a first round district game.
The 20th-seeded Bucks, who are now 13-6 on the season, received two goals apiece from Gable and Shane Early, as well as one from Jake Greenberg. But it was goalkeeper Stephen Hogan and the rest of the CB West defense that brought home a victory for the Bucks, who held Henderson scoreless in both the second and fourth quarters.
"It was a hard-fought victory against a very good Henderson squad," CB West coach Matt Coverdale said. "We knew we would have to be sharp tonight. They play great in transition and they run and gun. They had a couple big moments getting on top of us to get in the offensive end, but our goalkeeper and defense did a spectacular job tonight neutralizing those looks and holding a potent powerful offense to only four goals."
Joey Rockovich and Jack Darcy each added assists for CB West, which will visit No. 4 seed Bishop Shanahan on Thursday. Hogan stopped 14 shots in net for the Bucks to earn the win.
"This is going to be a very difficult game for us and a great test of our merit and how far we've come on during the course of the season," Coverdale said. "We know they have talent at a lot of positions all over the field and that we'll have to deliver our very best."
Central Bucks West 3-1-1-0—5
West Chester Henderson 1-0-3-0–4
#6 Garnet Valley 17, #27 Pennridge 3
The Jaguars, who led 5-0 after one quarter, took a 12-1 lead into halftime on their way to the decisive win. The outcome aside, the game gave the Rams under first-year coach JP Banks a taste of district playoffs.
Sean Fechter, Chris Warner and Ryan Garner scored one goal each.
Denton States was credited with 15 saves in goals.
The Rams finish the season 9-10 overall (3-9 SOL), while No. 6 seed Garnet Valley moves on for a second round matchup with North Penn.
Pennridge 0-1-1-1 3
Garnet Valley 5-7-3-2 17
#4 Bishop Shanahan 17, #29 Council Rock South 1
The Golden Hawks made history this season when they won their program’s first conference title and earned their first ever postseason district berth.
Dominic Schlupp scored the Hawks’ only goal in the second quarter, and although the Eagles controlled play from start to finish, this year’s team got a taste of the postseason and have set the bar for future Golden Hawk squads. Rock South closed out its year with a 12-7 record (9-1 SOL).
No. 4 seed Shanahan will face No. 20 seed Central Bucks West on Thursday.
Council Rock South 0-1-0-0 1
Bishop Shanahan 5-7-3-2 17
#7 Haverford High 13, #26 Wissahickon 6
Eric Kaufmann connected for the hat trick while John Esposito, John Dunn and John Dickson scored one goal each for the Trojans, who stayed within striking distance for one half. Wissahickon trailed by just a 7-4 scored at the intermission but was outscored by the Fords 6-2 in the second half.
The Trojans season ends with an overall record of 12-7 (10-4 SOL), while No. 7 seed Haverford will host No. 10 seed Springfield-Delco on Thursday.
Wissahickon 2-2-0-2—6
Haverford 7-0-4-2–13
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