PENNSBURY:
Falcons advance in D-I playoffs
It was a day of firsts for the Pennsbury boys lacrosse team as the Falcons defeated the visiting Sun Valley Vanguards, 15-10, at Falcon Field in round one of the District One playoffs. It was Pennsbury's first ever playoff game, it was their first ever home playoff game, and it was their first ever playoff win.
But it was also a day of lasts - the last home game for Pennsbury Coach Dean Curtis, as he will be stepping down from the helm of the Falcons at the end of the season. But the win does mean that Coach Curtis and the Falcons get to play another day, as they will meet the Downingtown East Cougars for a round two game on Thursday, May 14 at Downingtown.
The high scoring Vanguards came into the game averaging almost 11 1/2 goals per game but were facing a Pennsbury defense that had allowed an average of 6.25 goals per game. By all accounts, this game was gong to be a case of the immovable object meeting the irresistible force.
Adding injury to insult, the Falcons were also without two of their starting all-league middies, Ricky Jutkiewicz and Shawn Caven, lost to injuries in the last two weeks of the season.
Like a heavyweight fight, both teams spent the first four minutes of the game testing their opponent, until the Vanguards struck first when Sam Maldou grabbed the rebound of a save by Pennsbury's Chris Shubert and put it back for the first goal of the game.
Pennsbury punched back 12 seconds later when Falcon defenseman Ben McDannell grabbed the loose face-off ball out of the air and winged it to Evan Caterson for the fast break. Caterson then found attackman Peter Sweetland in the crease, who double faked for the equalizing goal.
But Sun Valley showed their offense's muscle when they scored two consecutive goals 90 seconds apart – the first on a inside pass from attackman Bobby Clemens to Brett McCauley for the put in, and the next triggered when a Pennsbury clearing pass was intercepted by Sam Maldou, who rifled it back to Bobby Clemens for the goal and a 3-1 Sun Valley lead.
The Falcons answered back with three goals of their own - starting with a two-man up goal when attackman Kenneth Warren fed Calvin Hopkins for the put in on the crease. Pennsbury tied the score at 3's when defenseman Ryan Brim triggered a fast break out of the defensive end, and finishing with bang-bang passes from Sweetland to Hopkins to Warren for the score with 48 seconds left on the clock.
But the Falcons weren't done yet. After a Vanguard player withheld the ball from play during a loose ball scrum, Pennsbury was awarded the ball. Falcon middie Matt Mager outraced his man up the middle, drawing the slides.
Mager found Warren next to the crease on GLE, who found freshman Luke Matthews cutting down the middle for the low and away goal past Sun Valley's Tyler Brun with only 8 seconds remaining in the first period and putting Pennsbury in the lead by a 4-3 margin at the end of the first period.
The second round, or quarter in this case, saw Sun Valley take advantage of a Pennsbury penalty and tie the game at 4-all when Sam Maldou fed Erich Bigas, who bounced a long range shot past Shubert three and a half minutes in.
For the next six minutes, the Falcon defense held the Vanguard offense at bay, with the Vanguards doing the same to the Falcon offense, until Pennsbury attackman Warren worked the ball from behind the net, bringing his defenseman up top, and then getting free with a shake-and-bake move followed by a top shelf, left-handed rip to break the tie with three minutes left in the half.
Sun Valley counter-punched with a fast break goal out of the defensive end when Bobby Clemens found a cutting Nick Morrell to tie the game at 5-apiece with just under two minutes left in the half.
Pennsbury wasn't done yet. With stifling defensive pressure sparking the offense, Pennsbury's Pat “Moose” Bonnot found attackman Dan Caggia on the doorstep with a pinpoint pass for the put-in at the 1-1/2 minute mark.
With Moose winning the next faceoff, Pennsbury put the pressure on the Vanguard defense with time ticking down in the half. Following his own missed shot, Calvin Hopkins jumped into a scrum in front of the goalie and golfed the loose ball into the goal with four ticks left in the half, putting the Falcons into the lead at half-time by a 7-5 margin.
The Falcons came out strong in the second half, led by attackman Kenneth Warren, who scored a man-up goal one minute into the period by beating his defenseman from behind the cage for the low and away rip. This was followed two minutes later by another extra-man goal by freshman Ryan McDonald, who converted the feed from Sweetland into a 9-5 Pennsbury lead.
Warren then added the fourth of his game-high five goals when he and Peter Sweetland ran a series of give-and-goes from behind the net, beat his man, and rifled in a sharp angle shot from the side to give the Falcons a 10-5 lead.
But the high-powered Vanguard offense was not to be denied for long, as they answered with two goals in 90 seconds – the first a fast break goal with Bobby Clemens converting the perfect pass from Matt Remner, and the second off a nice series of quick passes, with Remner again feeding the ball for a score, this time to Don Krausse to bring the score to 10-7 Falcons with three minutes left in the third quarter.
The Falcons bought back some breathing room 20 seconds later when Calvin Hopkins muscled his way toward the goal and launched a worm-burner that found the back of the net with 2 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter and putting the third period tally at 11-7 Pennsbury entering the final quarter.
Down by four entering the final stanza, Sun Valley came out playing with fierce determination, successfully killing a man down penalty and then putting intense offensive pressure on the Falcons. Chris Shubert saved two successive doorstep shot by the Vanguards before Don Krausse took the second rebound in front of the net and put it back in to bring them within three of Pennsbury at the 9 minute mark.
Pennsbury answered back a minute later when Calvin Hopkins grabbed a loose ball behind the Vanguard net and threaded a pass to Peter Sweetland on the other side of the crease for the put-in. But Sun Vally volleyed back when Brett McCauley won a ground ball in front of the Pennsbury net and found Matt Remner open on the left side for the goal, cutting the Pennsbury lead to 12-9.
The Falcons and Vanguards then traded goals, with “Moose” Bonnot rocketing a running shot for an unassisted goal for Pennsbury, and then Sun Valley's Bobby Clemens juking from behind the net and finding a cutting Don Krausse for their goal and a 13-10 Pennsbury lead with 4 1/2 minutes left in the game.
At this point, Pennsbury put their stamp on the victory, with Evan Caterson netting a running shot for a goal and Kenneth Warren, who ended up with seven point on five goals and two assists, punctuating the effort with a rifle shot goal into the top corner with a minute and a half in the game.
Sun Valley put frenzied effort into the last few minutes, but the game ended as Bobby Clemens shot wide as time expired.
A key difference in the game was in man-up offense and man-down defense. The Pennsbury defense killed 4 of 5 man-down opportunities by Sun Valley, while the Falcon's offense converted three of their five man-up opportunities.
The win puts Pennsbury at 12-7 for the year, 8-2 in the Suburban One National conference and 1-0 in the PIAA District 1 playoffs. Sun Valley is now 11-7 on the season and remains 6-4 in the Ches-Mont League.
***
Box Score
Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
Sun Valley 3 2 2 3 - 10
Pennsbury 4 3 4 4 - 15
(May 12 at Pennsbury)
Goals:
Pennsbury - 15; Kenneth Warren 5; Calvin Hopkins 3; Peter Sweetland 2; Pat Bonnot 1; Evan Caterson 1; Dan Caggia 1; Luke Matthews 1; Ryan McDonald 1
Sun Valley – 10; Don Krausse 3; Bobby Clemens 2; Matt Remner 1; Sam Maldou 1; Brett Macaulay 1; Erich Bigas 1; Nick Morrell 1.
Assists:
Pennsbury - 8; Peter Sweetland 3; Kenneth Warren 2; Pat Bonnot 1; Evan Caterson 1; Calvin Hopkins 1.
Sun Valley - 8; Bobby Clemens 3; Sam Maldou 2; Matt Remner 2; Brett Macaulay 1.
Shots:
Pennsbury 43, Sun Valley 26
Saves:
Chris Shubert (Pennsbury) 7; Tyler Brun (Sun Valley) 11
Record:
Pennsbury 12-7 overall; 8-2 in the Suburban One National, and 1-0 in the PIAA District 1 playoffs. Sun Valley 11-7 overall; 6-4 in the ChesMont League, 0-1 in the PIAA District 1 playoffs.
But it was also a day of lasts - the last home game for Pennsbury Coach Dean Curtis, as he will be stepping down from the helm of the Falcons at the end of the season. But the win does mean that Coach Curtis and the Falcons get to play another day, as they will meet the Downingtown East Cougars for a round two game on Thursday, May 14 at Downingtown.
The high scoring Vanguards came into the game averaging almost 11 1/2 goals per game but were facing a Pennsbury defense that had allowed an average of 6.25 goals per game. By all accounts, this game was gong to be a case of the immovable object meeting the irresistible force.
Adding injury to insult, the Falcons were also without two of their starting all-league middies, Ricky Jutkiewicz and Shawn Caven, lost to injuries in the last two weeks of the season.
Like a heavyweight fight, both teams spent the first four minutes of the game testing their opponent, until the Vanguards struck first when Sam Maldou grabbed the rebound of a save by Pennsbury's Chris Shubert and put it back for the first goal of the game.
Pennsbury punched back 12 seconds later when Falcon defenseman Ben McDannell grabbed the loose face-off ball out of the air and winged it to Evan Caterson for the fast break. Caterson then found attackman Peter Sweetland in the crease, who double faked for the equalizing goal.
But Sun Valley showed their offense's muscle when they scored two consecutive goals 90 seconds apart – the first on a inside pass from attackman Bobby Clemens to Brett McCauley for the put in, and the next triggered when a Pennsbury clearing pass was intercepted by Sam Maldou, who rifled it back to Bobby Clemens for the goal and a 3-1 Sun Valley lead.
The Falcons answered back with three goals of their own - starting with a two-man up goal when attackman Kenneth Warren fed Calvin Hopkins for the put in on the crease. Pennsbury tied the score at 3's when defenseman Ryan Brim triggered a fast break out of the defensive end, and finishing with bang-bang passes from Sweetland to Hopkins to Warren for the score with 48 seconds left on the clock.
But the Falcons weren't done yet. After a Vanguard player withheld the ball from play during a loose ball scrum, Pennsbury was awarded the ball. Falcon middie Matt Mager outraced his man up the middle, drawing the slides.
Mager found Warren next to the crease on GLE, who found freshman Luke Matthews cutting down the middle for the low and away goal past Sun Valley's Tyler Brun with only 8 seconds remaining in the first period and putting Pennsbury in the lead by a 4-3 margin at the end of the first period.
The second round, or quarter in this case, saw Sun Valley take advantage of a Pennsbury penalty and tie the game at 4-all when Sam Maldou fed Erich Bigas, who bounced a long range shot past Shubert three and a half minutes in.
For the next six minutes, the Falcon defense held the Vanguard offense at bay, with the Vanguards doing the same to the Falcon offense, until Pennsbury attackman Warren worked the ball from behind the net, bringing his defenseman up top, and then getting free with a shake-and-bake move followed by a top shelf, left-handed rip to break the tie with three minutes left in the half.
Sun Valley counter-punched with a fast break goal out of the defensive end when Bobby Clemens found a cutting Nick Morrell to tie the game at 5-apiece with just under two minutes left in the half.
Pennsbury wasn't done yet. With stifling defensive pressure sparking the offense, Pennsbury's Pat “Moose” Bonnot found attackman Dan Caggia on the doorstep with a pinpoint pass for the put-in at the 1-1/2 minute mark.
With Moose winning the next faceoff, Pennsbury put the pressure on the Vanguard defense with time ticking down in the half. Following his own missed shot, Calvin Hopkins jumped into a scrum in front of the goalie and golfed the loose ball into the goal with four ticks left in the half, putting the Falcons into the lead at half-time by a 7-5 margin.
The Falcons came out strong in the second half, led by attackman Kenneth Warren, who scored a man-up goal one minute into the period by beating his defenseman from behind the cage for the low and away rip. This was followed two minutes later by another extra-man goal by freshman Ryan McDonald, who converted the feed from Sweetland into a 9-5 Pennsbury lead.
Warren then added the fourth of his game-high five goals when he and Peter Sweetland ran a series of give-and-goes from behind the net, beat his man, and rifled in a sharp angle shot from the side to give the Falcons a 10-5 lead.
But the high-powered Vanguard offense was not to be denied for long, as they answered with two goals in 90 seconds – the first a fast break goal with Bobby Clemens converting the perfect pass from Matt Remner, and the second off a nice series of quick passes, with Remner again feeding the ball for a score, this time to Don Krausse to bring the score to 10-7 Falcons with three minutes left in the third quarter.
The Falcons bought back some breathing room 20 seconds later when Calvin Hopkins muscled his way toward the goal and launched a worm-burner that found the back of the net with 2 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter and putting the third period tally at 11-7 Pennsbury entering the final quarter.
Down by four entering the final stanza, Sun Valley came out playing with fierce determination, successfully killing a man down penalty and then putting intense offensive pressure on the Falcons. Chris Shubert saved two successive doorstep shot by the Vanguards before Don Krausse took the second rebound in front of the net and put it back in to bring them within three of Pennsbury at the 9 minute mark.
Pennsbury answered back a minute later when Calvin Hopkins grabbed a loose ball behind the Vanguard net and threaded a pass to Peter Sweetland on the other side of the crease for the put-in. But Sun Vally volleyed back when Brett McCauley won a ground ball in front of the Pennsbury net and found Matt Remner open on the left side for the goal, cutting the Pennsbury lead to 12-9.
The Falcons and Vanguards then traded goals, with “Moose” Bonnot rocketing a running shot for an unassisted goal for Pennsbury, and then Sun Valley's Bobby Clemens juking from behind the net and finding a cutting Don Krausse for their goal and a 13-10 Pennsbury lead with 4 1/2 minutes left in the game.
At this point, Pennsbury put their stamp on the victory, with Evan Caterson netting a running shot for a goal and Kenneth Warren, who ended up with seven point on five goals and two assists, punctuating the effort with a rifle shot goal into the top corner with a minute and a half in the game.
Sun Valley put frenzied effort into the last few minutes, but the game ended as Bobby Clemens shot wide as time expired.
A key difference in the game was in man-up offense and man-down defense. The Pennsbury defense killed 4 of 5 man-down opportunities by Sun Valley, while the Falcon's offense converted three of their five man-up opportunities.
The win puts Pennsbury at 12-7 for the year, 8-2 in the Suburban One National conference and 1-0 in the PIAA District 1 playoffs. Sun Valley is now 11-7 on the season and remains 6-4 in the Ches-Mont League.
***
Box Score
Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
Sun Valley 3 2 2 3 - 10
Pennsbury 4 3 4 4 - 15
(May 12 at Pennsbury)
Goals:
Pennsbury - 15; Kenneth Warren 5; Calvin Hopkins 3; Peter Sweetland 2; Pat Bonnot 1; Evan Caterson 1; Dan Caggia 1; Luke Matthews 1; Ryan McDonald 1
Sun Valley – 10; Don Krausse 3; Bobby Clemens 2; Matt Remner 1; Sam Maldou 1; Brett Macaulay 1; Erich Bigas 1; Nick Morrell 1.
Assists:
Pennsbury - 8; Peter Sweetland 3; Kenneth Warren 2; Pat Bonnot 1; Evan Caterson 1; Calvin Hopkins 1.
Sun Valley - 8; Bobby Clemens 3; Sam Maldou 2; Matt Remner 2; Brett Macaulay 1.
Shots:
Pennsbury 43, Sun Valley 26
Saves:
Chris Shubert (Pennsbury) 7; Tyler Brun (Sun Valley) 11
Record:
Pennsbury 12-7 overall; 8-2 in the Suburban One National, and 1-0 in the PIAA District 1 playoffs. Sun Valley 11-7 overall; 6-4 in the ChesMont League, 0-1 in the PIAA District 1 playoffs.
Labels: boys lacrosse, Pennsbury
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