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BOYS LACROSSE: Key Victories and Career Milestones Highlight This Week's Inter-Ac Notebook (4/24)

By Marc Narducci Photos: Lou Rabito & Kathy Leister, 04/26/22, 11:15AM EDT

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Photos/Videos: Marc Narducci, Nick Schreder, Lou Rabito, Kathy Leister & Zamani Feelings

BY: MARC NARDUCCI

A wild game of big turns for Episcopal Academy and Penn Charter

This one had all the look of a lacrosse laugher. When Episcopal Academy took a 10-1 lead early in the second quarter of its Inter-Ac game with visiting Penn Charter last week, it seemed like blowout city would be in place by halftime.

In a testament to the difficulty of playing in the Inter-Ac and the grit of Penn Charter, fortunes suddenly changed during the second quarter.

By halftime, the lead was down to 10-6.

It got closer in the fourth quarter, with Penn Charter getting within 10-9 and then 11-10.

Episcopal Academy finally held off the Quakers to win 11-10, allowing winning coach Chris Bates to finally exhale.

“They played a zone which slowed us down and they kind of clawed their way back in the game and I give them credit,” Bates said.

While no coach likes to see a big lead disintegrate so quickly, Bates had to remind his team afterward that the Churchmen still earned a W.

“We tried to reward our guys afterwards in the huddle, giving them credit, making some big plays at the end and riding and doing enough to win a game and it beats the alternative,” Bates said. “We have a smile on our faces and we’re trying to enjoy a good win.”

Episcopal Academy received four goals and two assists from Dylan Jaszcz, two goals and one assist apiece from Tristan Whitaker and TJ Lamb and two goals from Lucas SlatePaul Buckley had a goal and an assist, and it turns out the Churchmen needed each and every one of those scores.

Andrew McMeekin was outstanding on faceoffs, winning 17 of 25 and Nash Womack made eight saves.

EA vs. WPC Game Highlights by Marc Narducci & Nick Schreder:

Here is a goal by Penn Charter sophomore Gavin Michener in real time and then replayed in slow motion - Video by Marc Narducci

“Kudos to our defense which kept us in there, our offense has to strike a little better, but we will figure it out for sure,” said Whitaker, a Vermont commit. “We will figure it out, we just have to work on our zone offense a little bit better.”

This game is an example of how difficult the competition is in the Inter-AC.

Episcopal Academy is 3-1 in league play, while Penn Charter is 0-4, yet nobody would know the records by the way these two fiercely competed as it turns out, almost on even terms.

While never happy to earn a loss, Penn Charter felt it could gain something from fighting back from the huge deficit.

“We know we couldn’t score five goals at once, “we were just going to do it one at a time and chip away and our defense was really locked in,” said Penn Charter senior Colin Michener, the Villanova commit, who had three goals and three assists. “All the credit to our defense, they let in a few early but they really tightened up and that gave us offensive momentum.”

Gavin Michener, the sophomore brother of Colin, had two goals as did Petey MalitasOliver Leedale-BrownChet Kempinski and Zach Curtin each had a goal.

“We have a good group of guys with good leadership and it could be easy to get down, but our guys kept fighting,” Penn Charter coach Pat McDonough said. “That is all I could ask.”

Inter-Ac standings (Through April 24)

Malvern Prep 4-0, 11-2

Haverford School 3-1, 8-4

Episcopal Academy 3-1, 7-5

Germantown Academy 1-3, 7-4

Springside Chestnut Hill Academy 1-3, 4-8

Penn Charter 0-4, 7-8

 

Episcopal Academy with other big wins

Episcopal Academy made an improbable comeback of its own during a 7-6 victory overtime win over La Salle in a matchup of two of the traditionally strong area programs.

The Churchmen scored twice in the final 20 seconds of regulation to force overtime.

Then Lamb scored the game-winner in overtime. 

“It was a hard-fought defensive battle,” Bates said. “We fought off a man down in OT before scoring the game winner.”

Whitaker scored twice. Lamb added a goal and three assists and Meekin, who was 11 of 18 on faceoffs, also contributed a goal and two assists.

Sam MalloyEddie Jones, and Charlie Kraftson were the other EA goal scorers.

Womack made 17 saves in goal.

EA finished the week with a 14-11 victory over Springside Chestnut Hill Academy. Buckley led the way with four goals. Whitaker had three goals and one assist while Jaszcz added two goals and four assists. Slate had two goals and two assists, Lamb had two goals and one assist and McMeekin contributed a goal, with Womack making 12 saves.

Springside Chestnut Hill Academy ends the week with a win

Springside Chestnut Hill Academy had a busy week with four games, three that were highly competitive.

The Blue Devils started out with a 16-4 loss to Haverford School, but then put together three competitive games.

They lost 8-6 to Loyola Academy (Illinois) before falling, 14-11 to Episcopal Academy. SCH then ended the week with a 13-9 Saturday night win at Spring-Ford.

One of the keys to the win was Ross Prince, who was 21 of 26 on faceoffs.

“Ross dominated in faceoffs and he is playing really well,” SCH coach Brian Dougherty said.

In addition to his faceoff excellence, Prince also had 14 ground balls.

Brendan Dundas led the way with five goals.

Drew Bown had a hat trick, while Cole Carberry and Neil Hutchinson each had two goals. Alec Tulio had a goal and two assists awhile Stevie Pileggi added two assists. Hayes Schreiner recorded seven saves.

In the loss to Loyola Academy, Schreiner made 12 saves and Prince was 14 of 18 on faceoffs. Dundas had four assists, while Bown and Pileggi each had two goals, with Tulio and Carberry scoring once.


Springside Chestnut Hill's Brendan Dundas notched 5 goals against Spring-Ford - PSD Photo by Lou Rabito

MILESTONE GOAL FOR WILLIAM PENN CHARTER'S COLIN MICHENER

In a 14-9 win on Saturday over Owen J. Roberts, Penn Charter’s Colin Michener, who is headed to play at Villanova, scored his 100th career goal. Michener had five goals and five assists in the game. The fifth goal was career No. 100.

His brother Gavin Michener added four goals while Petey Malitas had two goals and two assists.

Single goal scorers were Oliver Leedale BrownNick Walter, and George GlombRussell Fitzgerald and Glomb combined to go 27 of 28 on faceoffs while Harrison Quinn made 12 saves.

In an earlier 17-9 loss to Malvern Prep, Gavin Michener had three goals and one assist while Colin Michener and Chet Kempinski each contributed two goals and two assists. Malitas and Owen Black each had a goal.

Noah Dacanay added 15 saves while Fitzgerald went 14 of 19 on faceoffs.


Penn Charter senior and Villanova commit Colin Michener scored his 100th Career point in game vs. Owen J. Roberts. (photo by Zamani Feelings)

Goalie stands out in tough GA schedule

Germantown Academy couldn’t have had a tougher week, having to face the top two teams in the Inter-Ac in a three-day span. Despite the losses, goalie Brendan Donnelly stood out in both games.

First up was a 12-5 loss to Inter-Ac leader Malvern Prep.

Donnelly made 16 saves. Josh Lee had two goals and one assist and the other goal scorers were Jack LuvianoJosh Gibbs, and Declan Connaughton.

Donnelly made 14 saves in a 9-5 defeat to Haverford School.

“This game was a match-up of two of the area’s top goalies with Brendan headed to Drexel and Chuck Cacciutti headed to Penn next year,” Germantown Academy coach Billy McKinney said. “Both guys lived up to their billing. I thought Brendan was excellent and kept us in the game.”

Joey DeLello and Walker Schwartz each had a goal and an assist and the other goal scores were Luviano, Lee and Dean Shacklett, who also won 5 of 8 faceoffs.

The Haverford School Keeps rolling

After suffering a 13-6 loss to Malvern Prep in its opening Inter-Ac game, Haverford School has won three in a row in the league and four straight overall.

First up was a 16-4 win over Springside Chestnut Hill Academy.

Ben McCarthy and Griff Meyer each had five ground balls and the two combined to go 15 of 23 on faceoffs.

Colin Zeller had three goals and two assists, Ryan DiRocco added a hat trick and Teddy Malone scored twice to lead the attack.

In a 9-5 win over Germantown Academy, goalie Chuck Cacciutti had a huge game.

“The defense led by Pat Gillin and Will Costin played really well in front of Chuck Cacciutti, who had 15 saves,” Haverford School coach Brendan Dawson said.

Meyer and McCarthy combined to win 10 of 17 faceoffs.

Ryan DiRocco led the offense with three goals and one assist, while Avi Mehl added two goals and an assist.


The Haverford School is on a three-game win streak - PSD Photo by Mike Nance

Single goals were scored by Mac ChildsWells Flinn, McCarthy and Aydan DiRocco.

During a 16-9 home win over Loyola Academy (Illinois), McCarthy had 14 ground balls. Meyer and McCarthy combined to win 23 of 28 faceoffs. Ryan DiRocco and Zeller had three goals and two assists, Malone added two goals and three assists and Aidan Kopen scored twice to lead the offense.

Cacciutti made three saves while Trey Campbell added one.
 

Malvern Prep keeps winning

Malvern Prep went 3-0 this past week, with two of the wins in the Inter-Ac

In a 12-5 victory over Germantown AcademyJoe Doherty made eight saves and the Friars were 11 of 17 on faceoffs.

Multiple goal scorers were Liam Timmins (3 G, 1 A), AJ Nikolic (2 G, 4 A), Joe Sheridan (2 G) and Enis Udo (2 G, 2 A). Ryan FalkensteinPatrick Mears and Mike Ortlieb each had a goal and an assist.

In a 17-9 win over Penn Charter, Nikolic had four goals and three assists and Sheridan and Timmins each scored a hat trick, with Sheridan adding two assists.

That was followed by a 16-3 win over the Academy of New Church as the Friars were 16 of 21 on faceoffs and Doherty made six saves.

Multiple goal scorers were Udo (3 G, 1 A), Nikolic (2 G, 3 A), John Majka (2 G), and Dylan O’Connor (2 G).

Set your calendars

On Friday (April 29) it will be a rematch of the top two Inter-Ac teams when Malvern Prep hosts the Haverford School in a 4 p.m. match.

Malvern Prep won the first game between the two, 13-6, but Haverford School led 5-4 at halftime.