Drew Merschel leads Conestoga to second-half surge past Strath Haven

NETHER PROVIDENCE — It was tied after one quarter and knotted at the half when coach Brody Bush had a heart-to-heart talk with the Conestoga lacrosse team on a deceptively cold Thursday evening at King Field.

Inspired by his words and body language the Pioneers exploded for three goals in 84 seconds early in the third quarter, senior Drew Merschel netting a pair to secure a 7-2 Central League victory over Strath Haven.

“We just told them, ‘Look, every Central League game is a dogfight,’” Bush said. “And we told the seniors that we needed them to step up so the younger guys would follow them, and they did. It’s a game of momentum. And our defense did a fantastic job. Holding a team to two goals is a really good job.”

Bush praised goalie Mikey Johnson, who had two saves yet distributed the ball efficiently to teammates, as well as faceoff man Holt McGinn, who won the bulk of his battles with Big Ben Farabaugh.

Merschel (6-2, 210) scored four goals, including three in the second half burst to power the Pioneers (6-1, 2-0), who boast one of the bigger lineups in the league. Wade Beckstrom added two goals for Conestoga, which never trailed.

“I would say we did come out sluggish, but the coaches talked to us and in the second half we really brought the energy,” Merschel said. “We played great offense there and we have great defense and that really helped us. I just kind of found the defenders were pushing out a lot. When I see that I just kind of had muscle memory of just ducking my guy and going low and shooting. They have a great goalie. I got the best of him today.”

Austin Conner, the twin of Panthers’ girls lacrosse star Laura Conner, and Tate Gorman scored goals for Strath Haven (3-2, 1-1).

Panthers goalie Charles Bogert registered seven saves in the first half, most of those dazzling, and finished with a dozen stops. Bogert robbed Merschel on back-to-back blasts in the crease, one on a rebound.

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