By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 11/15/09
La Salle senior midfielder Patrick Resch has committed to play Division I lacrosse at Dartmouth University.
Resch helped the Explorers win their second straight state championship last year, defeating Conestoga, 7-3, for the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association crown.
Resch is undecided on a major, but is considering athletic training.
“I really loved the coaches and I feel the program (at Dartmouth) is on the rise,” Resch said. “They are trying to recruit even more, and that confidence was a big draw for me. My friend Pete Schwartz (recent La Salle graduate) is at Harvard, so I will be seeing him.”
Resch also played for the Philly team that placed third in the Under Armour Underclassmen games last summer and helped the Duke’s Lacrosse Club claim its fourth straight Champ Camp crown by scoring the winning goal in the title game.
Resch, a member of the National Honor Society, switched from an offensive midfield position to a defensive spot last year for the Explorers.
“It was a breakout year for me,” he said. “At the beginning of the year I talked to the coaches and they sa
id if I wanted to play d-middie I could get onto the field and be a contributor. It was a no-brainer for me.”
Resch is the son of La Salle assistant coach and athletic director Tony Resch, the former standout player and coach for the Philadelphia Wings. Resch also was the head coach of the Philadelphia Barrage and is an assistant coach for the US National team.
“It’s been great growing up and always having him help out with inside info on what I needed to do better,” Resch said.
Resch is one of many seniors that will be taking an even bigger role this year for La Salle, which lost a number of multi-year starters and All-Americans from a squad that won the past two state crowns and went 52-6 in that span.
“We have talked about the fact that that people are labeling it as a rebuilding year,” Resch said. “But we have a lot of people that can contribute. We might not have the best talent, but it’s going to be a matter of establishing the mentality that we’re going to outwork everybody. It’s going to be a completely new challenge and a lot of fun.”
Resch is the third La Salle senior to commit or sign with a Division I college. Defenseman Shane Pierce signed with Mount St. Mary’s and midfielder/face-off specialist Anthony Cognetti is signing with St. Joseph’s University during the early sigining period (which ends Wednesday). Two juniors – attackman Kevin Forster (Maryland) and midfielder Jack Bogorowski (Johns Hopkins) – also have committed.
