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Granite Run Buick GMC Game of the Day: Downingtown East downs Kennett, clinches Ches-Mont boys’ crown

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Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 5/5/23 – Staff Report

Downingtown East senior attackman Bryson Kolinsky says his Cougars are happy to achieve one goal and have others to shoot for – but he warns against looking ahead.

“It feels good to clinch the Ches-Mont championship,” said the Delaware signee after scoring four goals in Thursday’s key 13-6 conquest of host Kennett. “We also have some other goals we set at the beginning of the year and that’s to compete for districts and states, but we’re more so focusing on one day at a time and working on getting better in practice.”

The win kept Downingtown East (13-2) perfect in Ches-Mont play (10-0) with two games remaining against Oxford and Unionville. Kennett (9-2) is tied with West Chester Rustin and Avon Grove (both 8-2) in the loss column. By virtue of the tiebreaker process, the Cougars have clinched their second straight league crown, and can win it outright with one more league triumph.

The Cougars have won seven straight games since a two-game losing streak. They have been hit hard by injuries, but the team has endured, Kolinsky said.

“We have been practicing hard together and working on getting all our guys confident out there on the field,” he said. “We have guys stepping up and making plays, which is huge.”
Downingtown East took a quick 3-0 lead, but Kennett’s Colin Jung scored his 100th career goal and later in the half Bo Freebery (2G, 2A) scored twice and assisted on another to give the Demons a 5-4 lead. But the Cougars tied it and seized a 6-5 halftime edge on a goal in the final second by Jake Woodworth.
Jake McMahon (2G) and Bo Horvath (3G, 2A, 3GB) made it 8-5 to open the second half. Kennett pulled within 8-6 before the Cougars broke it open in the final period with a 5-0 run.
The Downingtown East defense was again the key. LSM Mike Waite (3GB, 2CT, St. Joe’s signee ) and Sam Barton (Colgate signee) helped stifle the dangerous Kennett attack.

“We knew going into the game it was going to be a tough one, but we made sure we had a good week of practice, stuck to the gameplan, and worked together on defense as a whole,” said Waite.

What’s helped in the seven-game win streak? “We just made sure to stick together and not put our heads down and have a next guy up mentality,” said Waite. “We’re really making sure our practices are productive.”

Downingtown East 13, Kennett 6
D-East 4 2 2 5 – 13
Kennett 2 3 1 0 – 6

Kennett
Bo Freebery 2G 2A
Colin Jung 2G (100th career goal)
Zach Hulme 1G
Jackie Good 1G
Nate Kelly 8 Saves

Downingtown East
Bryson Kolinsky 4G 1A 2GB
Jake Woodworth 2G 1A 1GB
TJ Shillingford 1G
Jake McMahon 1G
Ben Petrillo 1G 2GB
Luke Fiorillo 1G
Bo Horvath 3G 2A 3GB 1ct
Mike Waite 3GB 2ct
Owen Lammy 2GB
Paxson Warnock 4GB 12/19 FO
Brayden Quinn 8 saves