PA – Central Athletic League | Archive | June, 2016

Congratulations to the following Central League lacrosse players names to the All Southeastern PA teams.

Conestoga’s Monica Borzillo is checked by Radnor’s Sophie Breedveld during the second half of Saturday’s PIAA state girls’ lacrosse final.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Monica Borzillo, Conestoga

Borzillo led the Pioneers to their first state championship by scoring four goals and dishing eight assists in the championship game against Radnor. The Cincinnati-bound attacker also set a school record with 109 assists this season while scoring 79 goals on 72.5 percent shooting to finish with 188 points. Borzillo also was named an all-American and first-team All-Central League.

First team

ATTACKERS

Sondra Dickey, Conestoga

The Lehigh-bound senior led the Pioneers with 69 goals and added 22 assists during Conestoga’s PIAA championship run. Dickey scored on 62.7 percent of her shots, which helped her earn all-American honors.

Alex Ladda, Harriton

Ladda led the Rams with 67 goals and was named an all-American for the second consecutive season. The Lehigh recruit was a four-year starter and first-team Central League for the last two seasons. Ladda has 179 career goals and started as a freshman on Harriton’s state championship team.

MIDFIELDERS

Emily Mathewson, Garnet Valley

Few high school lacrosse resumés can rival what Mathewson accomplished at Garnet Valley. The Vanderbilt recruit scored 303 career goals and led the Jaguars to back-to-back state championships. This season, Mathewson also was named an all-American for the second consecutive season after leading Garnet Valley to the PIAA semifinals.

Liz Scott, Conestoga

Just a junior, Scott was named an all-American for the second consecutive season. The Loyola recruit scored 53 goals during Conestoga’s PIAA title stampede and led the Pioneers with 134 draw controls. Scott also was named MVP of the Central League.

DEFENSE

Kara Nakrasius, Garnet Valley

The four-year varsity player was a two-year captain for the Jaguars. The Temple-bound senior was also named an all-American this season.

GOALIE

Jules Horning, Conestoga

The senior goaltender and Marquette recruit saved 52.7 percent of shots faced en route to the Pioneers’ first state championship.

Second Team

Not listed by position.

Fallon Quinn, Radnor

Bridget Whitaker, Springfield Delco

Abby Lord, Radnor

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Congratulations to the following Central League players named to the All Southeastern PA teams.

Garnet Valley’s Matt Moore was named 1st Team All Southeastern PA.

First team

ATTACKERS

Matt Moore, Garnet Valley

The University of Virginia-bound junior was an all-American as well as the Central League’s most valuable player. He scored 50 goals and had 56 assists for 106 points.

LONG-STICK MIDFIELD

Zac Methlie, Springfield (Delco)

The Lehigh-bound senior helped lead the Cougars to their first state lacrosse championship since 1992. Methlie, who dominated top area midfielders, took faceoffs, won 106 ground balls, and forced several turnovers, was named an all-American and all-Central League.

DEFENSE

Jack Reilly, Conestoga

The University of Virginia-bound defenseman was a four-year starter for the Pioneers and was named an All-American and was first-team All-Central League this season.

GOALIE

James Spence, Springfield (Delco)

The junior saved 67 percent of the shots he faced while serving as the backbone of the Cougars’ state championship defense. Spence, who has committed to Lehigh, was also named an all-American and earned first-team honors in league and state play.

Second team

ATTACKERS

Mike Gerzabek, Springfield (Delco)

Kyle Long, Springfield (Delco)

MIDFIELDERS

Jeffrey Connor, Strath Haven

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GREENE TWP. >> While Alden Mathes patiently listened to questions in a postgame interview Monday, his fellow Marple Newtown players couldn’t help themselves. It had been a long journey for the Tigers this season, Mathes was saying, as he got showered by the contents of a water bottle and stifled a laugh at the distractions offered by teammates trying to catch his gaze. Minutes after Marple’s ouster in the PIAA Class AAAA semifinals, 6-2 at the hands of District 7 runner-up Plum, the Tigers took their final chance of the season to remind Mathes where on the totem pole the freshman stood in the hijinks hierarchy of the dugout.

But that message is only so stark given how utterly irrelevant the class structure was on the field for the Tigers. And sometimes a freshman who has hit leadoff all year and powered a robust lineup needs — in the view of his elders — a dose of the little-brother treatment.Postgame shenanigans aside, Monday’s loss was another illustration of just how bright the future is for Marple. And Mathes is the epitome of that promise.

The freshman centerfielder accounted for three of Marple’s six hits. That took his tally on the season to 44 safeties, 13 for extra bases, with a batting average of .449 and an on-base percentage of an even .500. Again, freshman.

But he’s not alone in the contributing underclassmen category. Steve Smith’s team started more or less the same lineup throughout the postseason. It featured just three seniors — shortstop/pitcher Ricky Collings, designated hitter Brian Reynolds and right fielder Nick Molinaro. In all, Marple counted just six seniors on its roster, the only other primary contributor being Vince Greco, the lefty third starter who went 5-0 on the mound. (Multi-sport athlete Mike Rutecki was a frequent pinch runner, while Will Johnston pinch-hit in the playoffs.)

The rest of the roster will be back next year — and to hear them say it, better than ever.

“With all the underclassmen, we’re definitely looking forward to next year,” said outfielder Luke Cantwell, a sophomore outfielder whose sturdy stature easily passes for a senior’s. “Even though we have a couple of starting seniors leaving, I think we’ll come back with an even stronger year next year.”

Click HERE to read the full article.

Powering-hitting outfielder Luke Cantwell is one of many returnees for Marple Newtown last year, reason to believe that this year’s run to the PIAA Class AAAA semifinals is only the beginning.

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PHILADELPHIA >> Don DiLoreto looked at the Delco lineup with an empathetic eye Tuesday. The Harriton junior pitches for the Rams, but he’s on the Delco Carpenter Cup squad strictly as an outfielder. When he considered the lineup of league rivals assembled in South Philly, a thought went out to the Philadelphia Public League pitching staff.
“Whenever I face any of these guys, it’s just so hard,” he said. “Every team in the Central League has their powerhouses, and it seems like we’re all a bunch of well-rounded hitters.”
The Delco hitters strafed Pub pitching for 16 hits in a 15-1 win in the first round of the 31st annual Carpenter Cup at Richie Ashburn Field at FDR Park. For as much as nine Pub errors contributed to nine unearned runs, the Delco bats never relented, powering their way to a place in Friday’s quarterfinals. That game at 12:30 p.m. will be against the winner of the Inter-Ac/Independents and Delaware North, to be played at 9 a.m. Wednesday. Delco scored in every inning save for the second, chipping out ones and twos until the final tally was a monstrously crooked number.
The first platoon, which logged the game’s first five innings, bequeathed a 6-1 lead. The second group, led by DiLoreto, tacked on the other nine, including seven combined in the eighth and ninth against a flagging Pub side.
DiLoreto shone, going 3 for 3, a homer shy of the cycle with three RBIs and two runs scored. Each time he drove in Haverford’s Dylan Resnick, who went 2 for 3, one of several bouts of instant chemistry between new teammates that emerged from the first pitch.
Some of the connections were ready-made, including four members of Marple Newtown’s team that a day earlier had been eliminated from the PIAA Class AAAA semis who drew starts. Freshman Alden Mathes went 2 for 3 in the leadoff spot and scored twice, driven home by an RBI triple supplied by fellow Tiger Ricky Collings two batters into the game. Scott Hahn added two hits, as Delco’s most potent lineup during the season passed on its prowess to the all-star squad.
“We all kind of know each other, how the league is going,” Hahn said. “We pretty much got the best players in the Central League to form a team. And our lineup’s just incredible.”

Delco didn’t just bash its way to the quarters. Except for a lackadaisical bottom of the ninth, they committed just one error, and even in that sloppy final frame, Strath Haven’s Will Carey worked out of trouble without surrendering a run.

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WEST GOSHEN >> When Zac Methlie woke up in a sweat Monday morning, he had no energy to get out of bed. Short of a season-ending injury, this was the Springfield defender’s worst nightmare come true. He was sick. It wasn’t something that a few tissues and cough drops could take care of, either. Methlie knew he might be dealing with the flu. Or, as it turned out, a nasty fever that overwhelmed every aching bone in his body. Not this, he thought. Not now. Methlie was too focused on helping Springfield capture its first PIAA boys lacrosse championship. The last thing he wanted to deal with was illness. It was the eve of the second-biggest game of his life, a semifinal against Strath Haven. He had to do whatever was necessary to be on the field, with his boys, and not let his ailing body hold him back.

“I had an upper respiratory infection … I had a fever of 102 (degrees) all week,” Methlie said. “Even during the Strath Haven game (Tuesday), I was sick. I was constantly spitting up and losing my breath. I couldn’t even get out of bed the last few days.”

He managed to get through the semifinal round … barely. If it was a nonleague game in late-March, perhaps Methlie would have told coach Tom Lemieux he needed to be in bed, eating chicken soup or something. But Methlie slowly improved as Tuesday night turned into Wednesday. He was perhaps 50 percent by Friday, he said, and when the alarm went off Saturday morning, the fever Methlie had been hampered with for six days had subsided. He wasn’t close to feeling 100 percent healthy; there was nothing he could do except wrap a cool towel around his neck and drink plenty of water and Gatorade.

And play.

Methlie piloted a formidable Springfield defense Saturday at West Chester East. Thanks to the gutsy play of Methlie, Pat Smyth and Pat Clemens, among others, the Cougars scratched out a 4-3 win over La Salle to claim their first PIAA state championship. “This morning I woke up, I felt better, but my legs just really weren’t there,” Methlie said. “When we first started today, I felt it. It was tough. My legs weren’t all there, but once we got the game going, I just kept on digging in and digging in and I just forgot about it. This was more important than anything.”

Click HERE to read the full article.

Zac Methlie, center, helps hoist the PIAA trophy after Springfield’s 4-3 win over La Salle Saturday. (Digital First Media/Pete Bannan)

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WEST GOSHEN >> Coming to the realization she wasn’t going to take the field with Conestoga in her junior season was hard for Scottie Growney. Growney was a star of stars in Conestoga’s pulverizing attack last year, finishing third on the team with 57 goals and 30 assists. She felt the pain of her team blowing a second-half lead in last year’s state championship game loss to Garnet Valley. Turns out that pain was nowhere near the one Growney felt in her ACL, sidelining her for all of this season.
“There were little moments I thought I’d be able to go out,” Growney said. “Once I realized playing wasn’t happening, I changed my whole attitude on how this season was going to go. I made it important to stay positive and try to help this team in every way. Even though I’m not a main contributor, I wanted to help them off the field with all the little things. I had my ups and downs, but I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
As Conestoga hoisted the PIAA championship trophy after a dominant 18-7 victory over Radnor Saturday morning, many of Growney’s teammates pushed her to be in the center of the moment. They wanted Growney to celebrate with a trophy she helped earn. Liz Scott was the first to hug Growney the moment Conestoga sealed its state championship fate. Not known for shedding tears, Scott was close to breaking down after seeing all Growney went through in her rehab this season. She wanted to win that title for her classmate, teammate and friend.
“Every time I stepped on that field, I played for Scottie,” Scott said. “Scottie is one of the most passionate people on this team. She is a leader and the glue to what keeps us together. We were going to play for her. If I could have, I would have worn her number out there today. She deserves this more than anyone.”
Conestoga head coach Amy Orcutt couldn’t stop smiling once the final horn sounded. That enormous smile somehow got bigger once she presented Growney with her state championship gold medal. It was one of many moments Orcutt will never forget on the pinnacle of her seven year tenure at Conestoga.
“That was a real emotional moment for me,” Orcutt said. “Scottie won one of my coaches awards this year. She has been at every single practice from warming up goalies to working with Liz on the draw. She’s been another coach for us. It’s been great for her and all the other girls who were injured to win this title. We played for her and Maddi Little, another one out with a season-ending injury. That’s what made this title extra special, not just for the girls on the field but the ones off it too. They all found a way to contribute.”

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WEST GOSHEN >> Soaked by a cooler of water after a stressful afternoon on West Chester East’s baking turf, Springfield boys lacrosse coach Tom Lemieux received a long line of joyous, blue-clad fans with hugs and high fives Saturday. Joining that crowd was one of the people most attuned to the emotions swirling in Lemieux’s head. John Begier, who made the trip first and foremost to see his daughter’s Radnor team contest a state final in the front half of the doubleheader, stuck around for the boys game, waiting to see who would succeed his Radnor Raiders as state champions.

And when the final whistle blew, handing Springfield a 4-3 win over La Salle, Begier was among those ecstatic for Lemieux and the Cougars. Saturday’s finals were monumental for the PIAA, not just for the raucous crowd drawn by four eastern teams — get this — playing at an eastern Pennsylvania venue, or for the first crowns won by the Springfield boys and Conestoga girls since the PIAA started sanctioning the sport in the 2008-09 academic year. They mark the end of an era, with the football-driven glut of class expansion doubling the number of champions next season via Class AA and AAA tournaments.

But this postseason represents the height of another era, one of Central League domination. And a switch to two classifications may not dampen that. The girls competition has basically been the Central League final, part two, for nearly a decade. Only one team not hailing from the league (Downingtown East in 2011) has made a state final. All eight titles, led by Garnet Valley’s four, have been monopolized by Central League schools.

Click HERE to read the full article.

The Springfield boys lacrosse team poses with its PIAA Championship trophy after Saturday’s 4-3 win over La Salle. The Cougars are the third straight team from Delco to claim a state title. (Digital First Media/Pete Bannan)

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WEST GOSHEN >>  Liz Scott made a simple statement one year and five days ago.
“We’ll be back,” she said, after a devasting loss in the state final. “We need to give it 110 percent, but I know we will back here next year and we’ll win it.”
Scott and the Pioneers lived up to that promise.
Thanks to eight different scorers — and a key 10-1 run — Conestoga rolled past District 1 champion Radnor, 18-7, Saturday at West Chester East, to bring home the first girls lacrosse state title in school history and avenge last year’s 14-10 loss to Garnet Valley.
“I’m speechless,” Scott said with what seemed like a permanent smile. “We have been thinking about this game for 371 days. That’s how long it’s been and every single day leading up to this we have been working for this moment. This is incredible. I will never forget this feeling and what our team accomplished. We made history today.”
The fifth seed from District 1 hit the ground running at Zimmerman Stadium for an unusually early 10 a.m. start time. Three minutes into the contest, senior attacker Paige Loose put the Pioneers (24-1) on the board when she buried a free-position shot low left.
After holding Radnor (20-7) on the defensive end, Conestoga’s Monica Borzillo wheeled around the net and deposited her first goal of the game. It was just the beginning of the senior’s monster day. The University of Cincinnati-bound attacker finished with a game-high four goals and eight assists.
“We knew we weren’t losing today,” Borzillo said. “Last year I thought we were a little bit nervous and we made a lot of mistakes, but today we were ready. Radnor is an amazing team and we knew we had to play our best game of the season and we did that. We played our style of lacrosse and everyone played a key part in today’s win. For us seniors, we knew this was our last game ever so we wanted to give it everything we had.”
The Red Raiders responded quickly. Back to back free-position goals from Katie and Fallon Quinn helped the District 1 champions tie the affair at 2-2.
“This team fought all year,” said Radnor head coach Brooke Fritz said. “They have been a resilient bunch that never gave up once this season and that didn’t change today.”
From that point on it was all Conestoga. Two goals by Amelia Kienzle, along with scores from Loose, Borzillo, Liz Scott, Maggie Gladden, Hannah Ashton and Rilee Scott opened the floodgates and helped the Pioneers grab a commanding 10-3 lead at the half.
“Our motto has been ‘razor sharp focus’ all season long,” Liz Scott said. “We kept saying that every two minutes out there one the field. We were able to stay razor sharp focus today and that’s what helped us pull away with the win.”
Another key reason the Central League champions were able to establish the comfortable advantage was due to goalie Jules Horning. The senior netminder turned away 13 shots, including six impressive saves in the first half.

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MALVERN >> Whatever explanation there was for Council Rock North using its No. 3 hitter to bunt two runners over in the sixth inning, with Ricky Collings and Marple Newtown holding a three-run lead, doesn’t matter at this point. The game is over. Marple Newtown, the No. 5 seed out of District One, dealt the district’s runner-up a 3-1 defeat in the quarterfinal round of the PIAA Class AAAA tournament Thursday at Immaculata University. MN will meet District Seven second-place finisher Plum High in the semifinals Monday at a time and site to be determined.

The Tigers (20-7) won because Collings pitched a complete-game gem. They won because designated hitter Brian Reynolds raked. They won because they grinded out at-bats and knocked starter Gavin Ferrandino out of the game after three innings. And they won because of defense, like the nice snag first baseman Corey Woodcock made while leaning over the guardrail in foul territory, or the nifty, barehanded grab Collings made as he covered first base for a not-so-routine 3-1 putout. But, boy, did Council Rock North not do itself any favors. Let’s take you back to the bottom of the sixth, which included one of the most mind-boggling plays you’ll see in a baseball game, considering the circumstances.

Leadoff hitter Cavan Tully singled to right and Jackson Parker worked a five-pitch walk. Next up was Matt Hand, who singled in his previous at-bat and hit a deep fly ball in his first plate appearance. He’s probably one of the best hitters on the club, otherwise he wouldn’t be in the three-spot. But Hand gave one of six remaining outs away with a sacrifice bunt. Collings, who fields his position wonderfully, fired to first for the first out. The runners advanced, but the chances of Collings getting out of trouble increased … thanks to the bunt.

“It definitely helps me out a lot when I know they’re not going to swing the bat. You got a sure out,” Collings said.

Click HERE to read the full article.

Marple Newtown pitcher Ricky Collings slides into second base with a steal Thursday during the Tigers’ 3-1 win over Council Rock North in the PIAA Class AAAA quarterfinals. (Digital First Media/Pete Bannan)

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MIDDLETOWN >> Dazed and spent, Noah Frantz could scarcely find the words when Strath Haven coach Jef Hewlings approached him Tuesday night. As Frantz sat dejectedly on the bench at Penncrest, staring blankly out on the field where his Panthers had surrendered an 8-5 decision to Springfield in the PIAA semifinals, Hewlings had to pass along a message to his long-stick midfielder. What Frantz and the five other seniors had contributed to the Panthers, Hewlings told him, would not die on the field Tuesday. It would extend long after those players had matriculated from Haven.

That may have seemed hollow consolation after a 5-3 lead 12 seconds into the second half evaporated as Springfield rattled off five straight goals to book a spot in Saturday’s state final against La Salle. But the laundry list of firsts racked up by the Panthers (19-7) will endure. They clinched a share of the Central League title for the first time in program history. They earned the program’s first berth in the state tournament since the PIAA assumed control of the sport in 2008.

Or, as Frantz eloquently put it:

“It’s pretty remarkable how far we’ve come from my freshman year being the 28th or 27th seed in districts to (this year) going in and playing the 27th seed,” he said. “I think the program has never won a second playoff game after the first, and we won five to where we’ve gotten, being a state semifinalist.”

This senior class, Hewlings acknowledged, has bequeathed perennial expectations to the next generations, especially when the lacrosse field splits to two classes next year, with both the Panthers and Cougars landing in the small-school grouping.

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Strath Haven’s Noah Frantz.

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