By Bradley Schlegel
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 4/25/15
Haverford School coach John Nostrant left no doubt in his description of Alex deMarco’s brilliant performance in the Fords’ 7-6 Inter-Ac League victory Friday over host Episcopal Academy.
“That was the best individual effort I’ve ever seen by a goalkeeper in 23 years of coaching,” Nostrant said, “We would not have won without Alex. He was outstanding.”
DeMarco recorded 17 saves to help the Fords take a major step in their quest for the Inter-Ac League championship.
The win gave Haverford – the No. 1 team in the Epoch Lacrosse North America Rankings – a 15-0 overall record and a 6-0 mark in the league. EA, ranked 17th, is 9-4 and now two games behind in the Inter-Ac at 4-2, tied with Malvern Prep.
Grant Ament finished with two goals and an assist, while Drew Supinski scored twice for Haverford School.
The Fords clinched their fourth one-goal victory in the final seconds, when Noah Lejman intercepted a deflected pass in front of the crease.
Eric Haab scored three goals for the host Churchmen, who had a chance to force overtime on their final possession. Jake Martellucci added one goal and an assist.
Down 7-4 with with less than five minutes remaining, Curtis Zappala and Haab scored to pull their team within 7-6 with 2:23 remaining in the fourth quarter.
An over-and-back penalty gave Episcopal Academy its final possession with less than 45 seconds to go.
But Supinski appeared to deflect a pass headed towards deMarco, which Lejman caught and shot to the other end of the field as time expired.
“I’m glad we made enough plays to win,” Nostrant said. “That’s what good teams do. (I give) all the credit in the world to Episcopal Academy. They were the better team.”
Down 4-2 at halftime, the Churchmen came out firing in the third quarter. However, deMarco turned away seven consecutive shots to open the third quarter.
The goal keeper blocked two shots from point-blank range in the initial 40 seconds of the quarter, then stopped two more before three minutes had elapsed.
“Alex kept us in the game,” Nostrant said. “Our guys kind of lost their way in the second half. They need to start doing what they are told.”
Churchmen head coach Andy Hayes took no consolation in his team’s performance in the rematch against Haverford School.
“They made one more play than we did,” Hayes said. “It’s about winning games in the Inter-Ac League.”
Haverford School 7, Episcopal Academy 6
Haverford School 2 2 1 2 — 7
Episcopal Academy 1 1 1 3 — 6
Haverford School
Drew Supinski 2g
Grant Ament 2g, 1a
Brendan Shima 1g, 1a
Colin Bosak 1g
John Nostrant 1g
Forry Smith 2a
Alex deMarco 17 saves
Episcopal Academy
Eric Haab 3g
Jake Martellucci 1g, 1a
Chris Friedman 1g
Curtis Zappala 1g
Colton Johnson 1a
Colin Reder 8 saves
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