By Adam C. Warner
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 6/28/09
While they didn’t get their desired result, Austin Kaut and the Philadelphia Region Underclass All-Stars swept the final day’s competition en route to an impressive third place finish at the 2009 Under Armour All-America Classic at Towson University.
After splitting its games on Saturday, Team Philadelphia rebounded with a pair of wins on Sunday to finish 3-1 overall on the weekend. In Sunday’s morning contest, Philly nipped New England, 6-5, thanks to a late score by Haverford’s Stephen Aitken.
“We proved we are one of the top lacrosse regions in the country,” said Kaut, a rising Springfield senior. “As a team, we played hard and the games weren’t on anyone’s shoulders. There are 22 outstanding guys on the team. We wanted to take first, but we settled for third.”
In the afternoon contest, Philadelphia started out slow against Washington, D.C. and fell into a 3-0 hole before storming back to tie the score and then went up 7-4 at intermission thanks to an offensive explosion. And with Kaut leading the way being the pipes, Philadelphia allowed just one score by their counterparts in the second stanza, which paved the way for a comfortable halftime lead.
Shane Sturgis and Jordan Wolf ignited Philadelphia offensively early in the second half and pushed their team’s lead to 9-4. While Washington D.C. made a brief run late in the third, the game belonged to Philadelphia, who proved to be hungrier and more balanced throughout all four quarters.
“It was great,” Kaut said. “To try out and make the team and then play against the best in the nation is pretty big. It was definitely a great time.”
Final Standings
1st Place: Long Island (4-0)
2nd: Upstate NY (3-1)
3rd: Philadelphia (3-1)
4th: Washington D.C. (2-2)
5th: New England (2-2)
6th: New Jersey (1-3)
7th: Midwest (1-3)
8th: Baltimore (0-4)
Girls Also Take Third Place at UA Classic With Impressive Wins
Buoyed by a strong second day showing, Team Philadelphia earned third place at the Under Armour All-American Classic Girls’ Underclass Tournament. After splitting its games on Day 1, Philadelphia opened up Day 2 with a 12-11 victory over New England before cruising past Washington D.C., 13-6, in the third-place contest on Sunday.
“The whole weekend was a lot of fun and a great experience,” said Radnor’s Allie Martin, who led her high school squad to a state championship in 2009. “The team got really close over the weekend and played better each game.”
In the opening contest against New England, Philadelphia claimed a five-goal lead midway through the second half before their rivals stormed back and tied the score. But after notching several late scores and notching a multi-goal lead, Philadelphia still had to hold off another New England rally attempt before claiming the victory.
In the afternoon tilt, Philadelphia put forth a near flawless effort en route to the seven-goal win. With crisp passing and outstanding goaltending, Philly proved they were among the nation’s elite.
Team Baltimore earned the championship with a 15-12 victory over Long Island in the pinnacle contest. Covie Stanwick was named Most Valuable Player. The opening day of play proved critical as Baltimore defeated Philadelphia, 13-12 in overtime, en route to the No. 1 seed and championship berth.
“It was a little frustrating that we came in third because we lost to Baltimore by just one goal and they went on to win the championship,” Martin said. “We felt that we should have been there in the title game.”
Final Standings
1st Place: Baltimore (4-0)
2nd Place: Long Island (3-1)
3rd Place: Philadelphia (3-1)
4th Place: Washington D.C. (2-2)
5th Place: Upstate NY (2-2)
6th Place: New Jersey (1-3)
7th Place: New England (1-3)
8th Place: Midwest (0-4)
