Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 5/23/08
It was less than two weeks ago that Springfield-Delco defeated Lower Merion, 11-4, in a Central League game.
So, when the host Cougars were leading the Aces, 11-4, in the third quarter of Friday’s Eastern Pennsylvania Scholastic Lacrosse Association (EPSLA) first-round contest, it seemed to be a comfortable lead.
The Aces made a valiant comeback attempt, but host Springfield held on to claim a 12-10 victory, earning the Cougars a ticket to Tuesday’s quarterfinals against top-seeded Malvern Prep at Conestoga High (6 p.m.).
Josh Cavanaugh led eighth-seeded Springfield (16-5) with four goals and three assists and Joe Arrell had three goals and two assists. Colin Keegan and Jordan Demcher each added two goals and an assist and John Cugini had a goal.
Austin Kaut made nine saves in goal for the Cougars, who led, 7-2, at halftime. Billy McCullough won 13 face-offs.
Josh Fox led Lower Merion with four goals and Matt Dilks added three.
“We came out like we did in the first game,” said Aces coach Chet Laubach. “In the beginning, they outworked us for groundballs, and they were beating us all over the place.
“After halftime, we buckled down and we worked and got some lucky bounces, and mounted a comeback.”
Laubach had plenty of praise for the Cougars.
“The impressive thing about them is how hard-working they are as a team,” he said. “They go after it for 48 minutes. Everything they get, they earn.”
Penn Charter 9, Germantown Academy 8, OT
Ryan Goldman scored less than a minute into overtime to give the visiting Quakers (15-11) a thrilling win over their Inter-Ac league rivals.
Goldman (five goals) had just missed on a golden opportunity in front of the GA (13-7) cage right after the faceoff to open the overtime period. But after a timeout, he picked up a loose ball and beat Brian O’Donnell.
Joey Sankey and Steve McVeigh each had two goals for Penn Charter and Colin Still had three assists. Dan Carr made 11 saves for PC. Reed Marko led GA with three goals while Beau Jones and Craig Burnett added two apiece.
Downingtown East 13, Episcopal Academy 6
Dylan Hoff erupted for six goals and Owen Blye contributed two goals and five assists while Reed Phillips notched a hat trick as the sixth-seeded Cougars (15-6) overwhelmed the visiting Churchmen (14-12).
Taylor Nelson added a goal and an assist and Shane Sturgis scored once for Downingtown East, which outshot Episcopal, 37-12. Cody Isdaner led the Churchmen with four goals and goalie Matt Lerman had 15 saves.
St. Joseph’s Prep 10, Conestoga 6
Kenny Lankford scored three goals and Brendan Glynn and Ian Correia had two apiece as the seventh-seeded Hawks (22-4) toppled the Pioneers (14-8) at St. Joseph’s University.
St. Joe’s Prep raced to a 4-0 lead, but led only 5-4 at halftime before scoring the next five goals to take control. Conestoga did recover and control play in the final quarter.
“In a lot of ways we were lucky,” Prep coach Dan Keating said. “It was a much more competitive game than that. We got some breaks, and they hit a few pipes.”
Hawks goalie Mike Zikoski made 12 saves.
Malvern Prep 16, Abington 7
Colin McGeehin notched five goals and Matt Mackrides added three as the top-seeded Frairs (19-2) coasted past the visiting Ghosts (16-6). Conor Steidle, Christian Kellett, Ryan Creighton and Chris Layne had two goals apiece and Andrew O’Connell had 10 saves for Malvern while John Casey, Joey Jones and Mike Vandergrift had two goals each for Abington.
Haverford School 9, Radnor 4
Rory O’Connor had four goals and Ben Bourke added two as the third-seeded Fords (16-6) toppled the visiting Red Raiders (11-11). Goalie Dan Wigrizer posted nine saves for third-seeded Haverford School and Robbie Norton scored twice for Radnor.
Ridley 7, Penncrest 2
Brian Hill and Rob Lamey tallied two goals apiece and the fourth-seeded Green Raiders (19-2) scored four unanswered goals in the third quarter to break open a 3-2 game and down the Central League rival Lions (11-10). Goalie Scott Kellett had 10 saves and defenders Steve Gregg, John Harshaw, Tim Grenier and John McSorley held Penncrest scoreless in the second half.
Steve Hudicka and Casey Desiderio scored for Penncrest.
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