Faceoffs doom Lansdale Catholic in PIAA-2A opener
UPPER DARBY >> Faceoffs have been an issue for the Lansdale Catholic boys lacrosse team all season. In a win-or-go-home game in the first round PIAA-2A state playoffs, the problem reared its ugly head again.
The Crusaders controlled just 2-of-31 faceoffs in an 18-10 loss against Susquehannock at Monsignor Bonner and Archbishop Prendergast Catholic High School Tuesday afternoon.
“They’ve got a very potent offense with guys who can shoot the ball,” LC coach Mark Princehorn said. “When you feed an offense like that again and again and again, they’re going to score goals.”
Susquehannock took advantage of their faceoff success by scoring goals in bunches. In the first quarter, the Warriors scored two goals in a 64-second span to take a 3-1 lead. In the second, they scored three goals in a 1:20 stretch, two goals over 36 seconds and two goals over 47 seconds to build a 10-4 lead before heading to halftime ahead, 10-5.
“I don’t think their offense was tough to stop,” LC’s Colin Corbett said. “We were just giving them too many opportunities on failed clears. They just had the ball a lot more than we would’ve liked them to. Things like that are where we need to get better.”
The game-sealing stretch came early in the fourth quarter. The Crusaders scored at the end of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth to cut their deficit, which was once as large as six, to three, 12-9. Susquehannock responded by scoring two goals in seven seconds and another three goals in 2:51 to make it 17-9 with less than six minutes remaining in the game.
“Being around this game for as long as I’ve been around this game,” Princehorn said, “you never really have momentum unless you’re winning faceoffs consistently and (Susquehannock) has a good one-two punch – both kids are all-league faceoff guys over there. That was the x-factor, the literal x-factor. Regardless of the momentum of us scoring goals or making defensive stops, that tempo ends because we had the inability to win faceoffs.”
Connor Mann scored four goals and assisted on another for the Crusaders, passing the 100-point milestone on the season. Mikey Kleinert and Corbett each scored two goals while Pat McKeever and Pat Cooney each found the back of the net once.
Senior Connor Flanegan made 14 saves in net for LC. He made six saves in both the first and third quarters to keep his side within striking distance into the fourth.
“Connor Flanegan in the goal is impossible to replace,” Princehorn said. “He’s the best goalie I’ve ever coached. He’s one of the best leaders off the field, if not the best leader off the field, I’ve ever coached. You don’t replace a Connor Flanegan.”
Lansdale Catholic’s season ends with the loss. The Crusaders reached the Philadelphia Catholic League semifinals and won the District 12-2A title in the first season under Princehorn.
“It was a success,” Princehorn said. “It’s my first year as a head coach so there is a high level of buy-in that had to take place for us to accomplish all those goals. The very first goals we set out to accomplish were have a winning season, win District 12 title and make the states. We accomplished all those goals and a lot of other things fell into place as that went on. I credit that to these guys and their ability to buy in, their ability to adapt to new concepts, new schemes, new coaching, a new way of doing things, an increased volume of work, a tougher more rigid work ethic.”
“This season – the first season with a new head coach – was a huge step in the right direction,” Corbett, a junior, said. “It’s a shame to get here and lose, but I think looking back in hindsight we did a lot of good things that we can look forward to improving on in the future.”
Susquehannock 18, Lansdale Catholic 10
Susquehannock 3 7 2 6 – 18
Lansdale Catholic 1 4 3 2 – 10
LC goals: Connor Mann 4, Mikey Kleinert 2, Colin Corbett 2, Pat McKeever, Pat Cooney.
LC assists: Connor Mann, Mikey Kleinert 2, Colin Corbett.
LC saves: Connor Flanegan 14.
