Hewitt, Conestoga get payback on Garnet Valley in district final

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WEST CHESTER — The last time Garnet Valley and Conestoga met, PJ Hewitt couldn’t have been more displeased with the start.

Within the game’s first 10 seconds on April 23, Hewitt lost a faceoff and chased as Garnet Valley faceoff man Adam Oldrati drove and scored. Conestoga would rally to win that game, but Hewitt wouldn’t easily shake the memory.

“That’s something that definitely stuck with me,” he said Thursday. “So coming into this game, I had a little more fire in me, and I worked with the backup, Ian Kim, and he helped me a lot in preparation for this game. He did his job, and we did ours.”

This time, Hewitt set the tone, going 11-for-15 at the X and helping the Pioneers’ rock-solid defense hold Garnet Valley to one second-half goal in a 7-6 victory in the District 1 Class 3A final.

The second-seeded Pioneers (18-3) avenged last year’s district final, when Garnet Valley (17-4) pulled a 5-4 upset. Not that that was on the minds of anyone …

“Everyone that was on the team last year was crushed,” defender Scott Smith said. “Once we found out we were playing Garnet, we were locked in at practice the day before. Everyone was locked in on the bus and came ready to play.”

Smith’s goal put Conestoga ahead for good. Garnet Valley led 5-4 at the half, after blanking Conestoga in the second quarter. But the Pioneers reciprocated with a goose egg in the third. Will Schnorr tied the game in transition off a feed from Julian Grove at 7:56 of the third, then Smith roared down the field and planted a shot past Nick Van Horn with 3:57 left to put Conestoga up, 6-5.

Given the abundance of talent the Pioneers have in the backfield and the relative youth up front around Schnorr, it’s no surprise to see Smith scoring a big goal. It’s slightly odder to see he and fellow pole Mike Prestipino taking turns on man-up situations.

Garnet Valley’s Adam Oldrati, left, and Conestoga’s PJ Hewitt battle for a faceoff Thursday. Hewitt went 11-for-15 on draws in a 7-6 Conestoga win in the District 1 Class 3A final Thursday. (Bill Rudick/For Digital First Media)

“I love being on man-up,” Smith said. “Ever since (assistant coach John Bickel) put me on it, I’ve really enjoyed the role. And every time there’s a flag thrown, I get excited.”

Then there’s the small matter of defensive matchups, which the Pioneers aren’t bad at either. With Smith and Prestipino, both juniors who’ve contributed since their freshman years, plus senior captain Michael Jameison and blossoming senior long-stick midfielder Jake Bouhdary, they present one of the best defensive contingents in the state.

Garnet Valley’s potent offense is predicated on a variety of guys who can beat their marks on any play. But when four of them have to wage individual battles against defenders of such talent, it becomes the kind of taut struggle that Thursday’s second-half devolved into.

Garnet Valley was limited to 17 shots, compared to 38 for the Pioneers. That wasn’t a problem in the first half, when five of their six shots whistled untouched past Conestoga goalie Mick Lee. But when Lee circled the wagons to make five saves in the second half and the Jags had to play from behind, scarcity of opportunities became an issue.

“We just try to create offense,” said Sean Shoemaker, who scored in the fourth quarter to get the Jags within 7-6. “We’ve got eight guys we think can beat people. We didn’t do a great job today, but it’s all about moving the ball. We want to be a team offense.”

Both offenses started alarmingly (and unsustainably) fast: The first quarter brought six goals; the last three produced just seven combined. Conestoga’s four first-half goals came within a 2-minute, 43-second stretch. Part of the outburst stemmed from Garnet Valley’s unsure handling of Schnorr, Conestoga’s 6-7 main threat who finished with two goals and an assist. The Jags sent a variety of man-marks his way, both poles and short-stick middies, and the lack of comfort with the tactic showed.

“When I was locking him off, I had to look up to him,” defender Sam Morin said. “I couldn’t really see his eyes. I was at his jersey level, and I just kind of got into him and tried to stay as close as possible. We tried that, and the communication was hard.”

Garnet Valley found an answer, though. Van Horn was stellar, making seven saves in the first half and 13 for the game. Offensively, Jake Morin scored with 39 seconds left in the first quarter to get the Jags within 4-2, despite an uncharacteristically ragged opening frame. Max Busenkell, one of two Jags defended by Stoga’s short-sticks, dished feeds to Mitch Lachman and Jake Morin 36 seconds apart to get the Jags even, and Hunter Baar’s second goal put Garnet up with 1:40 to play.

But that would be all the offense for the next 23 minutes. Late on, with the Jags surging frantically for a goal, one possession ended with Prestipino checking the ball away from Jake Morin. Another fizzled with an errant pass, the Jags trying to be too fine in the face of Stoga’s suffocating defense.

“Our defense has tons of talent, and there’s no drop-off,” Smith said. “There’s so many kids who are on the bench who could play easily but they’re on the bench supporting each other, supporting the guys on the field, and I think that’s a huge contribution to our team this year.”

That leaves the Jaguars five days to recover before Tuesday’s states opener. And the plan is clear.

“We have motivation,” Sam Morin said. “We want a state championship. We’ve never had one. … We want to be the first Garnet Valley boys lacrosse team to win a state championship.”

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Matthew De George

Matthew De George
Matthew De George is the Asst. Sports Editor and the lead Union writer for The Daily Times.

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