By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 5/25/12

Episcopal Academy scored five of the last six goals to stun Haverford School, 15-11, Thursday night in the Inter-Ac Invitational championship game before a sold-out crowd at Cabrini College.

Episcopal Academy won the 2012 Inter-Ac Invitational championship

The Churchmen (18-5) won their first Inter-Ac Invitational title and dealt the Fords (21-2) their first loss to a Pennsylvania team after 35 straight wins.

EA rallied from an early 4-0 deficit by using a swift passing game and strong defense, especially in the second half when Haverford managed just three goals. The key was winning possessions as senior face-off specialist Jon Garino was named the YBH Audi-Volkswagen MVP as the MVP by winning 20 of 28 draws.

Tyler Odell and Morgan Westby each scored three goals to lead a balanced attack for the Churchmen, who also won the battle of groundballs by a 27-19 margin. Sam Lawlor added two goals and two assists, Connor Haab had a goal and three assists and Trupert Ortlieb had two goals and an assist while Ian Strain scored twice for EA.

“I have never in my career beaten Haverford, and I have been waiting 17 years for this,” said EA goalie Henry Coote (six saves), who was named to the all-tourney team “I couldn’t imagine a better way for it to happen. We knew we were going to be underdogs the entire season.

“We had a great year, and we lost a few games we should have had. But we stuck together and never got down and came all the way back to get this. It’s awesome.”

“This is special, everything about this game was special,” added Garino, who played with four broken ribs sustained in the Lawrenceville game. “The pain is pretty bad, but with the adrenaline flowing it was an afterthought to be honest.

“When we went down 4-0, it was no big deal. Lacrosse is a game of runs; I just watched Duke fall behind early to Colgate (at the NCAA quarterfinals on Sunday at PPL Park) and rally back. It was early in the first quarter so anything can happen. We know how to deal with adversity.”

Haverford School entered play ranked No. 2 in the nation in every national poll and could have won a second straight mythical national title with a victory and a Garden City loss in the New York state playoffs.

“We played our best two games this week and the best teams play their best games in May,” said EA coach Andy Hayes, whose Churchmen had advanced to the finals with an 11-4 victory over Lawrenceville School on Monday. “I am very proud of my kids. They played awesome tonight in every facet – groundballs, face-offs, scoring … they executed our game pan.

“Even when we went down (4-0). It was like, ‘Whatever,’ It’s all a part of playing in a big game. That’s one of the best teams (Haverford School) in the country, but we worked really really hard and our game plan was to make them work for 48 minutes and it worked.”

Perhaps the most talk-about goal was an over-the-head, no-look tally by defenseman Billy McAvoy that tied the game, 7-7, late in the third period.

The game continued to go back and fourth until the end of the third period when Westby put his team ahead for good, 11-10, with 1:51 to play.

Then in the final period Ortlieb scored off a Haab feed at 8:31 and Odell made it 13-10 eight seconds later as Garino triggered the fastbreak goal. Sam Rohr scored for Haverford School to make it 13-11, but Lawlor scored 45 seconds later and Odell clinched it.

“Everyone played great, we had so many people step up on offense,” said Haab. “People really stepped it up in the second half, Billy McAvoy had one of the best goals I have ever seen and it’s overwhelming.”

The Fords had defeated EA twice this year, 9-8 in overtime and 9-6.

“Haverford is such a great team and we have so much respect for them, and credit them to come out so strong,” said Lawlor. “But we lost to them two times this year and we weren’t going to let it happen again.

“We dug it out and Henry made some key saves. The seniors helped us pull it out. It was great to finally beat then; we respect them so much, but this was our time.

“The first time we played them we thought we had it. We could have just accepted they were the better team, but we used that instead to work harder. They beat us again and it made us even angrier. Instead of moping, we worked so hard in practice to prepare for this night.”

The Fords were led by Henry Blynn, who had three goals and two assists; and Rohr, who added three goals and an assist.

“That’s the best we’ve ever seen them play,” said Haverford School senior defenseman Scott Warren. “We were really counting on our defense. Somehow they beat us top. Their middies had good dodges and made us slide fast. That was probably one of the poorest defensive games we’ve played in a while. Give credit to them. Their shots were really accurate.”

The Churchmen had lost eight straight times to Haverford School and last defeated the Fords, 5-4, in four overtimes on April 14, 2009. EA had reached the Inter-Ac finals once before, bowing to Haverford, 7-6, in overtime in the 2010 final.

“It’s a huge win,” said Hayes. “We’re hoping to get where they are and with more wins like this, that will happen.”

Warren said his Fords will leave the year with a bitter taste, but would most remember a brilliant season.

“It’s tough,” he said. “I just said to the whole team that this leaves a real bad taste on your mouth,” he said. “It seems after four years we got cheated out of our accomplishments this year and cheated out of our accomplishments last year.

“But before every single game we talk and tell each other we’re playing for each other, not for the show. That’s how I am going to think about this. We need to put this out of our minds and move forward.

“This was just one thing we missed – just one game. It just had to be the last one.”

Episcopal Academy 15, Haverford School 11

Episcopal Academy 3-6-2-4- 15
Haverford School 5-3-2-1- 11

Episcopal Academy
Trupert Ortlieb 2g, 1a
Tyler Odell 3g
Connor Haab 1g, 3a
Ian Strain 2g
Sam Lawlor 2g, 2a
Billy McAvoy 1g
Tyler Haab 1g
Morgan Westby 3g
Dutch Buckley 1a
Henry Coote 6 saves
Jon Garino 20 of 28 FO, MVP

Haverford School
Henry Blynn 3g, 2a
Timmy Brooks 1g
Gavin McBride 2g
Will McNamara 1g
Zach Rego 1g, 2a
James Chaker 1a
Sam Rohr 3g, 1a
Jake Landman 9 saves

Groundballs – EA 27, HS 19

Chris Goldberg

Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 5/24/12

Chris Goldberg is here at the Inter-Ac Invitational at Cabrini College. Top-seeded Haverford School (21-1) is playing second-0seeded Episcopal Academy (17-5) for the championship before a capacity crowd of over 1,000 people.

The weather is perfect and the atmosphere is awesome as the Fords try to win their fiourth Inter-Ac Invitational crown in four years. They defeated EA two years ago in a thriller and last year edged Malvern Prep, 5-4, with two goals in the final 36 seconds to earn a national championship. This year the Fords are ranked No. 2 in the nation in every national poll and could win another national crown with a win and a Garden City loss down the road.

1st Period

Jon Garino win opening FO for EA, but Fords regain possession quickly

HS – Henry Blynn puts in a lefthander past Henry Coote from Zach Rego, 10:06 – Fords up 1-0
HS – Will Gural wins FO for Haverford
HS – Blynn again in tight from James Chakeym 9:53 – 2-0 Fords
HS – Timmy Brooks drills one past Coote, unassisted, 8:15 – Now 3-0
HS – Gavin Mcbride from Sam Rohr, 7:33 – four shots, four goals – 4-0 Haverford – is it going to be a rout?

EA – Trupert Ortlieb answers for EA, unassisted, 6:17 – big goal for the Churchmen, now trailing 4-1
EA – Tyler Odell scores from Connor Haab on a man-up situation, 5:42, EA now within 4-2
EA – Haab scores on a low shot to pull EA within 4-3, unassisted, 5:14 – We have
an old-fashioned shootout!

HS – Blynn once again from Rego, his third of the game, 3:29 – Fords up 5-3

End period

Saves – Jake Landman (HS) 4, Henry Coote (EA) 0
FO – Jon Garino wins 6 of 9

Goals –
HS – Henry Blynn 3, Timmy Brooks 1, Gavin McBride 1
EA – Tyler Odell 1, Trupert Ortlieb 1, Connor Haab 1

Second period

EA – Ian Strain scores to make it 5-4 Haverford, 10:55 – The Churchmen keep coming back.
EA – Sam Lawlor ties it from Ortlieb, 7:12 – wow what a comeback from early 4-0 deficit for EA

HS – Will McNamara answers for Fords, unassisted, 6:02 – HS leads 6-5

EA – Morgan Westby from Haab, man-up, 5:29 – another tie, 6-6

HS – Rohr scores unassisted for 7-6 lead, 4:52

EA – Billy McAvoy scores on crazy over-the-head-shot, not even looking at the goal, 4:08

HS – McBride scores from Blynn, 3:24 – this game is an offensive smorgasbord, 8-7 Fords

EA – Tyler Haab unassisted, 2:47 – now 8-8 – the offensive blitz continues
EA – Strain again, from Lawelor, pinpoint passing, 1:43 – EA takes first lead at 9-8

End half
Saves – Landman 5, Coote 2
FO – Garino 13 of 19
GB – EA 16-13

Goals – EA – Strain 2, CHaab 1, Ortlieb 1, Odell 1, Lawlor 1, McAvoy 1, Westby 1, THaab 1
HS – Blynn 3, McBride 2, McNamara 1, Brooks 1, Rohr 1

3nd period

The rain has started – It’s pouring
EA on man-up situation

HS – Rego scores unassisted off a post rebound on a man-up goal, 10:33, tied 9-9

EA – Westby scores unassisted – back and fourth we go,9:28 – EA up 10-9

Still 10-9 with 3:47 left

HS – Rohr from Blynn, man-up, 3:40 – now 10-10

EA – Westby puts EA up 11-10, 1:51

End Period

saves – Landman 7, Coote 3
FO Garino 16 of 23

4th period

EA – Ortlieb from Connor Haab, 8:31, man-jup now EA has first two goal lead
EA – Tyler Odell from Dutch Buckley, 8:23 – now 13-10

HS – Rohr scores key unassisted goal, 13-11, 7:16

EA – Lawlor unassisted, EA back up 3 at 14-11, 6:21

Garino has won 19 of 27 face-offs, big reason for lead

EA last defeated HS, 5-4, in four overtimes on April 14, 2009 – have lost eight straight times since then

Only 3:00 to play – HS with possession

EA – Tyler Odell from Lawlor off transition, 1:49 – EA can taste it now, 15-11

47 seconds left – EA is going to pull off one of the biggest wins in years

FINAL – 15-11 EA!

Saves – Coote 6 for EA, Landman 9 for HS
FO – Garino an amazing 20 of 28

GB – EA wins, 27-19

Chris Goldberg

Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 5/22/12

Below are the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Boys Lacrosse Rankings. Click here for full story.

1. (No. 1 last week) Garden City (N.Y.), 16-0
2. (2) Haverford School (Pa.), 20-1
3. (4) Calvert Hall (Baltimore), 16-2
4. (5) Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.), 20-1
5. (6) West Islip (N.Y.), 15-1
6. (7) Bridgewater-Raritan (Bridgewater, N.J.), 15-0
7. (8) Chaminade (Mineola, N.Y.), 16-1
8. (9) Smithtown West (N.Y.), 15-1
9. (10) Conestoga (Berwyn, Pa.), 17-3
10. (13) Fairport (N.Y.), 16-0
11. (3) Salisbury School (Conn.), 11-1
12. (14) Darien (Conn.), 16-1
13. (16) Duxbury (Mass.), 18-2
14. (15) Loyola Blakefield (Towson, Md.), 16-4
15. (18) St. Anthony’s (Melville, N.Y.), 15-3
16. (19) Niskayuna (N.Y.), 15-1
17. (21) West Genesee (Camillus, N.Y.), 15-1
18. (20) Dublin Jerome (Ohio), 18-0
19. (22) Governor’s Academy (Byfield, Mass.), 15-0
20. (23) La Salle College (Wyndmoor, Pa.), 14-4
21. (24) Ithaca (N.Y.), 15-1
22. (25) Landon (Bethesda, Md.), 13-6
23 (NR) Arapahoe (Centennial, Colo.), 19-0
24. (11) Gilman (Baltimore), 12-4
25. (NR) Deerfield Academy (Mass.), 14-2

Chris Goldberg

Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 5/22/12

The following are the taped telecast of the Inter-Ac Invitational semifinals of Monday night’s games at Cabrini College. Haverford School defeated Malvern prep, 9-5, and Episcopal Academy toppled Lawrenceville School, 11-4, to reach the finals Thursday at Cabrini (7 p.m.).

Kudda.com Game of the Week telecast: Haverford School 9, Malvern Prep 5

Kudda.com Game of the Week telecast: Episcopal Academy 11, Lawrenceville School 4

Chris Goldberg

By Chris Mueller
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 5/22/12

Henry Blynn had a goal and two assists to earn Game MVP honors while Sam Rohr and Reilly Hupfeldt each added two goals as top-seeded Haverford School downed Malvern Prep, 9-5, Monday in the Inter-Ac Invitational semifinals at Cabrini College.

Haverford School's Peter Blynn celebrates a goal during Monday's 9-5 win

The Fords (21-1) advanced to the championship game Thursday against league rival Episcopal Academy at Cabrini at 7 p.m. Click here for Kudda.com telecast of game.

The Fords dominated on both ends of the field and seized a 6-2 halftime lead. They have beaten their arch rivals three times this year, after toppling the Friars, 5-4, inlast year’s championship game.

Zach Rego tallied a goal and an assist while Peter Blynn and Gavin McBride each scored once. Jake Landman made nine saves in goal.

“We really wanted to slow it down on offense a lot,” said Blynn, named the YBH Audi-Volkswagen Star of the Game. “We did what we wanted to do.”

Will Gural won 11 of 18 face-offs which helped Haverford to maintain momentum and solid ball control.

“We all have faith in Gural,” Henry Blynn said. “A possession for us usually means a goal so he’s really helping our offense out. I’m lucky that we’re going to Brown together next year. He’ll be able to keep giving me possessions.”

Haverford coach John Nostrant liked his team’s ball movement.

“We didn’t play amazing team defense, but fortunately our offense was scoring goals,” said Nostrant. “We need to keep competing and playing hard going into Thursday.”

For Malvern, Joe Dunn tallied a goal and an assist while Fran McArdle, Chris Roe, Graeme Weaver, and Conor Glancy all scored once. Matt Barrett made seven saves in goal.

Haverford has beaten Episcopal Academy twice this season, 9-8 and 9-6.

Thursday’s game will be televised live on Comcast SportsNet.

Haverford School 9, Malvern Prep 5

HS 3-3-1-3-2 – 9
Malvern Prep 1-1-1-2- 5

HS
Henry Blynn 1g, 2a
Will McNamara 1g
Sam Rohr 2g
Peter Blynn 1g
Reilly Hupfeldt 2g
Timmy Brooks 1a
Zach Rego 1g, 1a
Gavin McBride 1g
Will Gural 11 of 18 FO
Jake Landman 9 saves

MP
Conor Glancy 1g
Joe Dunn 1g, 1a
Graeme Weaver 1g
Chris Roe 1g
Fran McArdle 1g
Matt Barrett 7 saves

Chris Goldberg

Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 5/21/12

Chris Goldberg is here at Cabrini College with the Inter-Ac Invitational semifinals. Game 1 pits arch rivals Haverford School and Malvern Prep. The weather is overcast, bot there is no rain.

Period 1

HS – Will McNamara scores unassisted, 10:54 – Fords 1-0
HS – Sam Rohr fires in a left-hander past Matt Barrett(also unassisted), 9:51. Good start for the Fords.
MP – Chris Rose scores unassisted to get the Friars back in the game, 2-1, 9:01
HS – Gavin McBride takes a feed from Zach Rego for a 3-1 Haverford lead, 7:54

End period

Saves – Barrett (Malvern Prep) 1
Jake Landman (Haverford) 1

Face-offs – Haverford 4-1

2nd Period

MP – Fran McArdle scores unassisted goal, Friars pull within 3-2, 9:57
HS – Henry Blynn strikes back and rockets one past Barrett from Timmy Brooks, 9:33
HS – Zach Rego (X), 6:46 – Fords up 5-2

Tonight’s games are being telecast on tape delay by Baltimore’s Kudda.com with Booker Corrigan (Radnor grad) and Brett Manney (Wings, Holy Ghost Prep grad, Delaware grad, NXT assistant coach). Will be posting links tonight/tomorrow morning.

Remember to go see CROOKED ARROWS, the first mainstream lacrosse movie – Saw it last week and loved it. It’s a must-see for any lax fan. Great action scenes! Lots of Native American history, too.

College coaches are everywhere. We can count 25 sitting on the sidelines; there are about 25 more in the stands, we are told.

HS – Sam Rohr scores on man-up (Henry Blynn), now 6-2, 2:55

Fords are picking apart the Malvern Prep defense, which is loaded with talent; again, great ball movement is the key as it has been all year.

end Half

saves – Barrett – 3; Landman – 3
face-offs – HS 6-4

Haverford School 3-3-
Malvern Prep 1-1 –

HS
Sam Rohr 2g
Hebry Blynn 1g, 1a
Will McNMamara 1g
Zach Rego 1g, 1a
Gavin McBride 1g
Timmy Brooks 1a

MP
Fran McArdle 1g
Chris Roe 1g

3rd period

Jake Landman has made two nice stops for the Fords; otherwise not much offense this half
Oops spoke too soon

HS – Peter Blynn (X), 4:59 -Haverford up 7-2

Will Gural has won 8 of 12 face-offs for the Fords

MP – Graeme Weaver (X), :49 – first goal of the half for Friars- 7-3 Fords

End period
saves – Barrett 6, Landman 6
face-offs – HS 9-4

4th period

MP – Conor Glancy (Joe Dunn), man-up goal, Friars within 7-4, 11:09
HS – Reilly Huofeldt (McBride), 10:06 – 8-4, key goal for Fords to regain momentum, after two Malvern goals
HS – Hupfeldt from H. Blynn, pinpoint passing, 7:59 – Fords up 9-4, have things in hand it appears

MP – Joe Dunn scores after coming from Landman’s right, unassisted, 7:54 – Now 9-5 Fords

It’s been drizzling for a while now; things starting to get a little slippery

Landman makes a key save for Haverford, 5:05

Barrett stones Henry Blynn, but time running out for Friars

3:34 left – Malvern possession

1:25 – Fords have ball and the game

Haverford wins 9-5, heads to Imter-Ac Invitational finals for fourth year in a row in the four-year tourney

Final is Thursday her at Cabrini at a time to be determined

YBH Audi-Volkswagen Star of the Game is Henry Blynn , senior attackman at Haverford School – Blynn’s brilliant season continues

Final stats
daves – Barrett 7, Landman 9
Face-offs – HS 11-7

HS 3-3-1-3-2 – 9
Malvern Prep 1-1-1-2- 5

HS
Henry Blynn 1g, 2a
Will McNamara 1g
Sam Rohr 2g
Peter Blynn 1g
Reilly Hupfeldt 2g
Timmy Brooks 1a
Zach Rego 1g, 1a
Gavin McBride 1g
Will Gural 11 of 18 FO
Jake Landman 9 saves

MP
Conor Glancy 1g
Joe Dunn 1g, 1a
Graeme Weaver 1g
Chris Roe 1g
Fran McArdle 1g
Matt Barrett 7 saves

Chris Goldberg

Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 5/21/12

Haverford School retained the top spot in the All Schools Division of the PA Media Boys’ Lacrosse Rankings released today.

The Fords, who won the Inter-Ac League championship play today in the Inter-Ac Invitational semifinals, received 100 points and all 10 first-place votes in the All Schools poll. Conestoga was the top team in the PIAA poll with 100 points and 10 first-place votes.

Each week a panel of journalists from around the state and the Mid-Atlantic rank the top teams. The panel includes Chris Goldberg of Phillylacrosse.com, Jimmy Oliver of LaxPower, Brett Manney of ESPNHS, Dennis C. Way of the Norristown Times Herald, Scott Johnston of EmmausSports.com, Matthew Blymier of the Lancaster Intelligencer, Dave Assad of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Matt Chandik of the Delco Times, Evan Burgos of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Andrew Edwards of the Daily Local News. The poll was created by Goldberg.

Week 9

PIAA

1. Conestoga (District 1) 17-3, 100 pts, 10 first-place votes Prev: No. 1
2, Downingtown West (1) 20-0, 85 pts, Prev: No. 2
3, La Salle (12) 14-4, 84 pts, Prev: No. 3
4. Garnet Valley (1) 16-5, 65 pts, Prev: NR
5. Great Valley (1) 14-7, 61 pts, Prev: NR
6. Central Bucks East (1) 18-2, 39 pts, Prev: No. 4
7, Radnor (1) 14-7, 30 pts, Prev: No. 10
8. Abington (1) 15-5, 29 pts, prev; NR
9. Hatboro-Horsham (1) 18-3, 26 pts, Prev: No. 9
10. Ridley (1) 16-4, 9 pts, Prev: No. 6
Under consideration: Bishop Shanahan (D1) 14-6; Downingtown East (1) 14-6; Ephrata (D3) 20-2; Henderson (1) 17-3; Manheim Township (D3) 17-5; Penncrest (D1) 14-6; Pennsbury (1) 17-3; Seneca Valley (D7) 15-1; St. Joseph’s Prep (D12) 12-6.

All Schools
1, Haverford School (Inter-Ac) 20-1, 100 pts, 10 first-place votes, Prev: No. 1
2, Conestoga (1) 17-3, 87 pts, Prev: No. 2
3. Downingtown West (1) 20-0, 74 pts, Prev: No. 3
4. La Salle (12) 14-4, 72 pts, Prev: No. 4
5, Episcopal Academy (Inter-Ac) 16-5, 68 pts, Prev: No. 5
6, Garnet Valley (1) 16-5, 45 pts, Prev; NR
7. Malvern Prep (Inter-Ac) 8-9, 43 pts, Prev; NR
8. Great Valley (1) 14-7, 38 Pts. Prev: NR
9. Penn Charter (Inter-Ac) 13-12, 11 pts, Prev: No. 9
10. Central Bucks East (1) 18-2, 9 pts, Prev: No. 6

Chris Goldberg

By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com,Posted 5/20/12

Liam O’Connor said he has long dreamed about playing in the Final Four of Division I lacrosse.

Now that dream is reality.

Today at PPL Park in Chester, the sophomore face-off specialist from The Haverford School helped Notre Dame defeat defending national champion Virginia, 12-10, in the NCAA quarterfinals.

“It’s awesome,” he said, “I have dreamt about being in the Final Four since I was a little kid. So this is like a dream come true.

“But we’ve got to make sure we get it to Memorial Day (for the championship) on Monday and finish it off.”

Notre Dame (13-2) advances to face Loyola (Md.) in the semifinals at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., on Saturday, May 26.

Playing before a home crowd, O’Connor won 5 of 12 face-offs and scooped two groundballs. His biggest play came when he won the face-off with just under a minute left after the Cavaliers had scored two quick goals to close a seemingly comfortable margin to 12-10.

“I think it was pretty big,” he said of the key face-off win. “The whole game I was just trying to make it a 50-50 groundball, but I got lucky enough to pick it up and coach (Kevin Corrigan) called timer out before I lost it.

O’Connor said the Fighting Irish has played with the type of intensity needed since they fell to St. John’s in the BIG EAST semifinals two weeks ago at Villanova. In that game, Notre Dame played poorly in the first three quarters before nearly making a comeback in the final period.

After that, O’Connor said the team came together and played its potential in practices and in last week’s 13-7 first-round win over Yale.

“The whole first three quarters of that (St. John’s) game we didn’t play too aggressive on groundballs and they took it to us,” he said. “From that point on coach rallied us and told us to take it to them.

“That’s how we’ve played every game and practice since. That’s been our philosophy.”

O’Connor was pleased that his team was not intimidated by Virginia’s many standouts.
“There was a lot of talk about how athletic they are and people kind of undersell our athleticism and how good we are,” he said. “We just tried to come out from the get go and show them we could compete with the best of the best and make it to championship weekend.”

Chris Goldberg

Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 5/15/12

Haverford School retained the top spot in the All Schools Division of the PA Media Boys’ Lacrosse Rankings released today.

The Fords, who won the Inter-Ac League championship and finished the regular season at 19-1, received 100 points and all 10 first-place votes in the All Schools poll. Conestoga was the top team in the PIAA poll with 100 points and 10 first-place votes.

Each week a panel of journalists from around the state and the Mid-Atlantic rank the top teams. The panel includes Chris Goldberg of Phillylacrosse.com, Jimmy Oliver of LaxPower, Brett Manney of ESPNHS, Dennis C. Way of the Norristown Times Herald, Scott Johnston of EmmausSports.com, Matthew Blymier of the Lancaster Intelligencer, Dave Assad of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Matt Chandik of the Delco Times, Evan Burgos of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Andrew Edwards of the Daily Local News. The poll was created by Goldberg.

PA Media Boys’ Lacrosse Rankings
Week 8
PIAA
1. Conestoga (District 1) 15-3, 100 pts, 10 first-place votes Prev: No. 1
2, Downingtown West (1) 18-0, 85 pts, Prev: No. 2
3, La Salle (12) 13-4, 84 pts, Prev: No. 3
4. Central Bucks East (1) 17-1, 59 pts, Prev: No. 6
5. Henderson (1) 16-2, 58 pts, Prev: No. 4
6. Ridley (1) 15-3, 53 pts, Prev: No. 5
7. Downingtown East (1) 13-5, 44 pts, Prev: No. 8
8. Pennsbury (1) 16-2, 32 pts, Prev: No. 7
9. Hatboro-Horsham (1) 16-2, 17 pts, Prev: No. 9
10, Radnor (1) 12-6, 9 pts, Prev: No. NR

Under consideration: Abington (D1) 13-5; Bishop Shanahan (D1) 13-5; Ephrata (D3) 18-2; Garnet Valley (D1) 13-5, Hershey (D3) 17-1; Manheim Township (D3) 15-5; Penncrest (D1) 13-5; Seneca Valley (D7) 14-1; St. Joseph’s Prep (D12) 12-6.

All Schools

1, Haverford School (Inter-Ac) 19-1, 100 pts, 10 first-place votes, Prev: No. 1
2, Conestoga (1) 15-3, 87 pts, Prev: No. 2
3. Downingtown West (1) 18-0, 74 pts, Prev: No. 3
4. La Salle (12) 13-4, 72 pts, Prev: No. 4
5, Episcopal Academy (Inter-Ac) 15-5, 68 pts, Prev: No. 5
6. Central Bucks East (1) 17-1, 46 pts, Prev: No. 8
7. Henderson (1) 16-2, 39 pts, Prev: No. 6
8. Ridley (1) 15-3, 37 pts, Prev: No, 7
9. Penn Charter (Inter-Ac) 13-11, 17 pts, Prev: NR
10, Downingtown East (1) 13-5, 9 pts, Prev: NR

Chris Goldberg

Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 5/13/12

The Haverford School took the top prize for the second year in a row at the annual Mad Hatters JV Lacrosse Tournament at Hatboro Horsham High School on Saturday.

Haverford School's JV champions: Kneeling: Ben Euler, Jake Hervada, Henry Crochiere, Mike Mazzola, Elliot Avis, Grant Ament, James Holsten, Brandon Shima, Eli Tills, Tucker McBride Standing: Coach Avery Cook, Connor Keating, Drew Supinski, Jeff Odiorne, Noah Lejman, Coach Foster Gilbert, Sam Denious, Jack Appicciafuoco, Colin Moran, Chris Sabia, Phil Poquie, Brenden Jacob, Brenden Burke, Angelo Brutico, Logan Atkins, Corey Richards, Shane McBride, Coach Scott Ertle.

In the first round the Fords beat Upper Dublin, 11-0. Round two pitted Haverford against rival St Joseph’s Prep with the Fords taking the battle, 10-4.

In the semifinals Haverford toppled Downingtown West, 8-2 setting the stage for a rematch against Conestoga in the finals. Conestoga won an earlier match up this year against Haverford in the Checking for Cancer tournament, 9-8.

This time, the Fords took an early 2-0 lead before a resilient Pioneer squad fought back to tie the match in the second half. Sophomore Conner Keating added a third goal for the Fords late and solid defense by Noah Lejman, James Holston, and Mike Mazzola preserved the victory.

Sophomore Goaltender Elliott Avis was outstanding all day making several great saves. The Fords were coached by Avery Cook, Foster Gilbert and Scott Ertle.

The team consisted of Kneeling: Ben Euler, Jake Hervada, Henry Crochiere, Mike Mazzola, Elliot Avis, Grant Ament, James Holston, Brandon Shima, Eli Tills, Tucker McBride, Connor Keating, Drew Supinski, Jeff Odiorne, Noah Lejman, Coach Foster Gilbert, Sam Denious, Jack Appicciafuoco, Colin Moran, Chris Sabia, Phil Poquie, Brenden Jacob, Brenden Burke, Angelo Brutico, Logan Atkins, Corey Richards, and Shane McBride.

Chris Goldberg