Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 11/1/12
The 2017 Philadelphia Freedom team went 6-0 on Sunday against a slate of regional opponents to take home the U15A championship trophy at the Brandywine Classic at the Brandywine Polo Fields in Toughkenamon.
In round play, the Freedom began with a 7-0 win against Brotherhood Lacrosse (Md). The team then continued its roll, beating Prospect Pride (Va) 9-2, Team Twist (Pa) 7-3, and Club Wolfpack (Md) 9-0.
The semi-finals featured a rematch with Team Twist, in which Freedom won a hard-fought match 6-3 to advance to the championship game against BBL Elite 2017 (NJ). Powered by a balanced offense and tenacious defense, Freedom won the championship game, 7-3.
The Freedom defensive effort was strong all day long in all aspects of play, anchored in goal by Kyle Mullin. Defense poles were JD Carroll, Kyle Derrickson, Matt LoPolito, Burke McFillin, Jason Reynolds, Brandon Starr, and LSM Jake Wetzel.
The midfield play was impressive, dominating the face off and ground ball battles and creating transition offense. Midfielders included Spencer Bicking, Jacob Buttermore, Shawn Coulter, Conner Delaney, Michael Fay, Doug Jones, CJ McNally, and Colby Smith.
The attack play by MJ Alfonso, Dominick Distefano, Sam Goforth, Denny Nealon, Grant Peden, and Dylan Teeter and was strong. They set the tone on offense, distributing the ball, creating opportunities through dodging, and finishing well.
