BY MARC NARDUCCI
(Photos & video Marc Narducci, Mike Nance, James Quinn, Ryan Nix, & Jack Verdeur for PSD)
Haverford School sets the tone for the Inter-Ac season
Haverford School coach Brendan Dawson insists there was no looking back, only ahead when the Fords opened their Inter-Ac lacrosse schedule against Malvern Prep last week.
These two are such great rivals and last year, Malvern Prep got the better of things – barely. Haverford School lost all three games, but two were nail-bitters. After opening with a 13-6 loss last year to Malvern Prep, Haverford School then fell 13-12 in the regular season rematch. And then Malvern Prep won a championship for the ages over Haverford School, 11-10 in overtime.
Last week was the beginning of this season’s Inter-Ac schedule and Haverford School showed that it has put last year way behind.
Haverford visited Malvern and beat the hosts, 10-6.
Not Surprisingly, Dawson didn’t mention last year to his team when preparing for this year’s game.
“There wasn’t any mention of it,” Dawson said. “I try to keep the focus on the moment. Last year was last year and this year is this year.”
And what a year it should be for Haverford School, which entered the season in the favorite’s role and showed why in the opener.
One of Haverford School junior Brady O’Kane's (#3) three goals in 10-6 opening Inter-Ac league victory vs. Malvern Prep - PSD Video by Ryan Nix
Junior Brody Murphy, a Richmond commit, made 13 saves. Junior Duke commit Ben McCarthy and sophomore Griffin Meyer went a combined 10 of 19 on faceoffs.
Senior Ryan DiRocco, a West Point commit and junior Brady O’Kane (Delaware) each had a hat trick. Junior Aydan DiRocco, a Navy commit, had a goal and two assists, while junior Jack Long, a Michigan commit and sophomore Evan Large each had a goal and an assist. Senior Wells Flinn, an Air Force commit, scored once, McCarthy added two assists and senior Miles Balachandran had an assist.
While Ryan DiRocco and O’Kane led the Fords with three goals each, this is a balanced Haverford School team, where anybody could be the top scorer each game.
“They scored in the flow of the game, but we are a pretty unselfish group and, on another day, it could be other guys scoring,” Dawson said. “We have been unselfish and have been sharing the ball, which is something we have emphasized.”
It was just one of 10 Inter-Ac League games for both teams, but when they meet, somehow it seems like more than just a regular season matchup.
“The great thing about Malvern, Episcopal and any Inter-Ac school is that all the boys know each other, and it creates a fun environment,” Dawson said. “It’s easy to get up for all the games in our league.”
Haverford School in game vs. Malvern Prep. (Photos/ Ryan Nix for PSD)
Two more wins for the Fords
Haverford School didn’t have long to celebrate the win. Two days later, the Fords scored a 9-3 home win over Ignatius, California. Murphy made eight saves and Kyle Morris had two saves.
O’Kane, McCarthy and senior Rutgers commit Colin Zeller each had two goals. McCarthy was 13-for-13 on faceoffs and Meyer was 1-for2. Ryan DiRocco had three assists. Other goal scorers were Aydan DiRocco, Flinn and Large.
“It was a great defensive effort and showing at the face off against a very tough and talented St. Ignatius team,” Dawson said.
The Fords then earned a 15-4 Inter-Ac win over Penn Charter. Ryan DiRocco led the way with four goals and two assists. Three players had two goals – Adyan DiRocco, Zeller and senior Penn State commit Brendan Leary. Meyer, O’Kane, Connor Nolen and Rory Nesbitt each had four ground balls.
Haverford School in game vs. Penn Charter. (Photos by Mike Nance for PSD)
Crowning the Inter-Ac champion
Last year the Inter-Ac champion was crowned after winning the postseason tournament, where the top four teams in the regular season standings competed. There will again be a postseason tournament, this year at West Chester University, but it won’t determine the Inter-Ac champion.
This season the league champion will be the team that wins the regular season. Last year Malvern Prep won both the regular season and postseason tournament. While this year’s postseason tournament is bound to be highly competitive, the teams will only be playing for pride. The top seed entering the tournament will have already been declared the Inter-Ac champion.
Malvern Prep bounces back
Malvern Prep couldn’t dwell on its opening league loss to Haverford School too long because three days later the Friars had to visit Episcopal Academy, the only Inter-Ac team to beat the Friars last season.
The two were playing a tight game when Malvern sophomore Michael Ortlieb scored with 28.2 seconds left in the third quarter to increase the Friars lead to 10-8.
Then Malvern scored the only three goals of the fourth period for a 13-8 win.
It was the first inter-Ac win for first-year Malvern Prep coach Matt Mackrides, who played at the school and was an assistant the previous decade.
Malvern Prep senior AJ Nikolic talks about how it felt to earn the Friars first Inter-Ac win of the season - PSD Video by Marc Narducci
“They are all battles, no matter what anybody says, no matter what the scoreboard says,” Mackrides says of Inter-Ac League matchups. “Basically, guys have to empty the tank in order to win the game. It feels good to get the first Inter-Ac win.”
The victory was led by senior Cornell commit AJ Nikolic, who is considered among the top players in the county. He had five goals and two assists.
“We really came to play today,” Nikolic said. “We had been in a slump for a while, but we just kept practicing extremely hard, harder than we ever had, harder than I ever had personally, and we came together as a team.”
Malvern Prep entered the contest with a five-game losing streak. Even though it was against quality competition, the Friars were anxious to end the streak.
“We have played a difficult schedule but five in a row still hurt and it’s good to get back,” Nikolic said.
In addition to Nikolic, Ortlieb scored a hat trick.
If that wasn’t impressive enough, less than 24 hours later, Malvern Prep traveled to New Jersey to face Delbarton, which was the No. 1 team in the Garden State according to NJ.com.
Malvern Prep earned a 10-5 win.
Nikolic, senior Dylan O’Connor and sophomore John Bickel each scored twice. Single goals were scored by Ortlieb, junior Brown commit Ennis Udo, junior Yale commit Nick Wehmeyer and senior Patrick Mears.
Senior goalie Christopher Rabena made six saves and seniors Lucca DiBartolomeo and Peri DiBartolomeo had four and three ground balls respectively.
Malvern Prep vs. Episcopal Academy - PSD Game Highlights by Marc Narducci feat. goals scored by #2 TJ Lamb for EA and #13 AJ Nikolic & #9 Mike Ortlieb for MP:
Inter-Ac Standings (through games played Saturday April 15)
Springside Chestnut Hill Academy 2-0, 8-1
Haverford School 2-0,6-2
Episcopal Academy 1-1, 7-5
Malvern Prep 1-1, 5-5
Penn Charter 0-2, 5-7
Germantown Academy 0-2, 3-5
A .500 week for The Episcopal Academy
Episcopal Academy coach Chris Bates saw some positives despite the aforementioned 13-8 loss to Malvern Prep. It was a one-goal game until a late third period goal gave Malvern Prep a 10-8 lead entering the fourth quarter.
“We said to our guys afterwards, we didn’t play great lacrosse, but we had every opportunity to actually win the game,” Bates said. “At the end, frankly I think we got tired and started making tired decisions and that is still some early-season stuff we are working though.”
So, this was an early season learning experience.
“Having not played our best game against a quality opponent such as Malvern, we’ll continue to build off of it,” Bates said.
Senior Cornell commit TJ Lamb, along with Charlie Kraftson and junior Penn State commit Dylan Jaszcz each had two goals, while Eddie Jones had a goal, and two assists and Evan MacFarland added a goal. Jack Guido made 15 saves.
The Churchmen opened their Inter-Ac season with an 11-10 win over Germantown Academy as Lucas Slate led the way with six goals and one assist. Guido made 12 saves. Will Hohn was 8-for-10 on faceoffs, while Blake Riley was 7-for-12.
Episcopal Academy in game vs. Germantown Academy. (Photos/ Jack Verdeur for PSD)
Springside Chestnut Hill Academy off to a good start
Springside Chestnut Hill Academy is 2-0 in the Inter-Ac beating Penn Charter 19-11 and Germantown Academy, 14-7.
In the Penn Charter win, senior Monmouth commit Brendan Dundas had six goals and one assist while Alec Tulio added five goals and one assist. Junior Penn State commit Hayes Schreiner made 18 saves.
In the win over GA, Schreiner made 19 saves and junior Georgetown commit Ross Prince was 17-for-21 on faceoffs. Dundas, Tulio and Cole Carberry each scored a hat trick, while junior St. Joseph’s commit Steve Pileggi and Alex Pilling each added two goals.
On Tuesday, April 18, SCH visits Haverford School in a game matching the final two teams unbeaten in Inter-Ac play.
Springside Chestnut Hill in game vs. Germantown Academy. (Photos/ James Quinn for PSD)
Springside Chestnut Hill in game vs. Penn Charter. (Photos/ James Quinn for PSD)
Germantown Academy had some impressive performances in defeat
Germantown Academy fell 11-10 to Episcopal Academy, but there were several players for the Patriots who stood out.
Rocco Ippoldo, a Franklin and Marshall commit, scored four goals. Cornell commit Walker Schwartz added two goals and three assists. Ohio Wesleyan commit Dean Shacklett had two goals and was 13 of 25 on faceoffs, while sophomore Jack Donovan made 12 saves.
Donovan had 17 saves in a 14-7 loss to Springside Chestnut Hill Academy. Senior Trinity commit Josh Gibbs led the way with two goals and one assist.
Germantown Academy in Game vs. Episcopal Academy (video/ Jack Verdeur for PSD)
A good win for William Penn Charter
Penn Charter has a team that has gone through some difficult injuries, so competing in the Inter-Ac has been difficult. Yet the Quarters earned an 11-10 non-league win on Saturday over Moorestown Friends.
Junior Villanova commit Gavin Michener and senior Army commit Chet Kempinski each had four goals, while senior Delaware commit Owen Black scored twice and senior Air Force commit Nick Walter added a goal and two assists. Senior Villanova commit George Glomb was 17 of 23 on faceoffs while senior Noah Dacanay made 11 saves.
Just the day before Dacanay made 19 saves and Glomb was 11-for-20 on faceoffs in the 15-4 loss to Haverford School. Michener, Black, Glomb and Walter scored a goal apiece.
Penn Charter in game vs. Springside Chestnut Hill. (Photos/ James Quinn for PSD)
In an earlier 19-11 loss to Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, a major bright spot was Glomb, who won 27 of 33 faceoffs (that is not a misprint). Michener, Walter, Black and senior Pat McDonough each scored twice.