Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 7/10/17
The Dukes Young Guns won the 2022A championship Sunday at the Passport Alliance Liberty Bell Challenge, defeating Orange Crush (NY), 7-6, in the title game.
Overall, Dukes Young Guns went 5-1, losing only to Orange Crush, 8-4, in Pool Play.
In the championship, the game was tied, 3-3, at halftime. Orange Crush scored twice to take a 5-3 lead but Dukes went on a 4-0 run behind the efforts of faceoff specialists Pierce Hart and Jordan Butler and attackmen Tom Vandergrift, Ben Walt and a big goal from Ryan Kelly.
Orange Crush scored with about 5 minutes to play to bring it within one, but Brayden Skipper made a huge save on the doorstep to keep it 7-6. Dukes turned the ball over with minute left, but a great ride by the attack led to a caused turnover and clutch groundball by Quinn Fonash. Dukes then ran out the clock.
“I was very proud of the way we played and competed all weekend,” sad coach Jack Forster. “After Losing to Orange Crush in the first game of pool play we knew we had to play a complete game in the championship. We played a very hard and very smart game.
“I loved the way our faceoff guys (Jordan Butler, Pierce Hart) and our wing play (Quinn Fonash, Jason Michaels, Josh Fayette) competed and changed the game for us. On offense we were patient and found the best shot every time. We had long possessions that wore the defense down; Tom Vandegrift and Ben Walt really showed their leadership and took control of the offense.
“Our middies hustle all over the field and may not get credit for most of the goals, but they were the workhorses and took advantage of opportunities when they were given to them. Our defense stood tall against a great Orange Crush offense.
“We also were led by our goalies, Brayden Skipper and Aiden Peters, and poles, Quinn Fonash, who was all over the field at LSM, and Henry Troy, who held our close defense together. It was a great team win but we have a lot of work to do still. I am very excited about the future of this team.”
Coaches: Jack Forster, Pete Schwartz
Key players:
Quinn Fonash LSM
Pierce Hart, Jordan Butler F/O
Tom Vandegrift A
Joey Asterino A
Ben Walt A
Ryan Kelly M
Jack Repko M
Henry Troy D
Aiden Peters, Brayden Skipper Goalies