PHILADELPHIA – St. Joseph’s Prep cruised past Lansdale Catholic, in route to a match-up against La Salle College High School for a championship opportunity.
Both schools came out hard and fast on a 90-degree day, trading chances back and forth in the opening quarter. St. Joe’s midfielder Eric Scheuerle opened the scoring halfway through, and was followed several minutes later with a goal from teammate Jake Gross.
St. Joe's Prep Pat Boyd adds another goal for the Hawks to secure lead ( video- Matt Maratea)
Lansdale Catholic senior Joe Walsh responds with a goal (video-Matt Maratea)
St. Joe's Prep Joe Tobia adds to the win (video- Matt Maratea)
After a penalty put the Prep on the disadvantage, Lansdale Catholic’s Mike Basilii rifled a shot to half the lead. Another Prep penalty lead to another Crusader goal, this from the stick of midfielder Nick Heiler. Lansdale attackman Joe Walsh added one more before the end of the first.
From then on it was all Prep. They potted 6 goals to Lansdale’s one from Ryan MacDonald in the second quarter. Scheuerle got himself a hat trick before half-time and Jake Gross brought his total to two for the game. The Hawks were dominant in the faceoff circle, with Dan Fischer more often than not coming up with the ball or drawing an illegal play. St. Joe’s Prep entered the half leading Lansdale 8-3.
The third opened with the Hawks continuing to dominate. Long stick middie Zach Snider made a statement, scoring off of the opening face-off. Lansdale goalie Bobby Bausman was under a constant barrage of shots from that point on. Unfortunately, his 13 saves would not be enough to keep Lansdale in the game. Their one goal in the third came from Joe Walsh. Finn Monahan, Brad Ehrlich, and Joe Tobia, all tallied goals for the Prep.
In the fourth quarter, the Hawks entered full shut down mode. The Crusaders were unable to generate the chances they had in the first three quarters.
Even on their rare shots, Hawk’s senior goalie Nick Cissone held strong. He stopped 11 shots during his time in net. St. Joe’s shooting gallery remained open, as Scheuerle scored his fourth goal of the day, with additional scoring from Pat Boyd and Kevin Ortileb. A goal by Lansdale’s Mike Basilii in the waning seconds delayed the celebration, as the game ended two seconds later with a final score of 16-6.
The Hawks have a date on Monday with La Salle College High School to decide who will take home the 2017 PCL Title. Senior leader and starting goalie Nick Cissone said post game that making it to the championship was always the ultimate goal.
“We had a bit of a rough start, but we battled through and in the back of our minds we always had that date, May 22nd,” Cissone said. “Just being able to make it, have one more game with my brothers is good.”
See Below for Additional Recap from St. Joe's Prep Jr, Reporter Greg Bradbury
Philadelphia, PA- Friday afternoon for the Hawks of St. Joe’s Prep was another big game for the lacrosse program as they were looking for a chance to play in the PCL (Philadelphia Catholic League) Finals. In order to get there, they had to get past the Lansdale Catholic Crusaders. The two teams had played each other in the regular season and the Hawks were able to walk away with an 11-3 win.
This time around the Hawks were able to secure a 16-6 win and the right to play La Salle College High School in the PCL Finals. While the scoreboard suggests a dominant performance throughout the entirety of the game for the Hawks, they struggled early on. The Prep got out to an early 2-0 lead, but in the final 3 minutes of the 1st quarter, the Crusaders were able to net two man-up goals, and a third in the final seconds of the quarter.
The Hawks have not been used to trailing at all in the month of May, as they have not suffered a defeat since the Katie Samson Lacrosse Festival against Avon Grove. However, they quickly turned things around in the 2nd quarter on both sides of the ball. On the offensive side of the ball, the Hawks were able to net 6 goals past Crusaders Goalie Bobby Bausman, while Nick Cissone shutout the Crusaders in the 2nd. At the end of the first half of the PCL semi-finals, St. Joe’s Prep led 8-3.
Going into the second half of play, the Prep kept their foot on the gas petal. Eric Scheurle was able to net his fourth goal of the game, and Pat Boyd was able to secure his hat trick. Joe Walsh’s four goals for the Crusaders wasn’t enough to counter the Hawks offense that was firing on all cylinders. The final from Brady Field: St. Joe’s Prep 16 - Lansdale Catholic 6.
Next Up: St Joe’s Prep will be taking on La Salle College High School Monday Night at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School at 6 PM. If you can’t make it to the game make sure to tune into the live broadcast here: www.blogtalkradio.com/WSJP
Tag(s): Home Schools Philadelphia Catholic Boys Lacrosse Philadelphia Catholic League Arch. Carroll Boys Lacrosse Arch. Ryan Boys Lacrosse Arch. Wood Boys Lacrosse Bonner & Prendie Boys Lacrosse Cardinal O'Hara Boys Lacrosse Conwell-Egan Lacrosse Father Judge Lacrosse La Salle Lacrosse Lansdale Cath. Boys Lacrosse Roman Catholic Lacrosse Saint Joseph's Prep Lacrosse Neumann/Goretti Boys Lacrosse