Council Rock North survives physical Pennsbury
NEWTOWN — Pennsbury brought just about all it had to Council Rock North Friday afternoon, April 24.
Behind a great goaltender, ball possession offense and a strong effort by the defense, the Falcons hung tough with the talented Indians for much of the 48-minute affair.
When it comes down to winning, though, goals make the difference, and while the Falcons controlled much of the action on the CR North side of the field, scoring was hard to come by. The result was a 7-3 home victory for the Indians that kept them firmly in position for second place in the Suburban One League (SOL) National Conference standings.
“We had a few mental collapses, but we were able to maintain,’ CR North defenseman Austin Le said of the win.
Indeed, the Indians largely controlled play despite the Pennsbury effort, as they never allowed the Falcons to get closer than one goal after jumping out to a 2-0 advantage. Several long Pennsbury possessions wound up ending in ground balls or giveaways, while others led to tough shots, with defenders in position, that were snared by Indians senior goalie Brett McDonald.
“It’s not frustrating because I know they went out and played with a lot of heart,’ Falcons coach Drew Artin said. “We didn’t quit through this game.’
An assistant last year for Pennsbury, Artin took over the head coaching role this spring and has been faced with some challenges. Though several of his top players in Matt Anderson and Jared Petty are seniors, the core of the Falcons is young. Further, the execution of what the coaching staff is attempting to do on the field isn’t always correct, so growing pains could continue for a while.However, should things fall into place, the potential for future success is more than there. There is a strong junior class headlined by attacker Zach Abraham and midfielders Mike Montgomery, Hunter Lake and Greg Lichenstein, the last of whom is also the top face-off man. The goalie spot could also be set for the next three season thanks to Abraham’s younger brother, Ben, who came up through the Lower Bucks Lacrosse organization and quickly emerged as this season’s starter.He backed up the defense with 10 saves against CR North, including several very difficult ones.
Pennsbury, however, has struggled at times defensively, as seven teams have cracked double digits in terms of goals against it. So far, the Falcons are yielding an average on 11 per contest.
“Really, I’m just starting to develop,’ Ben Abraham said. “Seeing all these harder shots is helping me develop as a goalie.’
“Coming out a Lower Bucks, I wasn’t expecting to get a starting spot my freshman year,’ he added. “Personally, [my goal is to] become a better player, game by game and play by play, and do the best I can to help the team.’
