Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 5/15/15
From Staff Report and courtesy of
SuburbanOneSports.com
For those who thought Central Bucks East and Avon Grove couldn’t top the drama of the regular season meeting that saw the Patriots eke out an 8-7 overtime win, guess again.
The visiting Patriots won Thursday’s rematch when – with 55 seconds remaining in the first overtime period – Ryan Brown scored, giving the Patriots an electrifying 12-11 win in the second round of the District 1 tournament.
The ninth-seeded Patriots (17-2) will play top-seeded Garnet Valley at 4 p.m. Saturday at Harriton High in the quarterfinals.
“I’m getting too old for this – these games are way too close,” CB East coach Bruce Garcia said.
The sequence that won it began with a save by goalie Sean McGovern, who finished with 10 saves.
“We had a good save from Sean McGovern,” Garcia said. “Dustin Buchanan pulled the ball down and gave it off to left-handed attack Ryan Brown, and Ryan Brown put the ball in the back of the net. The game was over.
“Avon Grove is a good team, very well coached. The game could have gone either way. It’s one of those unfortunate situations where someone has to win and someone has to go home, but I’m glad that it was us that moved on.”
The game itself was a roller coaster ride for both teams. The Red Devils – thanks to a 3-1 second quarter burst – turned a 3-3 tie into a 6-4 lead after a hard fought first half.
The third quarter belonged to the Patriots, who outscored the Red Devils 5-1 to go into the final quarter with a 9-7 lead.
“We had good halftime adjustments, and in the third quarter, we came out and really had a lot of production out of attack,” Garcia said. “Our midfielders and defense kept a real tight rein when the ball came down on their end and moved it back.”
The Patriots extended their lead to 11-7 after a Buchanan goal, but that lead turned out to be anything but secure. The Red Devils closed out the fourth quarter with a 4-0 tear, as Jake Pousson knotted the score with 11 seconds remaining in regulation, setting the stage for overtime.
Ryan Brown led the Patriots with four goals, and Jack Auteri had three goals and two assists. Matt Vetter added a pair of goals and two assists while Owen Griffin, Logan Nelson and Buchanan added single goals. Auteri won 7-of-13 face-offs, and Mike Ott won 8-of-13.
Pousson led the Devils (13-7) with four goals while Doug Jones had two goals and four assists and Bryce Reid had two goals and two assists. JJ Moroz scored twice and Liam Brodie had 11 saves.
“I’m proud of the way we went out,” said Avon Grove coach Eric Jackson, whose team was hampered by major injuries all year to several key players. “They fought hard and played with heart and passion right up until the end.
“We had many challenges this season and this group never made excuses or gave up… they stepped up when the time came.”
Buchanan led the defense with five ground balls and one caused turnover.
The win, according to Garcia, was a total team effort.
“This has been indicative of the whole season,” the Patriots’ coach said. “I look at this team, and when they win games, there’s not one particular player I could say I hang the whole win on their shoulders.
“It was all of them. It was every single one of the players whether they didn’t set one foot on the field or they played the whole game. Our face-off guys did great, out goalie did well, the defense did fantastic, and the offense did real well. There’s not one particular person I could give accolades to.
“I’m very pleased to move on and get another game on Saturday. I’m absolutely elated.’
Central Bucks East 3-1-5-2-1—12
Avon Grove 3-3-1-4-0—11
CB East
Ryan Brown 4G,2GB scored with :55 sec left in first OT
Jack Auteri 3G, 2A
Matt Vetter 2G, 2A, 2 GB
Owen Griffin 1G
Logan Nelson 1G
Dustin Buchanan 1G, 1A
Jack Auteri 7 OF 13 FO
Mike Ott 8 OF 13 FO
Sean McGovern – 10 saves
Dustin Buchanan – 5 GB, 1 CT
Avon Grove
JJ Moroz 2g
PJ Rafferty 1g
Bryce Reid 2g, 1a
Jake Pousson 4g
Doug Jones 2g, 4a
Liam Brodie 11 saves
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