PENNSBURY:Lions claw Falcons

The visiting Penncrest Lions posted an 8-4 victory over the home Pennsbury Falcons boys lacrosse team April 9 at Pennsbury High School.
The Lions broke out of the gate quickly with a win at the initial faceoff by middie Adam Yee and a quick feed from attackman Tom Kusturiss to fellow attackman Troy Clifton for the first goal of the game just seconds into the battle.
The Falcons got the equalizer three minutes later off a save by goalie David Cutler, a long clearing pass up the middle to defenseman Sean Rinko, and a long feed to attackman Peter Sweetland, who was running the fast break up the left side, for the put in.
Pennsbury went ahead four minutes later on a takeaway by middie Shawn Caven from a Penncrest long-pole and an unassisted putback while crossing over the middle.
The Lions went ahead 3-2 with a swarming offense that capitalized on ground ball recoveries, with middie Mike Belfiglio and then Troy Clifton netting the goals, both assisted by Adam Yee.
Penncrest middie Dan Kelly opened up the second-quarter scoring with an unassisted running rip from the right side to put the Lions up, 4-2. Penncrest held the Falcons at bay for the entire second stanza with exceptional team defense and goalie work, before putting the capper on the first-half scoring with another Mike Belfiglio goal that put the visitors up, 5-2.
The start of the second half saw Penncrest pick up where they left off, with a goal by Dan Jones two minutes into the third quarter, with the assist by Belfiglio for a 6-2 lead. Pennsbury fought back into the game two minutes later with a rocket shot by middie Ricky Jutkiewicz, assisted by Shawn Caven to cut the lead to 6-3.
The Lions came roaring back with an answer on an extra man opportunity goal by Dan Jones, assisted by Adam Yee. With two minutes to go in the third period, defenseman Dan Marr stripped a Penncrest player and turned the ball the other way, finding Pennsbury attackman Kenneth Warren open in the middle of the defense for a turnaround shot and goal.
The fourth quarter was a defensive struggle by both teams, with the Penncrest defense successfully holding off a swarming Pennsbury offensive effort, and the only goal of the fourth quarter was scored by Tom Kusturiss on an extra man opportunity to close out the game scoring at 8-4.
The win drops Pennsbury to 3-4 overall on the season, while the Lions improve to 5-3 overall on the year and 0-3 in the Central League. The Falcons remain 1-0 in the Suburban One National conference.
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FALCON SEED: While Pennsbury held statistical advantages in shots on goal (27-25), face-offs (11-3), ground balls (28-18), the Penncrest Lions overcame this with strong team defense, winning the turnover battle (17-10) and converting on extra man opportunities (2 out of 6 as compared to 0 out of 1 for Pennsbury). Two of the three assists for Pennsbury were by defensemen (Marr, Rinko).
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Box Score
1 2 3 4--F
Penncrest 3 2 2 1--8
Pennsbury 2 0 2 0--4
Goals:
Pennsbury - 4; Shawn Caven; Ricky Jutkiewicz; Peter Sweetland; Kenneth Warren.
Penncrest - 8; Belfiglio 2; Clifton 2; Jones 2; Kusturis; Kelly.
Assists:
Pennsbury - 3; Shawn Caven; Dan Marr; Sean Rinko.
Penncrest - 5; Yee3; Belfiglio; Kusturis.
Shots:
Pennsbury 27, Penncrest 25
Saves:
David Cutler (Pennsbury) 8, Brendan McElhenney (Penncrest) 6
Records:
Pennsbury (3-4), Penncrest (5-3)