Wissahickon earns first trip to states with 11-2 takedown of Perkiomen Valley
GRATERFORD >> It may be true that ‘it’s not how you start, but how you finish.’
But don’t undersell winning starts.
The Wissahickon boys lacrosse team didn’t, and it helped it achieve its biggest accomplishment to date.
Wissahickon was determined to fix the slow start that was a dull spot of its May 14 meeting with Perkiomen Valley when the teams met again in a District 1-3A playback game Tuesday night.
The Trojans fixed that mistake and made few others while bursting to a four-goal first-quarter lead en route to an 11-2 victory over the Vikings that earned Wissahickon its first berth to the PIAA Championships.
Junior Dean Wolfe was central to the fast start with a first-quarter hat trick and eventual game-high five goals.
“Every game we have to come in high energy,” Wolfe said. “Last time (against PV) we came out slow. We knew we were going to have to have a big, strong start. And I think we definitely came out high energy and playing our game.”
End 1Q: Wissahickon 4, Perkiomen Valley 0.
Dean Wolf with a first quarter hat trick – his last with 8 seconds left – to lead Trojans. pic.twitter.com/OfyACjRlo6
— Austin Hertzog (@AustinHertzog) May 25, 2021
Senior Jackson Intrieri had two goals and four assists and sophomore Kyle Lehman scored twice. Senior Matt Fritz, an Ohio State commit, dominated at the faceoff X, winning every first half draw while going 11-for-14. He also had a goal and an assist.
Wissahickon showed no signs of letdown after its 9-8 loss to No. 2 seed Radnor in the quarterfinals Saturday and made its state aspirations come to fruition on the second crack.
“It’s very exciting. We have a very good team this year so we hope to show that to the rest of Pa.,” Wolfe said. “We definitely want to put our footprint on Pa. and this is the year to do it.”
There was belief the Trojans’ window of opportunity was open in 2020 before the season’s cancellation due to the pandemic.
They made sure it stayed open for another year.
“Everyone thought that last year, which was taken by covid, was supposed to be Wissahickon’s year,” said senior midfielder EJ Schreiner. “So we’re definitely very happy we could still make it happen because we lost a lot of defense from last year’s seniors.
“We’re so happy to be the senior class to put Wissahickon on the map and be able to hang with all these crazy good teams all year. We’re excited to keep going and hopefully get a state championship out of it.”
Wissahickon D completes the first half shutout barely allowing a shot. They’ve dominated.
Halftime: Wissahickon 4, Perkiomen Valley 0, District 1 3A playback for place in states
Dean Wolfe with 3 for Trojans pic.twitter.com/5kKuIEB5Ri
— Austin Hertzog (@AustinHertzog) May 26, 2021
The Suburban One League American champion Wissahickon (16-5) will face No. 8 Conestoga in the fifth-place game for state seeding at home on Thursday.
Perkiomen Valley (14-4) fell a win short of qualifying for states for the second time. Its season will be marked by winning its first Pioneer Athletic Conference champion, running the table in the division and ending rival Spring-Ford’s nine-year grip on the title.
“It was a very special moment for us,” said senior captain Sam Nice (one goal). “We’d been working for that since 8th grade, since playing club together. For the past 10 years we were looking forward to that moment and we were very lucky and fortunate to get that.”
Head coach Bryan Churchey will note this season equally for the leadership of the 2021 senior class guiding offseason preparation amid covid-19 pandemic restrictions.
“We were not allowed to coach them March through September, not allowed to do anything,” Churchey said. “It was our seniors who weren’t just seniors, they became coaches, became captains, became role models. Everything you need kids to do when your hands are tied behind your back, they did every single thing while knowing a season may not even happen.”
PV’s seniors include Nice, Jack Scaliti, Brandon Baker, Thomas Carroll, Justin Coates, Riley Milligan, Dillon Kane, Ryan Lanza, Mason Nester, Aidan Owens, Gavin Stevens, Declan Haney, Ryan Poston, and Jacob Klosinski.
The desire to put in the work while no one was watching was the defining trait of the Viking seniors, according to Churchey.
“That is the legacy they are leaving,” he said.
PV had no answer for Wissahickon’s early burst and 4-0 lead. The Vikings held possession much of the second quarter but had very few open looks thanks to a defensive effort led by Schreiner, Alex Solomon, Joey Connolly, Quinn Fonash, Jake Licata and Ethan Glass.
It was 6-0 when Fritz found the net at 9:22 of the third.
PV finally got on the board through Dane Hagen in transition but the swing was short-lived: Fritz won the ensuing faceoff and Wolfe scored nine seconds later to make it 7-1.
“We can attack from everywhere so we’re very dangerous,” said Wolfe. “When our shots are falling, we’re going to win every game.”
NOTES >> Others on the scoresheet for Wiss were Andrew Slackman (goal) and Licata (assist). Goalie Scott Pfeiffer had 11 saves.
