By Matthew Ryan
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 5/27/22
Ryan Goldstein didn’t score his first goal until the second half Thursday night in the District 1 3A championship game at Ridley, yet he was arguably Radnor’s most important offensive player in the first half.
Goldstein dished off an amazing seven assists in the first half as the top-seeded Raptors raced to a 12-3 lead and coasted past Downingtown East, 14-3, for their first District 1 crown.
“Ryan is the quarterback of our offense,” Radnor head coach John Begier said. “He can score, and he’s a great feeder. Our guys know if they work to get open, the ball will be on their stick, and they’ll get great looks at the goal.
“He’s very unselfish and embraces the idea of being that quarterback at X, finding open men and then if that’s not there and he has a chance to score, he goes and does that and plays very unselfishly and plays for his team.”
The Raptors (20-2), the top-ranked team in 3A in the PA State Rankings, open defense of their PIAA crown Tuesday against District 1 sixth-place finisher Central Bucks East. The second-seeded Cougars (19-3) will face District 3 fourth-place finisher Tuesday in their opener.
Radnor will be considered a state favorite and Goldstein has been the spark for the vaunted Raptors attack.
“[The ball] just kind of came to my stick,” Goldstein said. “People were open, and I just found them. People just made the right plays and finished them.”
Junior attack Mason Montrella benefited the most from Goldstein’s passing by scoring all five of his goals in the first half.
“I thought Mason did a really good job of shooting the ball the right way to the right places,” Begier said. “[He] didn’t overthink it and had a really good game.”
Also for Radnor, senior midfielder Nick Lucchesi and sophomore midfielder Owen Knight each scored twice. Senior goalie Nate Brown didn’t get much action, finishing with two saves.
Last season, Radnor fell to Springfield-Delco in the district semifinals. But on Tuesday the Raptors avenged that defeat and Thursday they appeared prime to shoot for another state run.
“It means a lot to us,” Goldstein said. “That team’s tough over there. Just a great game. We came to play. Everyone came to play. Definitely won as a team and got to keep going one day at a time.”
“This is a huge moment for us,” Montrella said of the first district title. “This is the first time we’ve ever done this in our program history, and just to be a part of this team right now, it’s super special.”
The Cougars were led by junior attack Bryson Kolinsky (2 goals) and senior face-off specialist NJ Cogliati, who scored one goal and had eight face-off wins.
“Radnor is a complete team, extremely well coached, and playing hot right now,” Downingtown East head coach Joe Horvath said. “They took it to us in every facet of the game and are deserving District 1 Champs!
“I wish them luck going forward. As for us, we need to lick our wounds and get back to work. We are encouraged to be in the state tournament and must move on to take full advantage of the opportunity.”
Radnor 14, Downingtown East 3
Radnor 5-7-1-1 — 14
Downingtown East 2-1-0-0 — 3
Radnor:
Mason Montrella — 5g
Owen Knight — 2g
Nick Lucchesi — 2g
Ryan Goldstein — 1g, 7a
Max Goldstein — 1g, 1a
Colin French — 1g
Pablo Strid — 1g
Jason Trosset — 1g
Tommy DeShan — 1a
Mason Brown — 10 FO wins
Nate Brown — 2 saves
Downingtown East
Bryson Kolinsky — 2g
NJ Cogliati — 1g, 8 FO wins
Evan Milon — 6 saves
Brady Quinn — 2 saves