By Chris Mueller
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 5/17/12
Tyler McWilliams tallied three goals and two2 assists while Alex Cuttic made 16 saves as host Downingtown West defeated Bishop Shanahan, 8-5, in the second round of District 1 playoffs today.
West, the second seed, improved to 19-0 and advances to play Abington – a 13-6 winner over Henderson – Saturday in the quarterfinals at site and time to be determined. The Whippets beat Abington, 13-10, in their first game of the season.
“We knew with their zone defense that we had to work off ball and get into good shooting spots,” said McWilliams. “We were able to do that today, but we need to work even harder with Abington coming up.”
Downingtown West had a balanced attack with goals coming from all over the field. Evan Wolf and Ryan Hibbs each had a goal and an assist while Eric Rankel and Jim Shearer also contributed with a pair of scores. Dylan Ikkala scored once and Matt Logan dished out an assist.
“Shanahan has a great young team,” said West coach Tommy Hannum. “We knew they were going to come and battle, but once we got the upper hand our guys showed a lot of composure.
“Alex Cuttic in net played amazing today. He was really the difference.”
For Shanahan, attackman Johnny Mehok stood out with two goals and two assists. Dylan Alderman also added a pair of goals while Anthony Wagner made 12 saves in goal.
“We did everything we could today,” said Shanahan coach John Heisman. “The bottom line is we played as well as we could but just didn’t finish. Their goalie played outstanding.”
With a lot of depth and young players returning next season, Shanahan’s lacrosse program has a bright future. Downingtown West’s time is now.
Downingtown West scoring:
Tyler McWilliams 3 goals 2 assists
Dylan Ikkala 1 goal
Eric Rankel 1 goal
Jim Shearer 1 goal
Evan Wolf 1 goal 1 assist
Ryan Hibbs 1 goal 1 assist
Matt Logan 1 assist
Alex Cuttic 16 saves
Bishop Shanahan scoring:
Dylan alderman 2 goals
John Mehok 2 goals 2 assists
Jack Oakes 1
Anthony Wagner 12 saves
