Shanahan cruises past Council Rock South in first round
DOWNINGTOWN >> It remains to be seen if the Bishop Shahanan boys can make a legitimate run at the District 1 lacrosse crown. But following the Eagles’ 17-1 first round throttling of visiting Council Rock South on Tuesday, there is no doubt head coach Jon Heisman and star attacker Alex Wagner expect nothing less.
“Moving on to the state tournament would definitely be an accomplishment but if we don’t win something, it would be a downer,” said Wagner, who scored four goals.
“Our first goal was to win four Ches-Mont titles in a row,” Heisman added. “That didn’t happen. Now our goal is to win the districts. We haven’t done that with this group, so that is a big carrot.
“We’ve played against the top dogs. We had a couple tough losses to Garnet Valley and Avon Grove, and both of those games could have gone either way.”
Seeded fourth, Shanahan (15-2) moves on to round two on Thursday to play No. 20 Central Bucks West, which upset No. 13 West Chester Henderson in round one.
“You always have to be on guard no matter who you play,” Heisman warned. “We saw C.B. West earlier this season against (West Chester) Rustin and a few other times.
“I remember about 10-12 years ago when I was coaching at West Chester East, we went in as a 22-seed against Radnor, and upset them.”
For the No. 29 Golden Hawks (12-7 overall), it was a disappointing end to a great season that included a Suburban One National title.
“This is the first time we’ve won our league, so this was our first playoff game ever,” said C.B. South head coach Paul McGovern. “I think on a different night, we could have given them a little more of a game. But hats off to Shanahan — they are very, very good.”
Wagner and fellow senior Eli Goforth led the way with four goals apiece for a Shanahan attack that was dynamic all evening. Sam Goforth and Connor Heisman each added two goals for the quick and skilled Eagles.
“We have everything clicking right now. We have a good group that’s been together for a long time and we are looking to make a deep run in the districts,” Heisman said.
“(Shanahan) moves the ball faster than any team we’ve seen this season,” McGovern added. “They have a lot of skill and they finish strong. That’s a deadly combination.”
Shanahan got off to a terrific start, taking a 5-0 lead into the second period and going on to score the game’s first seven goals. And the situation would have been much worse for the Hawks if it wasn’t for goaltender Adam Reifer, who was sharp, particularly on shots in the upper half of the cage.
“He got a lot of saves up top, so we decided to stick them low,” Wagner explained.
Council Rock South avoided the shutout bid on a second quarter goal by defender Dom Schlupp, but Shanahan finished the half with four more tallies to make it 11-1 at the intermission.
“It was a good team performance, and we are ready to move on,” Wagner said.
“We are looking good on the attack. It’s later in the season and we’re progressing. A lot of us have played since we were younger and it seems like we are peaking at the right time.”
For Heisman, however, the bright spot this season has been the defense, starting with senior goaltender Jason Yoquinto.
“They’ve been outstanding, with Jason in the goal,” Heisman said. “He’s a superstar, but our young defenders have matured throughout the year and we are very happy with them.”
It was difficult to judge the defense on Tuesday, however, because Shanahan dominated so thoroughly and C.R. South had precious few possessions. And even though Wagner acknowledges that bigger tests await, he is confident with the squad’s back end.
“We’ll see later in the playoffs if they are ready for the big-time, but I think they are,” he said.
Bishop Shanahan 17, Council Rock South 1
Council Rock South 0 1 0 0 — 1
Bishop Shanahan 5 6 4 2 — 17
C.R. South goals: Schlupp.
B. Shanahan goals: Wagner 4, Bathon, S. Goforth 2, Riccardo, Pollick, E. Goforth 4, Heisman 2, Gucwa, Smith.
Goalie saves: Reifer (CRS) 8. Yoquinto (BS) 3.
