Phillylacrosse.com, posted 6/16/09
Courtesy of Phila. Lacrosse Association
The PennStar U13 Boys’ Team, representing the Philadelphia Lacrosse Association, defeated powerful Team Maryland, 10-7, to cap a perfect weekend at the US Lacrosse National Youth Festival last weekend atKings Island, Ohio.
The PennStar squad, coached by Brian Zappala, finished the tournament with a 6-0 mark. These are brief recaps of the games.
PennStar 11, Hudson Valley 6: Hunter Jones had four goals while attackmen Curtis Zappala, Jason Kelly and Jackson Kleintz also led the offense. Goalies Eric Beren and Carson Cocco each had eight saves and defenseman Bryan Mizell and LPM Stephen Warburton each had three ground balls.
Summary: Hunter Jones (4g, 1a); Jason Kelly (3g, 1a); Jackson Kleintz (2g, 1a); Curtis Zappala (2g, 1a); Troy Gallen (1g, 2a); Corey Richards (1g); Luke Gomez (1a); Peter Blynn (1a); Eric Beren (8 saves); Carson Cocco (8 saves).
PennStar 7, Colorado Blue 0: Greg Pelton, Hunter Eaton, Kyle Lawlor and Bryan Mizell had three groundballs each and paced a standout defense Peter Blynn led the offense with two assists while middies Troy Gallen, Luke Gomez and Kevin Murphy (each with two groundballs) played strong all-around games.
Summary: Jackson Kleintz (2g); Jason Kelly (1g); Hunter Jones (1g); Curtis Zappala (1g); Kevin McGeary (1g, 1a); Richie Buzza (1g); Troy Gallen (1a); Derek Bitzer (1a); Peter Blynn (2a); Eric Beren (1 save); Carson Cocco (3 saves).
PennStar 10, Nor Cal 1: Hunter Jones and Kevin Murphy each scored twice and “White” linemates Troy Gallen and Richie Buzza each scored once. Middies Derek Bitzer, Connor Burns and Jimmy Steigerwald had solid all-around games and Hunter Eaton (three GBs) led the defense.
Summary: Hunter Jones (2g, 1a); Kevin Murphy (2g); Curtis Zappala (1g, 2a); Kevin McGeary (1g, 2a); Jackson Kleintz (1g, 1a); Troy Gallen (1g); Richie Buzza (1g); Eric Beren (2 saves); Carson Cocco (2 saves).
PennStar 13, Ohio North Coast 1: PennStar’s defense limited the opposition to three shots the entire game and defenseman Greg Pelton had a brilliant end-to-end clear leading to his assist for one of Penn Star’s 13 goals. Jackson Kleintz and Corey Richards led all scorers with three goals apiece.
Summary: Corey Richards (3g, 1a); Jackson Kleintz (3g); Jason Kelly (2g, 1a); Kevin McGeary (2g); Hunter Jones (1g, 2a); Curtis Zappala (1g, 1a); Troy Gallen (1a); Greg Pelton (1a); Peter Blynn (1a); Richie Buzza (1a); Eric Beren (2 saves); Carson Cocco (1 save).
PennStar 10, Maryland 7: Pairing the top 2 teams at the Festival, Round five saw undefeated Penn Star square off against Maryland’s undefeated perennial powerhouse team. The game did not disappoint the fans who lined the field. Kevin McGeary took over the faceoff “X” and won the first six draws. “Red” linemates Peter Blynn and Derek Bitzer combined with McGeary to control the ball and momentum leading to four straight goals by Hunter Jones. PennStar never looked back, holding off several Maryland runs late in the second half. The defense held with a team effort from Greg Pelton, Bryan Mizell, Hunter Eaton, Kyle Lawlor and Stephen Warburton; backed by several tough saves from Carson Cocco and Eric Beren. Curtis Zappala upped the lead to three goals late with a “finalizer” dodge from “X”.
Summary: Hunter Jones (4g, 1a); Jackson Kleintz (2g, 2a); Jason Kelly (2g, 2a); Curtis Zappala (2g); Kevin Murphy (2a); Kevin McGeary (1a); Richie Buzza (1a); Eric Beren (2 saves); Carson Cocco (3 saves).
PennStar 9, San Diego 3: Greg Pelton, Kyle Lawlor and Bryan Mizell shut down San Diego’s 6-2 attackman, who had his way throughout the Festival. With the defense in control, Penn Star’s offense opened up again for attackmen Jason Kelly, Hunter Jones, Jackson Kleintz and Curtis Zappala. Kevin McGeary and Kevin Murphy added goals from the midfield.
Summary: Hunter Jones (2g, 1a); Jackson Kleintz (2g); Kevin McGeary (2g); Jason Kelly (1g, 2a); Curtis Zappala (1g, 2a); Kevin Murphy (1g); Luke Gomez (1a); Peter Blynn (1a); Eric Beren (3 saves); Carson Cocco (3 saves).
Overall, PennStar’s U13 showed a complete team approach focused by coaches Zappala, Chip Jones, Mike Steigerwald and Harry Kleintz. Twelve players contributed a goal and/or assist throughout the weekend; with 45 of 59 goals coming off assists. The middies, defensemen and goalies combined to limit the opponents to nine shots and three per game.
U13 Penn Star Roster:
* Beren, Eric – G
* Bitzer, Derek – M
* Blynn, Peter – M
* Burns, Connor – M
* Buzza, Richie – M
* Cocco, Carson – G
* Eaton, Hunter – D
* Gallen, Troy – M
* Gomez, Luke – M
* Jones, Hunter – A
* Kelly, Jason – A
* Kleintz, Jackson – A
* Lawlor, Kyle – D
* McGeary, Kevin – M
* Mizell, Bryan – D
* Murphy, Kevin – M
* Pelton, Greg – D
* Richards, Corey – A
* Steigerwald, Jimmy – A
* Warburton, Stephen – D/LPM
* Zappala, Curtis – A
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