Inter-Ac Boys LAX Notebook (4/15)
Photos/Videos: Lennie Malmgren, Mike Nance, Marc Narducci, Ryan Nix & Jack Verdeur
By: Marc Narducci
One thing that hasn’t changed in the Inter-Ac boys’ lacrosse race is that Haverford School and Malvern Prep remain the teams to beat. Both have opened the season predictably strong. In addition, Springside Chestnut Hill Academy appears improved, and a big part of the Blue Devils success is the play of senior Alec Tulio. Meanwhile, first-year Episcopal Academy, coach Steve Colfer brings plenty of experience to his new job. These are just some of the storylines as Inter-Ac play has begun.
Here is a look at the key stories and figures.
SCH’s Tulio taking a major leap
Springside Chestnut Hill Academy needed to fill big shoes with the graduation of Brendan Dundas and current senior Alec Tulio has filled that role admirably.
First off, Dundas was a scoring machine at SCH, finishing as the school’s all-time points leader with 232.
Dundas has continued his scoring proficiency during his freshman season at Monmouth University. Through his first 11 games with Monmouth, Dundas had a team-high 21 goals and shared the lead with 10 assists.
Springside Chestnut Hill senior Alec Tulio #3 - PSD Photo by Ryan Nix
Tulio is the leading scorer for the Blue Devils, but his output hasn’t surprised veteran coach Brian Dougherty.
“People forget he was our second leading scorer last year and then got hurt right around this time and had to miss the last 8-10 games of the season,” Dougherty said.
That said, the improvement in Tulio, who has committed to Drexel, has been significant.
“He’s made a huge jump,” Dougherty said. “He has worked so hard, is such a great kid and he has really shot the ball well and been our leader on offense.”
Tulio says his improvement coincides with that of the Blue Devils.
“I think our team has picked up the play which leads them to get me the ball a little bit more,” he said. “Most of my goals are off the great job by our middies passing the ball and it is as much of a team game as it is an individual game.”
Tulio felt he would have to pick up his game with the departure of Dundas.
“He was a big loss to the team, and I knew I would have to step up this year and really put a chip on my shoulder,” he said.
Tulio committed to Drexel in late-June and the combination of its proximity, the lacrosse program, and the co-op program that the school provides, all went into his decision.
“I am a homebody, so I wanted to stay local,” said Tulio, who lives in Blue Bell.
He then talked about the advantages academically of attending Drexel.
“They have a great educational system as well as the co-op which I really loved when I looked into it,” he said. “I visited and fell in love with the school and made my decision.”
SCH senior Alec Tulio says that this is the most talented group the Blue Devil's have ever had - PSD Video by Marc Narducci
With his decision, he has been able to concentrate on his senior year and Tulio says he is most excited about the makeup of this year’s SCH squad.
‘I think this is the most talented team we’ve ever had in SCH history,” he said. “I think from top to bottom we are very deep, and I think our brotherhood this year is unmatched.”
He also likes the fact that this year more than in the past, SCH is depending on him to be a proficient goal scorer.
“I like that role and if you have pressure, that is a good thing,” he said. “I love having the pressure on me and people expecting me to do big things.”
He has certainly matched those expectations.
Inter-Ac titans to meet Tuesday
Last year Haverford School was the Inter-Ac champion after winning the regular season title with a 10-0 mark. The Fords won their two regular season games with Malvern Prep, 10-6 and 11-10. Malvern Prep came back to defeat Haverford School, 9-5 in the Inter-Ac championship game. (The winner of the regular season is considered the Inter-Ac champion, thus Haverford School is the defending champ).
Both teams are expected to battle for this year’s championship. The first of two regular season meetings will be 4 p.m. on Tuesday (April 16) at Malvern Prep.
Haverford is 10-0, 2-0 while Malvern Prep is 9-0, 2-0.
Malvern Prep won its first two Inter-Ac games this year, 14-5 over Episcopal Academy and 16-0 against Germantown Academy.
Malvern Prep vs. Episcopal Academy - PSD Photos by Jack Verdeur
Malvern Prep vs. Germantown Academy - PSD Photos by Ryan Nix
In the win over EA, junior Duke commits Mike Ortlieb and Owen Mears led the way. Ortlieb had three goals and two assists, while Mears scored a hat trick.
Senior John Majka, who will attend the U.S. Military Academy, scored twice. Fellow senior Nick Wehmeyer, who will attend Yale, had a goal and more impressively, was 11-of-15 on faceoffs.
Among Malvern Prep’s impressive non-league wins was a 7-4 triumph over perennial national power St. Anthony of New York, in a game played at Rutgers University
Haverford School update
Haverford School beat Penn Charter, 9-4 and Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, 12-5 in its first two Inter-Ac games.
Against Penn Charter, Duke commit Ben McCarthy had eight ground balls and was 8-for-19 on faceoffs. Aydan DiRocco a U.S. Naval Academy commit, had three goals while Conor Morsell had two goals and two assists and Jack Long scored twice.
During the win over SCH, Richmond commit Brody Murphy made 14 saves. McCarthy had nine ground ball and was 8-for-18 on faceoffs. Junior Evan Large, an Air Force Academy commit, had three goals and two assists, while Brown University commits Brady O’Kane and Finn Lawrence, along with Morsell, each scored twice.
Haverford School has survived some close games during its challenging non-league schedule, including a 6-5 OT win at the Landon School and a 9-8 victory over the Taft School.
Haverford School vs. Penn Charter - PSD Photos by Mike Nance
Haverford School vs. Springside Chestnut Hill Academy - PSD Photos by Mike Nance
Learning season for GA
Germantown Academy might have the most youthful team in the Inter-Ac. The Patriots have plenty of young players who coach Billy McKinney hopes will develop in the future. It’s a team with just two seniors.
“It’s a young group with many guys who haven’t played at the varsity level,” McKinney said. “So basically, the whole unit is out there, kind of growing.”
The Inter-Ac is a tough league to have a young and relatively inexperienced team competing.
“We’re taking our lumps now but hopefully it will make us tougher and help us moving ahead,” he said.
The two seniors on the team are face-off man Seamus Knox and Blake Brown.
“Those two seniors are filling their roles and doing a good job providing leadership,” McKinney said.
Germantown Academy senior Seamus Knox #7 - PSD Photo by Ryan Nix
Penn Charter update
Penn Charter was competitive in a 9-4 loss to Haverford School. Charlie Kraus made 21 saves. Contributing one goal and one assist each were Vilanova commit Gavin Michener, Casey Felter and Ben Zabierek.
Michener had two goals in a 16-3 loss Episcopal Academy, while Lucas Weinstein had the other goal. Kraus made 15 saves.
College memories for EA’s Colfer
This is Steve Colfer’s first season as head coach at Episcopal Academy, but he comes with an extensive resume from coaching at the collegiate level.
Colfer was the head coach the previous 23 seasons at Cabrini.
This will be Cabrini’s last year in operation as the school is closing down. Colfer had recruited the Inter-Ac for years and is familiar with the quality of competition.
“It’s one of the top lacrosse leagues in the country and I am so happy to be a part of it,” said Colfer, who also serves as assistant athletic director at Episcopal Academy.
The highlight of Colfer’s college coaching career was winning the Division III national championship in 2019 when Cabrini beat Amherst, 16-12. What made it even more special is that the win came in his own backyard, at Lincoln Financial Field.
“It was awesome at the Linc and was probably the largest D-3 crowd in history,” Colfer said.
Episcopal Academy head coach Steve Colfer - PSD Photo by Lennie Malmgren
He says he gets chills anytime attending an Eagles game, thinking of what it was like playing at the Linc and winning before such a huge crowd.
As for Episcopal Academy, the Churchmen split their first two Inter-Ac games, losing 14-5 to Malvern Prep and winning 16-3 over Penn Charter.
Against Malvern Prep, Zeke Kane had two goals. Senior Mercer University commit Jack Guido made 13 saves and Blake Riley was 6-of-13 on faceoffs.
Senior Penn State commit Dylan Jaszcz led the way in the win over Penn Charter with four goals and one assist. Jackson Orcutt had three goals and two assists, while Vassar College commit John Malone and Colin McGrath each scored twice. Junior Penn State commit Paul Bruder had five ground balls and three caused turnovers, while David Brickman added four ground balls and four caused turnovers. Three different goalies saw action, with Guido making a team-high seven saves.
