PA – Central Athletic League | Archive | May, 2016

MIDDLETOWN >> Strath Haven’s season has been full of firsts — a Central League title, a PIAA tournament berth. But that success overshadows the dividing line that splits the Panthers’ season into two distinct halves.
Jef Hewlings’ team has played two seasons in 2016: An 11-game run with attackman Jack Borbee and 12 games without the junior.
The reason why the difference has been so unnoticed is thanks largely to the emergence of Will Huestis, a transitional midfielder who’s become an offensive force as the Panthers (17-6) enter the PIAA tournament Wednesday with a trip to Northampton High School to meet District 11 champ Southern Lehigh. Borbee began the season as one of the Central League’s top offensive threats. Through 11 games, he scored 10 goals and 24 assists, second on the team in points behind Jeffrey Conner (even with his extended absence, Borbee’s assist total remains second only to Conner on the team). Strath Haven was 10-1 when Borbee went down with a concussion. Someone had to fill that offensive void, and while Huestis wasn’t the least likely candidate, his extreme level of production since has been remarkable.
In the first nine games of the season, Huestis scored six goals to go with two assists, many of them accompanying the transition game at which Haven is so adept thanks to faceoff man Hunter Mazur and the groundball ability of long-stick midfielder Noah Frantz. After 23 games, Huestis sits at 40 and 18, a tremendous outburst for an undeniably athletic player who figured to work into Hewlings’ rotation mostly as a transitional player, using his speed to grab GBs on the wings and help clear the zone.
“Definitely since Jack went down, I don’t know if I had to step up, but people saw me and I kind of filled the void,” Huestis said last week after the Panthers fell to Springfield, 5-4, in the District One third-place game. “I’m definitely trying now to be more offensive-minded and get another offensive-minded player on there to try to take the pressure off Jeff and our attackmen.”

Click HERE to read the full article.

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)

CONCORD >> In any other year, Nina Gambacorta would compete in the girls Class AAA shot put at the PIAA Track & Field Championships Friday, jump in a car and head back home to attend her senior prom. After the prom, she would head back to Shippensburg to take part in the Class AAA discus.

Many Garnet Valley athletes have pulled off that crazy stunt over the years. It’s what happens when your school has its senior prom on state track weekend.

Gambacorta, though, will have to miss her senior prom thanks to a change in the schedule. The discus used to start at 12:30 Saturday afternoon. This year, though, the event has been moved up to 9 a.m.

“I’d have to leave at like 3 o’clock in the morning to be there on time,”Gambacorta said. “The post-prom doesn’t get over until five so I can’t do it. I wouldn’t have any time to rest.”

While missing the prom is disappointing, the All-Delco thrower hopes to make up for it with a couple of state medals, which is a distinct possibility. She’s seeded sixth in both events after winning the discus and finishing second in the shot put at the District One Championships.

“Being seeded sixth is good,” Gambacorta said. “I feel that I can move up. “I didn’t have my best performances at districts so I feel like I can do better.”

Click HERE to read the full article.

Garnet Valley’s Nina Gambacorta is hoping that her decision to miss prom will be rewarded with a medal at the PIAA Track and Field Championships this weekend. (Digital First File)

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)

CALN >> Marple Newtown got only eight hits — all singles — in its 7-5 win against host Coatesville Wednesday in the second round of the District One Class AAAA baseball playoffs Wednesday. But the Tigers found other ways to get on base, drawing seven walks and reaching base four times after being hit by a pitch. “We take pitches, and we don’t even mind getting hit,” said Marple Newtown head coach Steve Smith. The Tigers will host a quarterfinal Friday against Pennridge — which upset No. 1 Interboro. That game is slated for an unconventional noon start time Friday. Coatesville head coach Hal Ziegler said his team got what it expected from Marple Newtown.

“We heard that Marple was a feisty team, with patient hitters,” Ziegler said.

The Tigers had at least two runners reach base in every inning except the first, and built a 7-0 lead by the top of the sixth inning. The game was still scoreless in the top of the third, when Marple left fielder Luke Cantwell came to bat with the bases loaded and two outs. On a 2-2 pitch, he lined a single to left field to score the game’s first run. Marple added three runs in the top of the fourth. Right fielder Nick Molinaro led off with a single, designated hitter Brian Reynolds followed with a single, and first baseman Corey Woodcock drew a walk to load the bases with no outs. After a force out at the plate, second baseman Bob Steven came to bat and was safe at first on an infield hit, making the score 2-0. Shortstop Ricky Collings was then hit with a pitch (he was nailed twice on the day) to make it 3-0.

A wild pitch scored center fielder Alden Mathes from third to make the score 4-0. Marple designated hitter Scott Hahn then hit a line drive down the third base side, but Coatesville third baseman Alex Curtiss made a leaping catch and turned it into an inning-ending double play. In the top of the fifth, Marple scored two more runs. Cantwell and Tiger pitcher Cameron Mathes were consecutively hit by pitches to lead off the inning. A wild pitch later brought Cantwell home, then Reynolds lined a hit to score Mathes from second and make the score 6-0. Mathes was breezing along on the mound, allowing only two hits and a walk through five innings and striking out six.

Click HERE to read the full article.

Marple Newtown’s Alden Mathes, left, is greeted by the bench after scoring Marple’s first run in a 7-5 win over Coatesville in teh second round of the District One Class AAAA tournament Wednesday. (Digital First Media/Pete Bannan)

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)

Harriton shortstop Aaron Duetsch starts the double play as Henderson’s Matt Dinicci slides late into second base in the opening round of PIAA playoffs at Henderson Tuesday. Duetsch scored four runs as the Rams won, 11-5. (Pete Bannan photo – Digital First Media)

West Chester – With their district playoff berth quickly fading and his team mired in a three-game losing streak, Harriton baseball coach Scott Kurzinsky decided to show his team how much the game is meant to be – by using a practice day to play wiffle ball.
“The team was not having fun and they were getting down on themselves,” said Kurzinsky, following his team’s 11-5 win over West Chester Henderson in the opening round of the district one Class AAAA playoffs Tuesday. “It’s high school baseball and you’re supposed to have fun. They have been a resilient group all year and it seemed to get them back on track.”
“To have someone re-instill how much fun the game is supposed to be was awesome,” said junior Don DiLoreto, who pitched the final three innings. “It was great to see and hear Coach K talk about how baseball is supposed to be fun and it definitely helped loosen the team up.”
The result of dialing back the intensity of a regular practice and re-living childhood memories certainly paid off for a resilient Rams team who earned a hard-fought win over Springfield (Delco) to help them land the 19th seed in the PIAA District One Class AAAA tournament.
On Tuesday, what started off as a pitcher’s duel between Harriton sophomore Jonah Frankel and West Chester Henderson senior Ryan Tench turned into an offensive barrage for the visitors, who would push across nine runs over the last three innings to advance to the second round where they faced No. 3 seed Upper Dublin (the second-round game was played after this paper went to press).

Click HERE to read the full article.

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)

NEWTOWN SQUARE >> There’s a glint in Tommy Hannum’s eye when he travels back in time Wednesday.

Near enough to 20 years on, he can recall classic tilts, overtime games, names of stars and grudge matches with ease. Hannum is no rocking-chair-type old-timer, having just run his Marple Newtown team through a brief but intensive practice session. But there’s a wistfulness that sweeps over him.

“I really loved the EPSLA days,” Hannum said.

From players and coaches — and players who’ve become coaches, and coaches who’ve become parents — the same message reverberates. There was something special about those days in the 1990s and early 2000s, when lacrosse’s hotbed crowned an absolute champion before the sport fell under the PIAA dominion in 2008. Catholic League or Inter-Ac or Central, all teams went into the same crucible of a tournament under the banner of the Eastern Pennsylvania Scholastic Lacrosse Association and from it was forged a champion that for a year could thump its chest and say unequivocally, ‘we are the best.’

That nostalgia hasn’t faded, even as the changing tide of the PIAA marches. And while the fondness didn’t abate in the PIAA era, another massive sea change will uproot the new status quo.

“I’m an old-school guy,” Hewlings said. “I liked everybody being in a big pot together. There was no public and private, and I like that.”

Saturday’s District One quarterfinals quadruple-header at Harriton marks an end: Of the district’s single-class system, of the closest approximation of that old tournament, of the crowning of the most legitimate champion.

“That’s what I said six years ago,” Strath Haven lacrosse coach Jef Hewlings said.

In service of almighty football, next year will see the proliferation of state champions in every sport. Lacrosse isn’t immune, spawning Class AAA and AA victors in the district and state. The move solves a problem that doesn’t exist in lacrosse: District One is saturated with talent, maybe 15 of the best 20 teams in the state. Yet geographical equity bottlenecks just five teams to states, and on the quest for a PIAA title, District One teams often get some of their easiest games of the season at what should be the toughest juncture.

Instantly equilibrating talent across the state isn’t feasible and a necessary consequence of a growing sport, which has been undeniably quickened by the PIAA’s sanctioning of the sport to extend beyond the long-held southeastern enclave. The PIAA crown is obviously precious under the current system, but many coaches view the District One Tournament as the more daunting trophy to win.

Click HERE to read the full article.

Springfield boys lacrosse coach Tom Lemieux speaks to his players before the District One second round win over Haverford Thursday. Lemieux and the reigning district champs will find themselves in the small-school, Class AA next year when the PIAA splits into two classifications. (Digital First Media/Pete Bannan)

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)

LOWER MERION >> If someone predicted at Saturday’s quarterfinal at Harriton that a Spence would determine Springfield’s fate, you probably would’ve guessed James, the junior All-Delco goalie. And you’d be right, but not completely.

That’s because the baby of the Spence family picked a fine time to put his stamp on the family lacrosse lineage. Jack Spence, a freshman midfielder, scored a career-high four goals and added an assist as the No. 10 seed Cougars booked another ticket to the PIAA tournament by tipping No. 2 Spring-Ford, 10-7.

Springfield (15-6) advances to Tuesday’s quarterfinal to meet No. 3 Upper Dublin. Spring-Ford (20-2) follows the same trajectory as last year, losing to Springfield in the quarters then getting Garnet Valley, this time at home, in the playback semis Tuesday.

Both Spences started quickly and never let up. Jack scored twice in the Cougars’ five-goal, first-quarter barrage to go with the helper on Zach Venit’s tally.

After the Rams rallied with five in the second stanza, Jack grabbed what proved to be the game-winner at 2:20 of the third, taking a feed from Joe DeBernardi and rifling it home. He put the icing on the cake 65 ticks into the fourth quarter, squirming out of a double team and absorbing a flaggable hit to extend the defending District One champs’ lead to 9-6.

“After (three-time All-Delco and Lehigh player) Lucas last year, Jack comes right in, and he’s filling his shoes as much as he possibly can as a freshman,” James Spence said. “He’s doing unbelievable things. He’s splitting double teams. He’s doing what freshmen never do. This game, he just stepped it up. He did everything he’s supposed to do and more.”

Springfield’s big guns — Kyle Long (goal, three assists) and Mike Gerzabek (two goals) — were kept relatively in check, but the Cougars didn’t miss a beat. They scored 10 goals on just 17 shots, Spring-Ford goalie Chris Morgan a spectator on all but one in a clinical display of finishing.

“It feels good that our whole offense played well and our defense played outstanding today,” Jack said.

Click HERE to read the full article.

Springfield players swarm goalie James Spence, center, after the final whistle of the Cougars’ 10-7 win over Spring-Ford Saturday in the District One quarterfinals. (Digital First Media/Pete Bannan)

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)

LOWER MERION >> By the time the clock ticked under a minute, Jeffrey Conner’s four-man chess match was reduced to three players.

The plan of attack for Strath Haven most of the postseason focused on Conner and Will Huestis, but Bishop Shanahan had effectively muted the latter. So in a tie game, with the dogged defense of All-American long-stick midfielder Ryan McNulty hounding Conner and Shanahan goalie Jason Yoquinto growing in confidence one save at a time, the sophomore attackman figured he’d have to resort to a new tactic.

“I knew in order to get there, I would have to dodge, we would have to create something,” Conner said. “… After (McNulty) stripped me, I knew I had him earlier in the game and he had me. We were going back and forth, so I knew I had to do something. I got that GB, and put one away.”

Conner’s third goal stood as the game-winner with 30 seconds left, piloting No. 5 seed Strath Haven to a 6-5 win over No. 4 Shanahan in the District One quarterfinals at Harriton High School.

Haven (17-4) advances to its first PIAA tournament since the governing body began sanctioning the sport in 2008. First, the Panthers will tangle with top-seeded Avon Grove in Tuesday’s district semifinal.

Conner and Yoquinto played cat-and-mouse all game. The Saint Joseph’s commit scored 38 seconds in but then was kept relatively quiet by the blanketing of McNulty, one of the area’s premier defenders. Conner also had to outfox Yoquinto, who collected 10 saves, including six excellent denials in the fourth quarter, many by getting his lanky frame low and refusing the Panthers the lower part of the net.

He did that well at the 2:46 mark, parrying a shot by Huestis, but the rebound fell to Sam Mutz, who passed off to Conner to rifle one high and into the net, tying the game at 5.

Click HERE to read the full article.

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)

WEST GOSHEN >> Garnet Valley coach Jenny Purvis couldn’t have asked for a better way to begin the District One tournament. Purvis’ fourth-seeded Jaguars have handled their first three opponents with ease.

Kara Nakrasius scored five goals and Emily Mathewson had four goals as the Jags routed 13th-seeded Unionville, 17-7, in a quarterfinal round game Saturday afternoon at West Chester East High School. Garnet Valley will meet ninth-seeded Radnor in the semifinal round Tuesday night at Downingtown West. In three district games, the Jags have outscored the opposition, 56-18.

“After the Abington loss (to close the regular season), we really figured out what we needed to do to come in strong for playoffs,” Purvis said. “All three teams that we’ve played so far have been good, strong teams, but we are playing what we are considering Garnet Valley lacrosse. “That makes the biggest difference, and I think that comes from having a ton of assists and a lot of team effort. “It’s not just one person doing all the work.”

Seven Jaguars scored in the win Saturday. “It’s every one of our attackers and every one of our midfielders,” Purvis said. “That’s a balanced attack.” The Jags ended the regular season with one win over their final five games, which now seems so long ago.

“As seniors, we knew the next game could be our last,” Nakrasius said. “We’re all really bringing it together and are very close.” The Jags (16-4-1) didn’t mess around with the Indians (14-6). Mathewson, who scored her 278th career goal Wednesday to become the program’s all-time leading scorer, took a feed from Koscinski and zipped a shot past Unionville sophomore goalkeeper Madison Doucette (12 saves) less than two minutes into regulation. Garnet scored five of the first six goals and led at halftime, 9-3.

“It has a lot to do with trust and just knowing where everyone is. We’re really coming together,” said Koscinski, who chipped in with three goals and two assists. “With Kara, we’ve played together since the third grade. A lot of us have played together for a long time. We all have those instincts on the field and know where to find each other. That’s a big help with this team.”

Click HERE to read the full article.

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)

Lower Merion won the PIAA Class AAA boys’ tennis team title for the third time in program history on Saturday evening, defeating Upper St. Clair 3-2 at Hershey Racquet Club in the championship match.

The Aces, champions of District 1, won all three singles matches. The Panthers, winners of District 7, won both doubles matches.

The clinching point was provided by Matt Chen at No. 2 singles. With Lower Merion up 2-1, Chen closed out a 6-3, 6-2 win over Domenick D’Amico.

“I was really feeling it today,” said Chen, a sophomore. “I started slow in the tournament, but this was a best match so far.”

Upper St. Clair took a 1-0 lead when Liam Gibbons and Scott Russell defeated Jared Robinson and Omosessan Adebamgbe 6-4, 6-3.

“Our doubles were strong all year,” Upper St. Clair head coach Ron Mercer said. “But you’ve got to win at least one in singles. They had strong singles guys.”

Soon after the Panthers took the lead, the Aces’ singles players were finishing off their wins. No. 3 player Thibault Vernier tied the match 1-1 by defeating Anthony Abinanti 6-2, 6-2. Then at No. 1, Simon Vernier beat Fernando Escribens 6-3, 6-4 to put Lower Merion up 2-1.

“Our singles players really carried us,” Lower Merion head coach David O’Connell said. “Simone is playing great tennis. I’m excited about seeing him in [state] singles next week.”

Click HERE to read the full article.

Lower Merion after winning the PIAA Class AAA boys’ tennis team championship. (David Bohr, PennLive)

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)

ONCORD >> Her teammates rushing from everywhere to congratulate her, the Garnet Valley bench emptying onto the field in celebration, senior Emily Mathewson became the school’s all-time leading scorer on Thursday, her fifth and final goal of the afternoon helping to put the finishing touches on a resounding 20-4 District One Second Round Playoff victory over visiting Plymouth Whitemarsh.

“It feels awesome. I couldn’t do it without my teammates,” said Mathewson, whose 278 career goals surpassed the previous record of 277, set by Halley Barnes in 2012. “They helped so much. I was hoping to get (the record) in our last home game here, and once we got a big score and we got the lead up, my teammates knew about it too and they were trying to help me out, which I really appreciated.”

Mathewson’s heroics were the driving force on a day meant for offense, as the Jaguars’ finely-tuned attack excelled from start to finish, hitting all its marks on a sunny afternoon on the turf.

“We played Garnet Valley lacrosse, and that’s what we’ve really been focusing on,” said Mathewson, who is headed to Vanderbilt next year. “We hit a little bit of a rough patch (earlier in the season),” the senior said of the two-time defending state champs, “and we’re getting it together at the right time.”

The win advances No. 4 Garnet Valley to a quarterfinal showdown on Saturday against No. 12 Unionville, an 11-10 upset winner in overtime over fifth-seeded Harriton. That contest will be held at West Chester East High, at a time to be determined.

Click HERE to read the full article.

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)