By Teddy Bailey
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 5/30/15
On Saturday afternoon at Harriton, the Radnor Raiders claimed bragging rights to go along with a spot in the PIAA state semifinals.
Tom Meyers won 19 of 21 face-offs and added two goals and an assist and Drew Ryan scored four goals while Jack Wilson added three as Radnor defeated Conestoga, 13-4, in a PIAA boys’ lacrosse quarterfinal. Radnor will face a familiar opponent in the state semifinals, fellow Central League foe Springfield-Delco, an 8-3 winner over Central Bucks East.
The Raiders (19-6), who avenged a 6-5 loss to the Pioneers in the District 1 semifinals, dominated Conestoga in the rubber match after taking the first meeting of the season. Radnor’s defense held Conestoga (14-11) to four goals and shut out their league rivals in the first and fourth quarters.
“We have a huge rivalry with them,” Meyers said. “Of course we don’t want to lose our last game to ‘Stoga.’
“Last game, we came out entitled and thought that since we beat them earlier in the season, they were going to roll over for us. It was a good eye opener, and I think we got a grip of it and realized that if we lost today, we’d be done.”
Wilson and Ryan came out and made an immediate statement against the shellshocked Pioneers. Both tallied up a pair of first-quarter goals to aid Radnor’s 5-0 lead after the first quarter.
“It’s win or go home,” Wilson said. “We came out fired out. Before the game, we stressed that this would be about who wanted it more. The next play would be the biggest play – it’s all about desire.”
Brent Pittman and Chris Brady were finally able to inject some fight into the Pioneers’ cause during the second quarter. Pittman scored off a nifty Luke Taicher assist, while Brady finished on an unassisted play to cut the Radnor lead to 6-2 at the half.
“We made it a point to come out mentally ready for this game,” said Radnor defender Mike Thompson, who had two assists. “Last time we played them, we didn’t start out very well. We realized that when we come out mentally and start out hot, we usually get the ball rolling and have good momentum the entire game.”
Radnor 5 1 5 2 – 13
Conestoga 0 2 2 0 – 4
Radnor
Ryan, Drew 4g
Wilson, Jack 3g
Meyers, Tom 2g, 1a
Regan, Phil 1g
Farnish, Mike 1g
Neiberg, Adam 1g
Mclaughlin 1g
Thompson, Mike 2a
Proctor, Clayton 2a
Norton, Jack 1a
Marshall, Hal 1a
Meyers, Tom 19-21 faceoffs
Andersen, Alex 9 saves
Conestoga
Taicher, Greg 1g, 1a
Pittman, Brant 1g
Brady, Chris 1g
Bridge, Quinn 1g
Taicher, Luke 1a
Roulston, John 5 saves
Green, Jack 4 saves
