Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 6/7/19
PIAA boys’ Championship previews:
Class AA, 2:30 p.m.
Bishop Shanahan vs. Hershey
Records: Bishop Shanahan 21-1; Hershey 19-5
How they got here: Bishop Shanahan defeated Crestwood, 20-6; Hershey defeated Strath Haven, 10-9, on a late goal by Mark Sickler.
Head-to-head: Bishop Shanahan defeated Hershey, 12-4, on March 30.
Leagues: Bishop Shanahan finished second in the Ches-Mont League; Hershey won the Mid Penn title
Districts: Bishop Shanahan won the District 1 championship; Hershey won the District 3 title.
PIAA history: Bishop Shanahan defeated Strath Haven, 13-5, in the 2018 Class AA final. Hershey is making its first appearance in the PIAA finals and is the first AA team from out of the Philly District 1/12 region to make the AA final.
Key players:
Hershey: US Lacrosse All-American and Mid Penn Keystone Co-MVP Mark Sickler (Sr. MF), First Team Colin Kondracki (ATT), Telijah Duck (DEF), Adam Paymer (LSM), Second Team Brady Bowman (G), Nike Lilla (FO), Tanner Nelson (DEF).
Bishop Shanahan: All-Americans Connor Whalen (Sr. LSM), Gabe Goforth (Jr. MF, 53G, 23A), First Team Tyler Kingsbury (Sr. FO), Kyle Gucwa 9Sr. ATT, 65G, 44A). Also, Bryan Rafferty (Sr. ATT, 61G, 25A), Nic Pezone (Sr. G).
Class AAA, 4:30 p.m.
Conestoga vs. La Salle
Records: La Salle 21-5; Conestoga 21-3
How they got here: Conestoga defeated Radnor, 8-7; La Salle defeated Garnet Valley, 11-10, in 2OT on a goal by Dan Mallee, finishing a rally from a 6-goal fourth-period deficit
Head-to-head: Conestoga defeated La Salle, 10-7, on April 17.
Leagues: Conestoga won the Central League with an 11-0 record; La Salle won the Catholic League championship with an undefeated league and playoff record.
Districts: Conestoga won the District 1 championship; La Salle won the District 12 title.
PIAA history: La Salle won the 2009 and 2013 championships (one classification), defeating Conestoga each time. La Salle also lost to Conestoga in the 2010 and 2012 final, to Springfield-Delco in the 2016 final and to Manheim Township in the 2018 final (last two were Class AAA). Conestoga also won the 2011 title and fell to Avon Grove in the 2017 final (AAA).
Key players:
Conestoga – All-Americans Scott Smith (Jr. DEF), Michael Prestipino (Jr. DEF), First Team Will Schnorr (Sr. ATT), Jake Bouhdary (Sr. LSM), Second Team Brendan Murphy (Jr. ATT), HM Mick Lee (Jr. G), PJ Hewitt (Sr. FO), Michael Jameison (Sr. DEF), Liam Kirk (Jr. SSMF).
La Salle – All-Americans Brett Mallee (Sr. DEF), Chris Mockaitis (Sr. MF), First Team Kurt Wessner (Sr. DEF), Chase Rondeau (Sr. DEF), Christian Suter (Sr. G), John Giuliani (Sr. FO), Zachary Coar (Sr. ATT), Shane Osborne (Sr. ATT).