By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 3/22/13
Alex Manderack scored his third goal of the game with 2:12 to play, lifting Radnor past host Episacopal Academy, 7-6, Friday in a non-league game involving two teams ranked high in the Phillylacrosse.com rankings.
The fourth-ranked Red Raiders, making their season debut, were down 5-1 in the third quarter when they comeback started. Manderack scored twice to make it 5-3 and Jack Norton pulled Radnor within 5-4 late in the period.
Peter Donato then scored twice to open the final period to give the Raiders the edge. Tyler Chambers (three goals, two assists) tied it for fifth-ranked EA (1-2) with 2:51 to play, but Manderack dodged and got the game-winner just 39 seconds later.
Brendan Manderack was a standout in goal for Radnor, posting 18 saves, while Jake Shapiro was strong at the face-off X.
“This win gives us motivation,” said Brendan Manderack. “We know we can beat the best teams out there moving forward. These guys are one of the top 25 teams in the country, and so are we – I believe.”
Manderack said the Raiders held together after falling behind, 5-1.
“We never looked down and we stayed positive,” he said. “We were down three goals; we like it. we like the challenge. We are brothers, everybody has known each other since first grade.
“Our mindset is to prove to everybody that we are one of the top teams in the country. We have to build on this. We can’t make any guarantees, we just have to go from here.”
Connor Burns also scored for Radnor while Peter Gayhardt scored twice and Trupert Ortlieb once for EA.
The Churchmen,w ho have a brutal early-seaosn schedule, now must host Indiana power Culver Academy tonight at 7 p.m.
“We got outplayed in the second half, hats off to Radnor; they wanted it more in the last 24 minutes,” said EA coach Andy Hayes. “That’s what happens when you don’t play to your potential. We just have to move on.”
Radnor 7, Episcopal Academy 6
Radnor 1-0-3-3- 7
Episcopal Ac 1-3-1-1 – 6
Radnor
Alex Manderack 3G
Peter Donato 2G
Jack Norton 1G
Tom Hemcher 1A
Brendan Manderack 18 saves
Jake Shapiro FO 6-11
Tom Meyers FO 3-4
Episcopal Academy
Peter Gayhardt 2 g
Tyler Chambers 3g, 2a
Trupert Ortlieb 1g
Brian Zappala 2 saves
Matt Ernst 6-14 FO
