By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 3/29/09
Warning to opposing boys’ lacrosse teams: Beware of the Ghost.
Last week Holy Ghost Prep pulled one of the season’s biggest surprises when it downed Inter-Ac League contender Penn Charter, 11-8, on Thursday. The Firebirds (3-1) suffered their first loss, 8-6, to a strong Unionville squad on Friday, but have earned the year’s first Phillylacrosse.com/Athlete’s Advantage Scholastic Boys’ Team of the Week.
Holy Ghost does not receive much attention because it played in a small league (Northeast) in the past and, now plays in an even smaller league (Bicentennial) that won’t even crown an official champion this year. It opened the year with resounding victories over Harry S Truman (20-1) and Bicentennial League foe Delaware County Christian (20-2).
But no one knew exactly what Holy Ghost was capable of until Thursday. Firebirds coach Lou Cacchio, though, was not surprised his team could play with a top-tier squad, one that was ranked 10th in the PA Lacrosse Media Rankings.
“We shocked some people today,” said Cacchio. “But we are for real. We really proved that we could play. We’ve never beaten a ranked team and this gives our kids confidence.
“We have a lot of kids that have played together for several years. They have worked very hard and this is their year to take that step up.”
One player who made his mark Thursday was junior goalie Andrijko Andrusko, who was masterful with 17 saves and many key clears. Andrusko, who served as the backup to all-Northeast League goalie Rob McNeill last year,
also had 17 saves in the loss to Unionville.
“Andrusko was absolutely spectacular,” Cacchio said of his effort against Penn Charter. “Last year he was the backup, but he was pushing him (McNeill) the whole year. This was his coming out party.
“He really stepped up to the occasion. I couldn’t ask for anything more, especially in his clearing game. He is one of the best clearing goalies I’ve ever seen. He is very poised and very calm. He really helps us in transition.”
Chris Marrone led Ghost with three goals while Nick Moses had two goals and three assists and Colin Becker and Andrew Cacchio had two goals and two assists each. Forrest Kelly and Jeremy Omrod each scored once as the Firebirds overcame a 5-4 halftime deficit.
“We have played PC for five years and this is the first year that I can honestly say we won the 1-on-1 matchups,” Cacchio said. “Whether it was attack vs. defense or clearing the ball, or even defensively, we were really winning the 1-on-1 matchups. It showed in our offense; that was the most goals we ever scored against them.”
Honorable mention teams of the week: West Chester East, Owen J. Roberts. (Special consideration for Team of the Week is given for squads that perform community service. To nominate a team, e-mail us at golax@philllyacrosse.com)
