Burke ‘honored’ to carry on Taviano’s legacy in inaugural 10VE Cup

CONCORD – Gavin Burke didn’t know Kip Taviano personally. But he knew at the beginning of the Haverford School lacrosse season, when his team elected him as the senior worthy of wearing the late Taviano’s No. 10, that it was a special responsibility. He’d seen friends and teammates earn that distinction, and he knew what it meant to be the next to carry the torch.

“It’s a huge honor to wear 10, especially in a game like this,” Burke said Tuesday, “honoring him and being chosen to wear that number.”

It’s only fitting that Burke did what he usually does best, setting the tone, in a game that seeks to make Taviano’s legacy even more of a fixture in the lacrosse calendar.

Burke scored a first-quarter goal and keyed a dogged defensive effort as Taviano’s alma mater Haverford beat previously unbeaten Garnet Valley, the school district in which he lived, 18-7 in the inaugural 10ve Cup.

The Taviano family, bridging two of the most visible sections of the local lacrosse community, have been ever-present since Taviano died in a car accident in May 2013, a week shy of his graduation from Haverford School and with a lacrosse future at Furman awaiting. The hashtag #10ve (as in “love”) has been omnipresent on helmets and gear for years, among those that knew Kip and those who knew of him, at Haverford, Garnet Valley and way beyond. It adorns a field at Brandywine Youth Club and has been attached to all manner of clinics, community days and charitable events.

And now, it’s only fitting that it’ll be memorialized in an annual game between GV and Haverford School, with the dedication sealed Tuesday with parents Ellen and Jim and Kip’s sisters, Emma and Maggie, in attendance.

Burke is the latest to wear No. 10 for the Fords, a new tradition reserved for a player who embodies the hard work and unsung qualities that Taviano displayed. The defensive midfielder, who will attend Villanova next year, showed it early, causing a turnover in midfield, dodging the checks of several defenders and then firing home a goal when the defense elected not to mark him.

That goal made it 3-0, part of an explosive outburst from the Fords (9-3). After being held down in their last outing, a 5-4 victory over rival Malvern Prep last Friday, the Fords broke free for 16 goals in three quarter before pulling back.

Garno from McBride (ya wanna cover Garno on the slot). 7-3 Haverford. pic.twitter.com/J0P0O65Cv9

— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) April 17, 2019

The midfield got it going. Peter Garno scored four times, Mac Costin lit the lamp twice and Geordie Holmes added a goal and an assist. The ball movement that resulted got the Fords’ two key attackmen, Adam Salvaggio (three goals, assist) and Brennan McBride (goal, four assists), firing, and the torrid pace forced Garnet Valley out of its comfort zone.

“We have our midfield really playing fast this year,” Burke said. “We have a lot of guys who can play fast and play hard and run around. So it’s been a lot of fun playing as hard as we can and playing fast and trying to get a lot of goals in the back of the net.”

The timing part was just as important. The Fords scored in the first minute of each of the first three frames. They held a 5-1 edge in the final minute of quarters, including goals by Jack Leary and McBride to end the first half after Max Busenkell had cut the deficit to 7-4. Instead, the Fords led by five at the break and ran away in the third with seven goals, outshooting GV 16-2 in the quarter.

The Fords also dominated the X, thanks to the rotation of Bobby Blewett and Chris Tsetsekos to overwhelm Garnet’s Adam Oldrati. Blewett, who added a goal, went 11-for-17 on draws, while Tsetsekos shook a slow start to go 7-for-12.

“We have a situation where if one guy’s not playing as great as he can, the next guy comes in and steps in,” Burke said. “Bobby played great today, and Chris came back today and played great.”

Busenkell led Garnet Valley’s attack with three goals, but the Jaguars (8-1) couldn’t sustain in a nonleague measuring stick game.

“We knew it was going to be a hard battle, but we’ve just got to move forward,” said Mitch Lachman, who added an assist. “The worst thing we could do is keep our heads down and not play hard the rest of the season.”

For Burke and so many of the players wearing t-shirts with Taviano’s No. 10 on them, Tuesday’s game was about more than the final score.

“People that don’t even know Kip are celebrating him,” Burke said. “We saw what he did at Haverford and the community that he helped raise. It’s awesome to play for him and be part of something bigger than yourself.”

In other nonleague action:

Marple Newtown 12, Central Bucks South 5 >> Marlon Weathers scored three of his game-high four goals in the first quarter as the Tigers led 7-1 after 12 minutes and never looked back. Weathers added an assist.

Luke Jelus paired three goals with a helper, Colin Ferry had two goals and an assist and Liam Ferry and Dominic Mandell combined to turn aside nine shots for the Tigers (5-6).

Penncrest 12, Archbishop Carroll 2 >> Robbie McDonnell, TJ Sims and Jason Poole scored two goals each, and Ryan Matsinger added a goal to a 12-for-18 day at the X as the Lions (6-4) shut Carroll out in the first half. Brennan Kaut added a goal and two assists.

Springfield 10, Lindenhurst 4 >> Liam DiFonzo (three assists), Jack Spence (assist), Jack Clark and Aidan Shandley scored two goals apiece as the Cougars (9-1) spread around the offense and stifled the hosts from New York on the defensive end.

In the Pac-10:

Interboro 9, Methacton 8 >> Nick Mormando scored five goals to go with an assist, Konnor Oreskovich added two goals and Mikey Brown paired a goal with two assists as the Bucks (5-4, 2-3) fended off the Warriors’ late push.