Conestoga slips past Avon Grove and into District 1 semifinals

TREDYFFRIN >> Two of the better boys’ lacrosse programs in the state met up in the postseason once again on Saturday.

Conestoga and Avon Grove headed into the District 1 Class 3A quarterfinals with high-octane attacks, but a classic defensive battle ensued at Teamer Field. The host Pioneers managed to score just half of their usual output, but still escaped with a 5-4 decision that wasn’t decided until the final seconds.

“It was a hard, grinding game,” said Conestoga junior attacker Brendan Murphy. “Every time we play Avon Grove, it’s a battle. I can’t remember one game where it wasn’t close. They always come to play.”

The second-seeded Pioneers improve to 16-3 overall and advance to host No. 6 Radnor in the district semifinals on Tuesday at 4 p.m. And in the process, Conestoga secures a spot in the upcoming PIAA Tournament.

“We’re automatically in states now, so we are over that first hurdle,” Murphy said. “Our next goal now is to win the district and then go on and win the state title.”

It was the lowest scoring output of the season for the Red Devils (12-5 overall), who averaged nearly 12 goals an outing in the regular season. Seeded seventh, Avon Grove drops into the playbacks, needing a win Tuesday at home against Upper Dublin to earn a state berth. 

“Now it’s win-or-go-home,” said Devils’ head coach Eric Jackson. “Our guys understand that.”

Trailing 5-3 with less than a minute on the clock, Avon Grove staged a frantic comeback that came within inches of sending it into overtime. First, junior midfielder Jackson Muller scored on a breakaway to cut the lead in half with 45 seconds to go. And then, with just three seconds remaining, senior Zach Augustine uncorked a shot that hit off the nearside post and bounced harmlessly away.

“This has developed naturally into a rivalry,” said Pioneers’ head coach Brody Bush.” Eric (Jackson) informed me that his team had never actually played a game on this field. I was shocked at that.”

That’s because the ’Stoga and the Devils have frequently collided in the postseason. In 2017, for instance, Avon Grove nipped the Pioneers in double overtime to win the state crown.

“The guys back from a few seasons ago were upset we lost to (Avon Grove) in the state final, and I think they were out for some revenge,” Bush said. “But we did graduate 20 guys from last year, so this is a young team.” 

Sophomore midfielder Joey Allen was still in middle school in 2017, but he acknowledged that it provided some incentive on Saturday.

“Two years ago for the state championship, (Avon Grove) beat us in overtime,” he said. “I wasn’t a member of the team back then but it still hit me. To beat them here means a lot.”

The score was knotted three times in the first three quarters, but Conestoga quickly took command by scoring twice in the span of 11 seconds early in the fourth.

Murphy notched his second goal of the day on a powerful move from behind the cage at the 8:50 mark, and then Allen scored his second goal almost immediately following a faceoff win after taking a pass from Murphy. That set the stage for the finish.

“In a low scoring game even little things matter,” Jackson said.

“It’s a game of runs,” Bush added. “We were able to prevent (Avon Grove) from getting a run, and I think that was our only two-goal run.”

Down 1-0 through one quarter, the Pioneers tied it when Murphy took advantage of a six-on-four advantage, and a few minutes later, Scott Smith made it 2-1 with a one-up goal. 

The Devils never led again, but did get a late first half goal by Mike Russo to make it 2-2, and added a goal by Augustine with 14 seconds remaining in the third quarter to make it 3-3. 

“That was a defensive battle,” Jackson said. “(Conestoga) is a great team.

“I told my guys that I was proud of them. They battled hard with a great opponent. If we can do that consistently against everybody, we’ll be OK.”

Both goalkeepers played well, but Avon Grove’s Zac Hanway turned aside a dozen shots and kept his team in contention.

“Hanway has been great all season for us,” Jackson said.

The Pioneers limited the Devils to just nine shots on goal, and keeper Mick Lee stopped six.

“Both teams played great defense,” Bush said. “(Avon Grove’s long stick defender James) Chastain is a great player and we knew it would be a battle going against players like that.”

It was also a battle within a battle on face offs between the Devils’ Colby Riddell and ’Stoga’s P.J. Hewitt. Riddell helped give Avon Grove a slight edge, but the Pioneers’ Ian Kim came in and won a huge draw after the lead was cut to 5-4.

“Avon Grove kept attacking our offense,” Allen said. “We would run our plays and they would get messed up and we had to fight through the adversity.”

With two goals and an assist, Murphy had a hand in three Conestoga goals. But afterwards he admitted that there was very little room to maneuver for offensive players on either side.

“I think we have one of the best defensive units in the state and (Avon Grove’s) was amazing too,” he said. “Each offense had a hard time and that shows how good the defenses were.”

Conestoga 5, Avon Grove 4

Avon Grove 1 1 1 1 – 4

Conestoga 0 2 1 2 – 5

Avon Grove goals: Muller, Augustine, Russo, Chastain.

Conestoga goals: Murphy 2, Allen 2, Smith.

Goalie saves: Hanway (AG) 12, Lee (C) 6.