Boys Lacrosse: Emotional Mazur buoys Strath Haven in upset

LOWER MERION >> Hunter Mazur’s tone in postgame interviews differs from the self-assuredness he has carried unfailingly to the X this season for Strath Haven. When it comes to managing the emotions of an occasion like Saturday’s PIAA quarterfinal at Harriton, Mazur is sheepish and reserved in describing his, well, lack of reservations about showing his joy on the field and how the swings help dictate his play.

“I don’t know if you can notice, but I go kind of crazy when we score a goal and I’m on the field, or if I get a goal, it’s the greatest thing ever,” Mazur said. “So, yeah.”

Usually, the United States Military Academy-bound junior is used to generating offense with his success on draws. Saturday, the junior worked in reverse, but he still had a big hand in powering a 10-9 upset of District One champ Upper Dublin. Mazur provided two goals and an assist, and those offensive contributions from a player far more complete than the typical face-off-get-off mold helped shift what started as a lackluster day at the X. The first half belonged to UD’s All-American defender Jack Rapine, who won nine of the first 15 draws. But Mazur rallied, and when he surged, so did the Panthers (19-6), who go on to play Central League rival Springfield in Tuesday’s eastern final.

Mazur set the tone in the second quarter, when Upper Dublin (21-3) used three goals in 1:09 to accrue a 5-2 lead. Mazur ripped home a goal in transition off a Will Huestis feed, then won the ensuring draw for Huestis to capitalize on an extended possession and send the teams into half at 5-4. Rapine regained the upper hand in the third period, as the Cardinals again threatened to run away with the game, Michael Sowers setting up Max Winebrake for a goal that reinstated the three-goal spread at 7-4 with 7:38 left in the quarter.

But Haven wouldn’t go away. Jake Ross scored off a pass from a largely muted Jeffrey Conner, Jack Borbee finished a Huestis feed and Mazur won the ensuring faceoff, dishing to Ross for a second goal in six seconds to tie matters at 7. When Sowers, who finished his storied high school career with four goals and two assists, nudged UD ahead early in the fourth, Mazur answered with a dodge and a rip through the five-hole of an otherwise outstanding Dillon Lojeski to knot matters at eight. Mazur won the next draw — part of a 5-for-6 final quarter that raised his tally to 12-for-23 on the day — and 70 seconds later, Borbee deposited the game-winner, an audacious one-handed effort with a defender draped all over him as he snuck out from behind the cage to Lojeski’s right.

Though Borbee is quick to downplay the importance of his return after missing 12 games (including districts) with a concussion, it was precisely the kind of game-changing play that earns him the “X-factor” status.

“I know I needed to come up big,” Borbee said. “We were tied and I wanted to step up and be a leader on our team. Thankfully I did that, got a hold in my hand and let it rip with one hand. Thank God it went in.”

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Strath Haven’s Jack Borbee (7) is congratulated by Will Huestis (20) after scoring in Saturday’s 10-9 upset of District One champion Upper Dublin in a PIAA quarterfinal. (Digital First Media/John Strickler)