District 1-3A Lacrosse: Perkiomen Valley’s man-up unit helps hold off Upper Dublin
GRATERFORD >> It had not been playing up to the coach’s expectations during the season.
But in Thursday’s District 1 playoff game with Upper Dublin, Perkiomen Valley’s man-up unit rose to the occasion in timely fashion. Their man-advantage prowess helped the No. 3 Vikings outlast the No. 19 Cardinals, 9-6, in a District 1 Class AAA second-round pairing at PV’s Thomas J. Keenan Stadium.
Holding a tenuous 5-4 lead following Steve Pileggi’s second goal of the night at the 7:32 mark of the third quarter, PV (14-2) got the man-up advantage when the Cards were whistled for a slash at 3:19, going down a man for two minutes. The Vikes took advantage of the situation to score twice in a 24-second span, expanding their lead to 7-4 going into the fourth.
That goal cushion went to 9-4 when the hosts got two more scores up to the 5:18 juncture in the game. Though Upper Dublin hit the net twice in the final 3:09, it couldn’t completely close the scoring gap.
“Going into the post-season, our man-up unit was not very good,” PV head coach Bryan Churchey noted. “It may have been the worst we ever had. But the last three days in practice, we focused on consistency, confidence and execution.”
Jack Scaliti, whose hat trick headed PV (14-2), affirmed his coach’s assessment.
“It was not too hot,” the senior attack admitted. “The new plays we put in Wednesday got us into a groove. They were a lot of movement attacking gaps in the defense.”
Dane Hagen, who scored twice for the Vikes, got his first off a shot from the front of the cage at 2:02 — 1:17 into the man-up situation. Brandon Baker followed with a conversion to the left of the goal at 1:38.
“It was real important to have our man plays work,” Scaliti added.
PV’s two-minute drill left Upper Dublin in a less-than-ideal situation down the stretch. The 19th-seeded Cardinals, who took their only lead of the night at 7:44 in the first quarter and played PV all even 2-2, were just one goal (4-3) down at the half — a margin that was extended into the second half with their trade of goals in the first 4:16.
“It was a tough one to overcome,” UD head coach Pat Lacon said. “Our defense deserves a lot of credit for digging its heels in and fighting through adversity.”
Another aspect of the game was PV’s dominance of faceoffs. It finished the game with a 16-3 advantage after going through the first half winning all nine plays. Sophomore Colin Delo was 14-for-15 and grabbed 10 ground balls.
“We do a lot of faceoff work in practice,” Churchey said. “Having Colin and Noah Delo and Dallas Pulliam — those three battle in practice — made us significantly better as the year goes on.
“Tonight was Colin’s night. We put our trust in him, and he produced.”
Matt Farrington chipped in with one goal and assist for the third-seeded Vikings. Their other goals came from Sam Nice, Brandon Baker and Riley Milligan, with Scaliti, Dillon Kane and Harrison Schlachta getting credit for assists.
“We focus on this (playoffs) as a brand-new season,” Churchey said. “This game was the only one we were concerned with 100 percent of the week.”
That focus earned PV another home-field outing Saturday, when it hosts Springfield-Delco — a 7-4 winner over Central Bucks East in other second-round action — at 10 a.m. The Vikings are looking to qualify for the PIAA Class AAA playoffs for the second time in program history; the first came in 2018, when Scaliti and his classmates were freshmen.
“We want to get to states,” he said. “Our freshman year, the seniors got us in shape, leading and working hard.”
Upper Dublin’s final outing of the 2021 season was marked by Jayden Santangelo scoring twice, Andrew Sowers collecting a goal and assist, and Brett Rama and Vijay Foster also scoring.
“The last three weeks have been a wild, fun ride for us,” Lacon noted. “The hardest thing will be not going out for practice (Friday).”
PV is the lone Pioneer Athletic Conference entry still alive in the post-season, with Methacton (18-8 to Conestoga) and Spring-Ford (15-4 to Downingtown West) eliminated.
“We earned ourselves extra playing time,” Churchey said. “We have great senior leadership. I really love how they lead by example.”
NOTES >> Jacob Klosinski had seven saves in goal for Perk Valley. UD’s netminder, Nate Fechter, had 15 stops.
Upper Dublin 2 1 1 2 – 6
Perk Valley 2 2 3 2 – 9
Goals: Upper Dublin – Steve Pileggi 2, Jayden Santangelo 2, Brett Rama 1, Andrew Sowers 1. Perkomen Valley – Jack Scaliti 3, Dane Hagen 2, Matt Farrington 1, Sam Nice 1, Brandon Baker 1, Riley Milligan 1.
Assists: Upper Dublin – Andrew Sowers 1, Will Bailey 1, Brett Rama 1, Vijay Foster 1. Perkiomen Valley – Jack Scaliti 1, Matt Farrington 1, Dillon Kane 1, Harrison Schlachta 1,
Saves: Upper Dublin – Nate Fechter 15. Perkiomen Valley – Jacob Klosinski 7.
