By Aidan Torok
Special to Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 4/22/23
(Reporter’s Penn State email: ajt6051@psu.edu)
UNIVERSITY PARK – It was a reunion for the head coaches and a glimpse at the future for many key players today as Malvern Prep defeated Academy of the New Church, 11-7, in a specially-arranged battle of Philly powers held at Penn State’s Panzer Stadium.
Rain could not dampen the matchup as sophomore Michael Ortlieb pumped in five goals for the Friars (8-5), who won their fifth straight game after dropping a rare five in a row. ANC, ranked No. 2 by Phillylacrosse.com, fell to 10-2.
Malvern coach Mack Mackrides and ANC mentor Jack Forster, teammates turned rivals, helped put on a show at Panzer. Those two and ANC assistant Shane Sturgis formed the Nittany Lions’ attack for several years just over a decade ago.
“It was an awesome atmosphere seeing the stadium all built,” Forster said. “When we were here there was just a hill up there. Being back here is awesome.”
Malvern Prep and Academy of the New Church, both of which have been in the national rankings this year, are littered with players committed to Penn State. Each of the DeBartolomeo brothers (all 2024s), short-stick middies Peri (two groundballs) and Roman (one groundball) and LSM Lucca (one groundball) are committed to Penn State. Two other Friars also are Penn State-bound and currently there are three Malvern grads playing key roles on the Penn State team ranked No. 5 in the nation.
Hunter Aquino, a Penn State commit, led the Lions with five goals himself. He opened the scoring early in the first quarter with two straight goals to give ANC a quick lead. Aquino’s performance Saturday was even more special considering the injuries he has fought in recent day.
“Probably one of the best players in the country,” said Forster. “He is pretty freaking good.”
Aquino was the sparkplug for ANC, but the Lions struggled with turnovers.
Malvern Prep was methodical on the offensive end with strong ball movement. In tough conditions, the Friars were able to limit turnovers and penalties.
“We try to strike in the middle part of the shot clock, if we can clear the ball and get some transition we will do it,” Mackrides said. “I was very impressed with our resiliency after going down early.”
Academy of the New Church was winning the face off battle and gaining more possessions, but Malvern Prep was making the most of its opportunities. Malvern Prep was trying to push the tempo any chance it could, and the turnovers helped lead to fastbreaks as the Friars seized a 5-3 lead late in the first half with the help of Cornell commit AJ Nikolic (three goals, three assists).
But the Lions rebounded and Aquino secured his hat trick with six seconds remaining in the first half, tying the game at 5-5.
The first half was fast-paced. The second half felt like a different game. With both teams getting sloppy as the rain started to fall inside Panzer Stadium, the rainy conditions seemed to help Malvern Prep in the second half.
Ortlieb gave his team a 6-5 lead and Ennis Udo (three goals) pushed the lead to 7-5 and later 8-6 after Aquino scored again. Ortlieb made it 9-6 and after Aquino’s fifth, Ortlieb added another to put it out of reach.
“Mike played well. He is a crafty player, really smart, and knows how to find openings and take advantage of them,” Mackrides said. “Our entire offense today did a great job trusting the system and trusting each other. He just ended up being the guy getting the goal results.”
Malvern Prep 11, Academy of the New Church 7
Malvern 3-2-4-2- 11
ANC 3-2-1-1- 7
Malvern Prep
Ortlieb- 5 goals 1 assist
Nikolic- 3 goals 3 assist
Udo- 3 goals 1 assist
Lotz- 1 assist
Bickel- 1 assist
Irish – 1 assist
Rabena- 8 saves
ANC
Hunter Aquino 5g
Slater Delacruz 1g 1a
Matteo Roturra 1g 2a
Anthony Chiango 2a
Conner Aquino 1a
Trent Layton 13/21 F/O
Brady Carver 5 saves
