Phillylacroosse.com, Posted 5/30/24
Staff Report
The plan out of a timeout in overtime Wednesday night for Garnet Valley was not, to be sure, for Drew Goldt to attack a double team and shoot with his weak hand.
Then again, it also wasn’t expected that Garnet Valley would lead by three goals after one quarter and five goals after three quarters whule surviving a bizarre finish of regulation in the District 1 Class 3A boys lacrosse final vs. top-seeded and defending champion Springfield-Delco.
The journey, though, was less important than the destination, sealed by Goldt’s fifth goal of a monumental evening in a 10-9 win over the Cougars at Ridley High School.
The final sequence was a microcosm. With the easy path not always available to the third-seeded Jaguars, they made do with the harder path. In the decisive moment, past the midpoint of the first overtime session, that meant Goldt (5 goals) attacking a double, getting a slight window on Springfield defenseman Billy Henderson and having a go.
“The play was drawn up for a sweep with a double pick,” said Goldt, whose team won its first District 1 championship since 2018 and will open PIAA play Tuesday vs. District 1 sixth-place finisher Spring-Ford. said. “They read the pick great – shortie came off of it, gave me a jab. Henderson recovered.
“I saw a one-one-on matchup from the top of the key and I liked it, so I took it. I felt the pressure on my back, rolled to my right and let it rip right where we’ve been shooting all game.”
It was the final salvo in a game of epic back-and-forths. Garnet Valley (19-3) led 3-0 out of the gates, Goldt scoring twice, Kai Lopez adding two assists and Luke O’Donoghue with a goal and a helper.
By halftime, Springfield (18-3) would knot it up thanks to the ingenuity of Patrick Flaherty. On a night where the Jaguars locked off All-American Ty Gougler, Maryland commit Flaherty stepped up with four goals and two assists, including two and one in the second quarter.
“Our coach always says it’s a game of runs, and it is,” Flaherty said. “We’ve just got to stop theirs and get ours.”
Garnet Valley’s next surge came in the third quarter. It looked for all the world like the decisive one. Lopez, who was 13-for-25 at the X, kick-started three goals in 47 seconds. Joshua Graham scored the first before Lopez set up Goldt six seconds later, then Lopez was the finisher from O’Donoghue at 5:58 on a man-up chance.
“It’s amazing. They (Springfield) have a good faceoff guy, too, but Kai’s just better,” Goldt said. “He’s the best faceoff guy in the league, hands down.”
Goldt made it 7-3. Flaherty set up Ty Henderson for a man-up tally at 2:06 to briefly stanch the bleeding. But Lopez scored again from Graham with 23 seconds left, and O’Donoghue hit Ethan Potochar with nine seconds left to make it 9-4 after three.
Done deal, right? Well, Garnet Valley, despite its ill-fated decision to slow the game down, didn’t think so. Nor did Springfield.
“We always believe that we can do it,” Flaherty said. “We just said, play a little faster and we’ve got it. We had the last shot at the end of the fourth and the first possession of overtime. We just couldn’t finish.”
Garnet Valley killed nearly four purpose-less minutes of possession before middie Brett Doherty scored in transition with 8:12 to play to get within 9-5. That started a Cougars run – Flaherty, Luke Valerio, then Flaherty again cut it within one. Still stalling, Garnet Valley lost possession when Jackson Kennedy made a stop with his helmet. Valerio, left alone for a 15-yard stepdown, buried it with 2:04 left to tie the game.
That set off chaos to end regulation. Lopez won the draw but Garnet Valley turned over a clear. Brad Barber got a look, after recovering a turnover, but Drew Keaveney kicked it away, his ninth save, just before the horn.
“It gets your heart beating for sure,” Goldt said. “You want the ball in your stick in overtime. It’s really scary against an offense like that. They’re a great team. Great things happen when Drew Keaves is in the net.”
Springfield won the opening draw of OT – Lucas Aaron was 11-for-20 overall – but turned the ball over. Out of a timeout, Goldt stepped up, producing a championship play on a night begging out for one.
“It’s absolutely unreal,” he said. “It’s a banner in the gym, something we look at every day as students. It’s an amazing feeling. Nothing can top it.”
District 1 3A CHAMPIONSHIP
Garnet Valley 10, Springfield-Delco 9, OT
Garnet Valley 3 0 6 0 1 – 10
Springfield-D 0 3 1 5 0 – 9
Garnet Valley
Drew Goldt 5g
Luke O’Donoghue 1g, 3a
Kai Lopez 2g, 3a, 13-for-25 FOs
Joshua Graham 1g, 1a
Ethan Potochar 1g
Drew Keaveney 9 saves
Springfield-Delco
Brad Barber 1g
Patrick Flaherty 4g, 2a
Ty Henderson 1g, 1a
Brett Doherty 1g
Luke Valerio 2g
Lucas Aaron 11-for-20 FOs
Jackson Kennedy 3 saves
