Turnovers hurt Germantown Academy in loss to Episcopal Academy

WHITEMARSH >> The Germantown Academy boys lacrosse team couldn’t keep hold of the ball and that meant the Patriots couldn’t keep up with Episcopal Academy.

Turnovers hampered the Patriots on cold and dreary Thursday afternoon at Carey Stadium and when the visiting Churchmen grabbed the lead late the first quarter, they never relinquished it, creating some distance in the second half to earn a 10-6 Inter-Ac victory.

“I think issue more so than us playing offense against their defense was us clearing the ball, getting the ball to our offense,” GA second-year coach Billy McKinney said. “We turned the ball way too many times today, which kind of swung the momentum at times and also afforded them to have more possessions, which in the end killed us.”

BOYS #LACROSSE: @EA_Athletics’ Chris McCoun rips in a shot off a pass from Nick Bates 3Q vs. Germantown Academy. pic.twitter.com/5ZdQGPiDyr

— Mike Cabrey (@mpcabrey) April 20, 2018

Gunnar Bogorowski gave Germantown Academy its only lead, the junior scoring the game’s first goal off a Bruce Henry assist at 8:26 in the opening quarter. But Episcopal collected the next three goals and five of the last six in the first half — Nick Bates’ tally at 48 seconds after a GA turnover to make it 5-2 at the break.

“We had just turned it over and Chris McCoun had a great ride, got it back and then Charlie (Cunniffe) assisted me,” Bates said. “Just lucky enough to get it in.”

The Patriots pulled within two twice in the third quarter — the last time at 6-5 — but another three-goal run by the Churchman extended their advantage to 9-4 after Gabe Furey’s strike at 11:10 in the fourth.

“I think we did a good job stopping their offense but unfortunately they were able to score goals in transition,” McKinney said. “Which goes back to our failure to clear the ball.”

Furey had three goals, McCoun added a pair of goals while Bates and Cunniffe both finished with two goals and three assists as Episcopal (4-3, 2-0 league) won its third straight after starting the season 1-3.

“I think we stuck to the game plan offensively,” Bates said. “They’re going to short Gabe and Charlie all day so we did what we knew we had to do with that.”

Bogorowski paced Germantown Academy (4-4, 1-1) with two goals and also handed out an assist.

“When we actually got to play 6-on-6, I thought we generated some good opportunities,” McKinney said. “I think the issue with us is we didn’t get to play offense enough.”

BOYS #LACROSSE: @GAPatriots’ Noah Spratt with a nice pass to Gunnar Bogorowski, who rips a shot into the back of the net 3Q vs. Episcopal Academy. pic.twitter.com/APO45ScO9M

— Mike Cabrey (@mpcabrey) April 20, 2018

GA looks to end a two-game skid Tuesday when it hosts Southern Lehigh. The Patriots return to Inter-Ac play hosting Malvern Prep Thursday.

“Year Two, they’re doing a great job,” McKinney said. “They’re young, they’re learning. Some kids that didn’t play much are stepping up and doing great things for us. So overall, I’m excited with the progression of the group.”

Episcopal Academy next plays Thursday, visiting Penn Charter for a league contest.

“We feel good,” Bates said. “We had the big win against Malvern, 2-0 in the league right now, so we got momentum.”

After Bogorowski gave GA a 1-0 Cunniffe assisted on pair of goals — first to Bates at 5:03 then to Rowan Brumbaugh at 3:26 — as the Churchmen ended the first quarter up 2-1.

A Furey goal put the lead at 3-1 at 10:27 in the second quarter before Kerway Tsai’s strike pulled GA within a goal with 5:51 left in the half. Episcopal, however, scored 48 seconds later — Cunniffe finding the back of the net off a Brumbaugh assist — while Bates’ goal in the final minute had EA up 5-2 at intermission.

Bogorowski collected his second goal of the afternoon thanks to a Noah Spratt assist to make it 5-3 at 6:43 in the third. Cunniffe put the Churchman back up three before Bogorowski found long stick midfielder Jack McHugh to cut the margin to 6-4 at 4:14. But McCann proceeded to score the third’s final two goals, his second with just 4.6 seconds left in the quarter for an 8-4 EA lead.

A Furey goal at 11:10 in the fourth gave Episcopal its largest advantage at 9-4 and from there the closest GA could get was four.