Malvern Prep overwhelms Germantown Academy
WHITEMARSH — After Thursday’s Germantown Academy-Malvern Prep lacrosse game, both coaches were displeased.
One coach ticked off is understandable — his team just lost.
But after the Friars overwhelmed the Patriots, 12-3, Malvern head coach John McEvoy was no happier than GA head man Brian Grady.
“I know it sounds bad to be sour after a nine-goal win, but I thought we were pretty damn sloppy,’ McEvoy said. “We turned the ball over about 20 times.
“We started off pretty strong, we jumped on them. But after that I felt we got a little complacent.’
To be sure, the Friars got off to a flying start, with Mike Fay’s two goals and an assist and Billy Coyle’s three assists propelling the visitors to a 5-0, first-quarter lead.
GA’s Jimmy McAfee cut into that lead with four seconds left in the quarter, but Malvern set about extending its lead, with goals by Scottie White and Coyle stretching the lead to 7-1 by halftime.
“(Malvern) came in here with a record (7-7) that’s not indicative of how good they are,’ Grady said. “We knew that, but we were not ready to play from the opening whistle.
“And Malvern is a team that’s going to make you pay for your mistakes.’
In a contest played in high winds and frigid temperatures, both sides committed enough miscues to force a second page in the stat book, but the Friars executed more than enough times to win going away.
“I’m an offensive coach, so I like it when we move the ball, and we did move it pretty well most of the time,’ McEvoy said. “That’s why it confounds me when we’re not able to do that.’
Things didn’t improve much for the Patriots, either.
They got a man-up goal from McAfee to cut the deficit to 8-2 midway through the third quarter, but Malvern restored its seven-goal cushion by period’s end, then piled on more tallies in the final stanza.
“We wanted to try and possess the ball,’ Grady said, “but that’s not something we were able to do.
“Defensively, we tried man-to-man and mixed in some zone. But we didn’t execute much at all today.’
By game’s end, neither side was ready for a celebratory dance. Although considering the extreme temperatures, it might have helped.
“We’re 7-7, with a lot of guys out for the year,’ McEvoy said. “We have two, three weeks left in the season. We have to find a way to ignite our guys.’
“All we can do,’ Grady said, “is just keep working at it.’
ENDLINES: Coyle paced the Friars’ attack with two goals and four assists, while Fay had three goals and an assist and Adam Goldner had two goals and two assists. … GA got two goals from McAfee and one from Justin Connors. James Diver and Ed Tamasitis added assists. … Malvern outshot GA, 29-19. … GA goaltenders Ian Davies and Leroy Moser combined for nine saves. Malvern goaltender James Rodgers had seven stops.
