Inter-Ac Notebook (5/6)
Photos/Videos: Zack Beavers, Zamani Feelings, Mike Livingston, Ryan Nix
By: Marc Narducci
Battle of the Titans: Part 2
It’s become one of the top rivalries in the area not just in lacrosse, but in any sport when Haverford School and Malvern Prep meet.
As in many instances, last Thursday’s meeting at Haverford School contained Inter-Ac conference title implications. Haverford School had beaten host Malvern Prep, 10-8 on April 16.
The Fords were undefeated and were aiming for their second straight Inter-Ac League title.
So the stakes were high, the crowd was huge and both teams delivered an epic performance.
Finally, Haverford prevailed when Michigan commit Jack Long broke a 9-9 tie, scoring with 12 seconds left.
“It feels awesome,” Long said in a PSD video interview. “I feel for us and the group of seniors, anytime getting a win over Malvern is a really, really good feeling. Love these guys, love being out here with them, and this is the moment I really like, just being with them, celebrating with them.”
Long led the way with a hat trick. Senior Brady O’Kane (Brown) had two goals and one assist, junior Evan Large (Air Force Academy) scored twice while senior Aydan DiRocco (Naval Academy) and senior Connor Nolen each had one goal and one assist. Senior Ben McCarthy (Duke) also had a goal and a team-high four ground balls.
“The atmosphere was pretty cool,” McCarthy said. “It is alumni week at Haverford and it was pretty packed.”
McCarthy understands the enormity of beating Malvern Prep, not once, but twice.
“It feels cool beating them twice in a season,” he said. “It’s so hard to do.”
Many of these players are friends off the field.
“There is a tremendous amount of respect for each other and a tremendous amount of competitiveness,” Haverford School coach Brendan Dawson said. “Many of these guys on both teams are good buddies, but in the game, they want nothing better than to beat each other.”
A key for Haverford, as it has been all season, was the play of senior goalie Brody Murphy (Richmond) who made 17 saves.
“He was great, and I think without him, it might have been a different story,” Dawson said. “It’s been awesome to be able to rely on him like that and we have come to expect this type of performance from him.”
HAVERFORD SENIOR JACK LONG TALKS ABOUT HIS WINNING GOAL, DEFEATING MALVERN AND THE BROTHERHOOD WITHIN HIS TEAM. (VIDEO/ MIKE LIVINGSTON)
WINNING GOAL BY HAVERFORD SENIOR JACK LONG. (VIDEO BY MIKE LIVINGSTON FOR PSD)
HAVERFORD GOALIE BRODY MURPHY TALKS ABOUT THE INTENSITY OF THE GAME AND EXCITEMENT ON TEAM SIGHTS FOR INTER-AC TITLE. (VIDEO/ MIKE LIVINGSTON FOR PSD)
As usual, Malvern Prep had a balanced scoring attack. Senior Ennis Udo (Brown) and junior Logan Turley (Harvard) each scored twice. Junior Jake Bickel (Georgetown) provided a goal and an assist.
The other goals scorers were junior Owen Mears (Duke), senior Nick Wehmeyer (Yale), freshman Daniel Lucovich and junior Mike Ortlieb (Duke).
“Losing like that never feels good but I think there are a lot of good things we did in the game,” said Malvern Prep long stick midfielder Lucca DiBartolomeo, a Penn State commit. “Props to them, for a really good game.”
Haverford School vs. Malvern Prep - PSD Gallery by Zack Beavers
DiBartolomeo also gave props to Murphy in goal.
“Their goalie had some big saves, especially late in the game,” he said.
Haverford School, which improved to 16-0 overall and 8-0 in the Inter-Ac, needs to win just one of its final two games to clinch the outright league title.
The Fords visit Germantown Academy on Tuesday (May 7) and host Episcopal on May 10.
While there will be no Inter-Ac League championship game this year, it’s possible that Malvern Prep and Haverford School could meet one more time since they will be competing in the National Prep Lacrosse Championship, May 17-19 at Loyola University in Baltimore, Maryland.
“We’re hoping we see them (Haverford) again in that tournament,” DiBartolomeo said.
We’re sure many other lacrosse players and fans have that same wish.
More on Haverford School
Two days before facing Malvern Prep, Haverford School survived a major challenge, beating host Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, 7-5. The Fords trailed 5-1 in the third period before closing the game with six unanswered goals.
Haverford School senior Finn Lawrence #2 - PSD Photo by Zack Beavers
Freshman Conor Morsell and Long each scored a hat trick and senior Finn Lawrence (Boston University) had the other goal. O’Kane had two assists and Murphy made five saves.
Junior Griff Meyer (Virginia) had six ground balls. Meyer and McCarthy were a combined 7-of-14 on faceoffs.
This past Saturday, Haverford School suffered its first loss of the season. In a battle of Top 5 nationally ranked teams, the host Fords lost to St. Anthony of New York, 10-7. Haverford entered the game ranked No. 3 nationally by Insidelacrosse.com, while St. Anthony was No. 5.
Haverford School scored the game’s first three goals and led 4-3 at halftime, but St. Anthony outscored the Fords, 7-3 in the second half.
Haverford School’s Lawrence scored a goal to cut St. Anthony’s lead to 7-6 late in the third quarter, but St. Anthony scored with 33 seconds left in the third quarter in what would be the eventual game-winner.
Lawrence cut the lead to 8-7 on a goal with 11:36 left in the fourth quarter, but it would be the Fords’ final goal. St. Anthony would tack on two goals to finish the scoring.
Bounce-back win for Malvern Prep
Two days after the loss to Haverford School, Malvern Prep bounced back with a 9-8 victory over Delaware’s Salesianum in a battle of Top 10 nationally ranked teams.
Malvern Prep entered the game ranked No. 4 nationally by Insidelacrosse.com, while the Sallies were ranked No. 10.
“That was a big win for us against a great nationally ranked team,” DiBartolomeo said.
Udo led the way for Malvern Prep with four goals and one assist. Ortlieb added two goals and two assists. Single goals were scored by Mears, Bickel and senior Thomas Tray.
It was Bickel who scored the game-winner.
No moral victory for SCH
All season long nationally ranked Haverford School has been on a roll. The Fords have won many of their games by a convincing fashion, but they were dealt a major challenge in the above-mentioned 7-5 win over Springside Chestnut Hill Academy.
It was such a competitive game that SCH led, 3-1 at halftime and built the advantage to 5-1 in the third quarter before Haverford stormed back. Yet coming close to such a talented team was no consolation prize to SCH coach Brian Dougherty.
“I’m disappointed,” he said. “We should have won.”
The game again showed how competitive SCH has been this season.
Once again, the game featured a goal from SCH senior goalie Hayes Schreiner (Penn State). It was his third goal of the season.
Yet it was what Schreiner does best where he really shined. He made 18 saves, keeping the Blue Devils in the game.
SCH also received two goals and two assists from Finn Dougherty (Fairfield) and one goal each from sophomore Zach Silverman and senior Alec Tulio (Drexel).
SCH senior goalie Hayes Schreiner - PSD Photo by James Quinn
Sophomore Henry Bertelsen went 7 of 14 on faceoffs.
“After the game, I didn’t know how to feel,” Schreiner said. “I was obviously frustrated, we had the game in our hands and kind of let it go.”
Schreiner said a couple of plays made the difference to switch the momentum.
Still, Schreiner was able to keep things in perspective when evaluating SCH’s effort.
“I talked to the team afterwards and said we have to build off this,” Schreiner said. “We were up 5-1 against the No. 3 team in the country and they had never been down four goals. We tried to look at this in a positive way and use as a building step for the rest of the season.”
SCH Rebounds in win over Penn Charter
After that difficult defeat to Haverford School, Springside Chestnut Hill Academy rebounded with a 20-14 victory over Penn Charter. Tulio had seven goals and six assists. Sophomore Cole Carberry had five goals and six assists. Dougherty added a hat trick and senior Stevie Pileggi (St. Joseph’s) had two goals and two assists.
Bertelsen went 26-of-34 on faceoffs with 14 ground balls and Schreiner made 12 saves.
Springside Chestnut Hill vs. Penn Charter - PSD Photos by Zamani Feelings
EA’s Jaszcz praises the competition he has faced in the Inter-Ac
A big reason why senior attack Dylan Jaszcz attended Episcopal Academy was the high caliber of competition he would face in lacrosse.
Jaszcz, who committed to Penn State early in his junior year, has gotten everything he had hoped for while competing in a league that is considered among the best in this area and well beyond.
“I came to this league for one reason, the competition that I knew I wouldn’t get anywhere else,” Jaszcz said. “I came to Episcopal to be in this league and it has been everything I asked for.”
Growing up, Jaszcz enjoyed playing baseball but when he got to high school, he had to make a decision and lacrosse won out.
Not surprisingly, Jaszcz is often the focal point of the opponent’s defense, but he says that is all part of the challenge of playing lacrosse.
“It’s not that tough,” he said of the usual tight coverage he faces. ‘We have a good group of younger players right now.”
He then mentioned some of the key younger players.
“We have a freshman Colin McGrath, we have (sophomores) Keegan Nash and Brody Garrison, and obviously Jake Manion another senior on the field who has helped me lead out, so we have a lot of guys who have been able to fill extra spots going through.”
Jaszcz played football for Episcopal Academy as a starting cornerback.
“It was great playing football,” he said. “Best time of my life I feel like.”
He said playing football aided him in playing lacrosse.
Episcopal Academy senior Dylan Jaszcz #13 - PSD Photo by Lennie Malmgren
Dylan Jaszcz talks about his decision to attend Penn State - PSD Video by Marc Narducci
“The physicality definitely helped me a lot,” he said. “Just being able to go against bigger guys on the football field and then come play lacrosse, it definitely prepares you for the season.”
As for his next destination, it didn’t take Jaszcz long to decide on becoming a future Nittany Lion.
“I committed on the spot on my first visit,” he said. “Once I got there it felt like home, everybody was so welcoming and the coaches and everybody made it feel like a place I would like to spend my next four years.”
More on Episcopal Academy
In a tight Inter-Ac contest, Episcopal Academy used four goals by senior John Malone (Vassar College) to defeat Penn Charter 8-7. Jaszcz added two goals, while Nash and junior Evan MacFarland (Georgetown) were the other goal scorers. Junior Blake Riley was 9-of-13 on faceoffs and Garrett Hickey was 4-of-4. Garrison had three assists and senior Joe Bogle (Villanova) had a team-high six ground balls.
Close loss for Penn Charter
Penn Charter had a strong effort in an 8-7 loss to Episcopal Academy. Leading the way was senior Gavin Michener (Villanova) who scored four goals. Senior Zack Curtin had two goals and one assist and sophomore Michael Banks scored the other goal. Freshman Charles Kraus made 14 saves.
In a 20-14 loss to Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, Michener had five goals and four assists. Junior Casey Felter added five goals and two assists. Banks had two goals and an assist. Senior James Joel had one goal and one assist and junior Ben Zabierek scored a goal. Kraus made 13 saves.
Penn Charter vs. Episcopal Academy - PSD Gallery by Ryan Nix
Three Inter-Ac players named to All-American game
Ross Prince of Springside Chestnut Hill Academy and Lucca DiBartolomeo of Malvern Prep are among the most recent wave of players named to the 19th annual Senior All-American Lacrosse Game on July 27 at Johns Hopkins University.
The girls’ and boys’ teams are announced in four waves of 11 players. The two Inter-Ac players were announced in the second wave that was released May 1.
Prince earned a berth for his face off ability. He will attend Georgetown. DiBartolomeo as mentioned earlier, is a long stick midfielder who will attend Penn State.
Prince and DiBartolomeo join Haverford School’s Ben McCarthy (Duke), who was named earlier in the first wave of players.
We will have more on each of these three players in next week’s notebook.
The senior girls’ All-Star game will begin at 5:30 p.m. followed by the 8 p.m. boys’ contest. Both games will air live on ESPNU.