All three boys’ lacrosse teams and one girls’ squad lost in Saturday’s District One quarterfinals. To view action photos of the Hatboro/Downingtown West game, please visit the Photo Gallery.
BOYS
#11 Garnet Valley 6, #3 Central Bucks East 4
The Patriots came up short in Saturday’s quarterfinal game, but for those who thought they’d be hanging their heads, guess again. A brief meeting after they returned to East on Saturday afternoon confirmed as much.
“I did something I don’t normally do,” coach Bruce Garcia said. “I went right around the circle and I pointed to each of the 25-28 players and asked them in three seconds, ‘What are your feelings?’ And we went right around the circle.
“They were all positive, not a negative tone out of anyone. I said to them, ‘When a wheel falls off the bus, any wheel falls off the bus, the whole bus doesn’t work. You know what it feels like not to a win a game. We didn’t lose anything. We just didn’t win this game. We get to play again.’”
The Patriots’ quest to earn a state playoff berth begins on Tuesday when they will face Abington.
“I told them, ‘There are a million places that you could come up with and say you could be here or there, but there’s only one thing you want to be doing, and it’s playing a simple, simple game,’” Garcia said. “While everybody is at the pool, going out with girlfriends, mowing the lawn or whatever they’re doing after school, we’re standing on grass at Central Bucks East High School, and it’s quiet.
“Every sport has put their cleats away, their pole vault, their baseball mitts – all of that is put away, and we’re still out there in that absolute quiet. I tell them at the fall meeting – I aspire to that. I love making it that time of year because it really tests the character of these individuals because there are so many other distractions.
“It’s like a character builder for them. I tell them, ‘If any of you guys want to leave, you’ll get your letter, no questions asked. Just do not disrupt our practices.’ No one ever bites on it. They all know we have to move forward. We still have one more chance to move forward. They have a really solid, positive attitude. They’re a great bunch of guys, and I’m very fortunate that the school and their parents allow me to work with them.”
In Saturday’s quarterfinal game at Harriton, the Patriots ran into a squad that had ridden its defense to a spot in the district semifinals. In three district games, Garnet Valley has allowed a total of 12 goals. It looked as though that trend might be changing after the Patriots sprinted to a 4-1 lead at the end of one quarter, sparked by goals from Zack Kane, Anthony Casselli, Chris Vetter and Matt Heim. Kane and Vetter each added an assist.
That, however, would be the Patriots last offensive hurrah as they were silenced for the remaining three quarters. The Patriots led 4-2 at the intermission, but Garnet Valley knotted the score in the third quarter and won it with a pair of goals in the fourth.
“I take this loss on my shoulders,” Garcia said. “It’s certainly not their fault. Maybe it’s the way I prepared them for the game.
“I want them to walk away as a winner rather than someone who just lost an event because they are certainly no losers in any way, shape or form.”
The Patriots are 18-2 on the season.
#20 Great Valley 8, #5 Hatboro-Horsham 1
The clock has yet to strike midnight on the Cinderella run of Great Valley. The 20th seed in the District One Tournament continues its pursuit of the title.
Fifth-seeded Hatboro-Horsham fell victim to the Patriots in Saturday’s quarterfinal matchup at Harriton High School, dropping a deceptive 8-1 decision.
“Great Valley has a great squad, and they got the best of us today,” said Hatters’ coach John Kurek. “Their goalie did a great job today. They were up 2-0 at the half, we couldn’t get anything in.”
Great Valley keeper Peter Hayes recorded 10 saves in the victory, which saw the Patriots score once in each of the first two quarters.
The Hatters finally found the answer to Hayes in the third quarter on a goal by Jake Durkin, but the Patriots scored two of their own to extend the lead to 4-1.
In the fourth quarter, the Hatters were forced to change their game and take chances, allowing the Patriots opportunities on the H-H cage. Great Valley added four goals in the final 12 minutes to put the game away.
“At the end, we had to press to get the ball back,” Kurek said. “We had to start pressing out and that opens up our defense and they put a couple in. We had to come out of our philosophy, had to challenge guys, open things up and that’s when they scored the last few.”
Despite the loss, Kurek had nothing but praise for his team’s effort, particularly the defense and goalkeeper Marc Poust (five saves).
“Our kids came to play,” he said. “They enjoy playing on that stage, we just couldn’t get the ball by their kids. It just didn’t work out for us today.”
The Hatter veterans find themselves in a familiar spot. They lost two years ago in the district quarterfinals (to Springfield-Delco in a game also played at Harriton High), but rebounded and battled their way through the playback round to earn the final berth into the state tournament.
To do so again, the Hatters (17-3) will first have to defeat eighth-seeded Radnor, which dropped a 13-6 decision to Conestoga on Saturday.
“I like to scout, see what they do, take down some numbers,” said Kurek, who took in the ‘Stoga-Radnor game later in the afternoon. “We took some notes, hopefully we can put a plan together and execute on Tuesday.
“The seniors here played on the team in 2010, where we lost to Springfield Delco, in the same exact spot, in the quarterfinals, at Harriton. And later in the playback, we got into states. The seniors got into it before. We told the kids, we’ve got to be ready, got to get back up and keep playing. They know the season’s not over.”
#2 Downingtown West 7, #7 Abington 4
Defensively, the Abington boys’ lacrosse team played a strong game. The offense, however, just could not get going against a solid Downingtown West defense.
The Galloping Ghosts kept it close for nearly three quarters, but a three-goal Whippets’ burst in the third gave the second seed a four-goal lead heading into the final quarter in a 7-4 D-West victory in Saturday’s District One Quarterfinal game at Harriton High School.
The score was tied, 2-2, after one quarter and the Whippets held a narrow 3-2 lead at the half.
“Our defense kept us in the game,” said Abington coach Ryan Greer. “Our offense did not do any damage today whatsoever. Downingtown West is a very, very good team on both sides of the ball. You really need to play a full four quarters, but you need to play your A-Game. Our offense just had problems with their defense today and really just didn’t move the ball well. If you don’t move the ball well against that kind of defense, you’re not going to score many goals.”
Shane Dunn led the Ghosts with two goals. Matt Figueroa and Matt Lomady each added one. Hunter Jones had one assist, and Ryan Ambler scooped up four ground balls. Konrad Thallner won six of 12 faceoffs for the Ghosts, and senior keeper Travis O’Connor made 17 saves on the afternoon.
“We kept it close until the end of the third quarter,” Greer said. “They had a three-goal spurt in the third. They know how to distance themselves, and once they had that lead, they really controlled the ball and kept it from us.”
With the loss, the Ghosts (15-6) are relegated to the playback games, where they will challenge for the fifth and final berth in the PIAA State Championship Tournament. They will face Suburban One League-mate Central Bucks East (18-2), the Continental Conference co-champions and third seed in the District Tournament, in Tuesday’s playback game.
Greer admits that overcoming the Patriots will be a tough task, but he believes his Ghosts will be ready to face the challenge.
“We were not expecting the outcome we had today,” Greer said. “You hope the guys can refocus, and we have good leadership that will get them back on track. We need to get out there Monday and get on the practice field and get working and hopefully Tuesday outwork Central Bucks East.
“Central Bucks East is an extremely talented team. I look at them as a very dangerous team, good on the defensive side and offensive side. We had one common opponent this season – they blew out Pennsbury and we lost to Pennsbury twice. So I definitely think we’re the underdog in the game and if we’re going to beat them, we need to play a perfect game.”
In other games
#1 Conestoga 13, #8 Radnor 6
GIRLS
#3 Radnor 20, #11 Hatboro-Horsham 10
With just under 11 minutes remaining in Saturday’s quarterfinal game at West Chester East High School, Cortnee Daley found teammate Lizzy Carr for a goal that trimmed the Red Raiders’ lead to 5-4.
On the ensuing draw, the Hatters were whistled for a violation, giving the Red Raiders possession. Twenty-four seconds later, Radnor’s Natalie Miller scored, and just like that, the Red Raiders had all the momentum in the world.
“We had a lot of turnovers off the draw,” senior captain Caroline Hagan said. “I know I went in (early) once. I felt the ref was blowing the whistle late, and that was messing everyone up.
“We just weren’t getting good possessions. We were not on. We’re not used to the competition really.”
The Hatters’ violation on the draw was the second of three in the opening half, and this one sparked a 5-0 Radnor run to close out the half.
“You can’t give up three free possessions at midfield,” coach Duncan Swezey said. “Little things like that – you can get away with that mid-season, but you can’t get away with it in these games. They’re determined by one possession.”
From the outset, it was obvious the Hatters could play with the Red Raiders. It also was clear that they had to limit their fouls while also finding a way to contain Radnor’s high-powered offense.
For a while, they did both of those things, and it looked as though fans would be in for a barnburner. A Nicole Beck goal (Lizzy Carr assist) put the Hatters on top 1-0 less than 90 seconds into the game. The Hatters led 2-1 after Carr, who scored a team-high four goals, turned a Rachel Rausa pass into a goal.
Radnor went on to open up a 4-2 lead, but Daley won the ensuing draw and turned it into a goal 15 seconds later, making it a 4-3 game. Sara Curley answered with a goal for Radnor, but Daley found Carr for a goal to make it a 5-4 game. Then came the costly draw violation and a 5-0 run that sent Radnor into halftime with a 10-4 lead.
A free position goal by Hagan early in the second half cut the Hatters’ deficit to five, and it was a 10-6 game after a Carr goal at the 19:21 mark. The Red Raiders answered with a 4-0 run to all but seal the Hatters’ fate.
“We could play with them, but we just fell apart,” Hagan said. “We’re not used to being down, especially by that much. That wasn’t our season. It’s never been us. We’re just weren’t used to it, and we fell apart.”
In addition to Carr, Nicole Beck and Julie McKay each added two goals. Daley had one goal and two assists, and Hagan added one goal. Rausa and Katie McKay each added an assist.
The Hatters (18-3) will be one of four teams battling for one of three state playoff berths. Their quest begins on Tuesday when they will travel to Strath Haven for a 4 p.m. playback game, and the Hatters need just one win to keep their dream of earning a spot in states alive.
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