Rustin’s Madonna scored twice in final 15 seconds to stun Kennett
KENNETT SQUARE – What type of a lacrosse squad has what it takes to score a game-tying and game-winning goal in the final 15 seconds of regulation of a do-or-die postseason contest?
Certainly a team that somehow found the wherewithal to rebound from a 1-8 season start to get into the playoffs — which is exactly what the West Chester Rustin boys did this spring.
On Tuesday, in the first round of the District 1 3A Playoffs, the Golden Knights got a pair of very late unassisted lasers from junior midfielder Nick Madonna to turn what looked like a season-ending setback into an exhilarating 7-6 victory over Ches-Mont foe Kennett. It was as unlikely a road win as you’ll ever see.
“We’ve had a few instances where we’ve scored a couple pretty quick goals, but under those circumstances? No,” said Rustin head coach Kevin Philibin. “Under the bright lights with the second round on the line, that’s something that is pretty special.”
Largely due to the early season struggles, the Knights were seeded 21st in a tournament field of 24. But just as they refused to give up on the season, they refused to give up against the 12th-seeded Blue Demons.
“The lesson is: never give up,” said Madonna, who wound up with four of his team’s goals as well as an assist.
“We’ve been on a tear the last few weeks,” Philibin added. “The guys have been playing with a lot of confidence and composure.”
Since dropping eight of its first nine outings, Rustin has now reeled off 10 wins in a row. And will take a bunch of momentum into the second round matchup on Thursday against No. 5 Central Bucks West. The two teams played back on March 23rd, with C.B. West eking out a 9-8 win.
“We had a rough start to the season and any momentum was down the drain,” Madonna recalled. “We weren’t together as a team, but then we started to bond and started really communicating, and we’re just feeling it now.”
Kennett’s season ends at 13-6 under first-year head coach Jim Trowbridge, but the Demons will have a strong nucleus of young players returning.
“Our boys played hard and gave it everything they’ve got,” he said. “This is a tough one to swallow.
“Rustin’s a tough team. They are not a 21 seed.”
When the Demons’ Sam Forte notched his third goal of the match with 2:30 left in regulation, it broke a 5-5 deadlock. And then when Rich Hughson won his fifth faceoff of the fourth quarter moments later, things were looking good for Kennett. But the Knights forced a turnover with 1:20 to go, and Madonna scored a man-up goal with 15.1 on the clock to knot the score at 6-6.
And then Jake Spaniak won the ensuing faceoff, and Rustin called a timeout with 9.2 remaining.
“Moving the ball on the man-up and finding the open shot was impressive,” Philibin said. “And then Jake had an absolutely huge ground ball on that last faceoff to get the last possession.
“All season, Nick (Madonna) has picked up the best defender from other teams, so he is kind of used to the moment and has that killer instinct. When we called the timeout, we knew were the ball was going.”
Madonna proceeded to get the ball and immediately move to the center of the field before uncorking a laser that found the back of the net with 3.3 seconds to spare. He had just scored twice in less than 12 seconds with the outcome on the line.
“We knew we only had nine seconds, so we weren’t going to be able to move the ball,” Madonna explained. “We had to make one play and go to the net. My only thought was to go to the goal.
“My heart was ticking like crazy, but I knew that we had to get a goal or go home. I really don’t know how, but we just did it.”
Things went just about like many expected on Tuesday, but who could possibly have predicted the way it ended? It was the second meeting this month between Kennett and Rustin. The Knight won a 10-9 decision in overtime 12 days earlier.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been in a game that crazy at the end,” Madonna admitted. “I’m just happy for our seniors – I wanted to get this one for them.”
Much like the first meeting, it was a defensive battle. In fact, neither team scored until the final three minutes of the first half. The Blue Demons went without a shot on goal through the first 17-plus minutes of play.
Despite being outshot 8-1 at the time, Kennett freshman Jake Freebery opened the scoring with 2:56 to go in the second quarter. But 31 seconds later, Rustin’s Vince Myers knotted it up, and then less than a minute later, Madonna put the Knights in front for the first time.
Forte, however, scored on a nifty move from behind the cage with 16.7 seconds to go to make it 2-2 at the half. Forte, Hughson and Matt Ward keyed a second half run to put Kennett ahead 5-3 with just under 10 minutes to go, but Rustin responded with two goals (by Will Pieggi and Myers) in a 51-second span to tie it again, and set the stage for a wild finish.
“Our defense came up huge and our offensive guys stayed composed and they stuck to the plan, even when things got tight and the ball bounced the other way,” Philibin said.
Just a sophomore, Forte finished with three goals and two assists. And Demons’ senior goaltender, Nick Kienzle, finished with 13 saves and kept Kennett in it.
“Forte is a great player, and Kennett’s goalie (Nick Kienzle) is a great player,” Philibin said.
“Those guys are gamers,” Trowbridge added. “I feel bad for Nick because it was his last game, along with our three defenders. But we get the rest back, so we are young.
“(Long-stick midfielder) Vince (Cresci) basically took (Pileggi) out of the game, and he’s just a sophomore too. We made it so that one of (Rustin’s) other guys had to step up, and (Madonna) did it. He drilled a couple at the end.”
West Chester Rustin 7, Kennett 6
West Chester Rustin 0 2 1 4 — 7
Kennett 0 2 1 3 — 6
West Chester Rustin goals: N. Madonna 4, Pileggi, Myers 2.
Kennett goals: S. Forte 3, Ward, Hughson, Freebery.
Goalie saves: Handy (WCR) 5; Kienzle (K) 13.
