Henderson goes into new season with first-year coach Sean Evans
By Neil Geoghegan
ngeoghegan@21st-centurymedia.com
@NeilMGeoghegan on Twitter
WEST CHESTER >> One of the oldest high school programs in Pennsylvania, they’ve been playing boys’ lacrosse at West Chester Henderson since 1966 – which seems like light years ago in a sport that has grown by leaps and bounds since.
And there have only been three head coaches in the first 55 seasons for the Warriors, with the last 38 under the tutelage of Paul Stankiewicz. Add in 15 years as an assistant and Stankiewicz has been a fixture at Henderson since the late 1960s.
That brings us to Sean Evans, who was hired as the program’s fourth head coach about a month after it was announced in January that Stankiewicz was retiring.
“You can never replace a person like coach Stankiweicz, but I will always do my best to lead the great lacrosse program that he built,” Evans said. “Over the past 20 years, I have had the opportunity to learn from coach Stank, first as a player and then as a coach, and I am forever grateful for that.
“I am excited to implement many of the things Coach taught me, but also bring in my own ideas to the program.”
During his reign, Henderson went 440-248 under Stankiewicz, including a pair of appearances in the PIAA State Title Game – first in 1993 and again in 2017. He was also an assistant when the Warriors won their only title crown in 1973.
“I’ve gotten to work with Paul for the past 25 years and it’s truly been a privilege and an honor to work with such a wonderful person and lacrosse coach,” said longtime Henderson Athletic Director Ken McCormick.
“Paul is a great man of character and integrity. He’s one of the most brilliant lacrosse minds that this state has ever seen, and we’re going to truly miss his leadership.”
In the five years since a runner-up finish in the district and the state, however, the Warriors have struggled, including last season’s 3-11 mark. For 2022, Evans has a strong group of seniors, including Jake Wagner (attack), Charlie Fort (midfield, face-off), Asher Goldfine (midfield), Casey Killoran (long-stick), Jack Gibbs (defense) and Ryan Timmins (goalie).
The sophomore class is also promising, headed by Max Abrahams and Seamus Murphy.
“We have some talented underclassmen that have been working hard,” said Evans, who was an assistant at Henderson for 11 years. “We want to get better each time we step on the field and be competitive in every game.”
Evans was a high school All-American at Henderson in the mid-2000s and went on to play at St. Josephs, where he was the team MVP in 2009-10.
Here’s a look at the rest of squads in Chester County:
After finishing last season with a 17-2 mark and a No. 2 ranking in Pennsylvania, Malvern Prep has since suffered heavy graduation losses. But the Friars are still expected to be a powerhouse with the return of senior standouts Joe Doherty (goalie) and midfielders Joe Sheridan (Richmond) and Jack Irish (Lafayette). Junior midfielder A.J. Nikoloc (Cornell) and sophomore defender Lucca Dibartolomeo are also star material.
Newcomers like Pat Keenan, Roman Buono and Ryan Falkenstein headline a long list of skilled players looking to take on bigger roles.
“We really like the guys we have who return to the varsity and the youth that we have added – they are skilled and athletic,” said head coach John McEvoy, who is 264-56 in 16 seasons. “They will need experience playing at a high level though.”
Seemingly a constant championship caliber program, Conestoga boasts a very strong and deep senior class, and that’s bad news for the Central League and the rest of District 1 elites. The Pioneers have standouts at all three levels with senior attacker Patrick Reilly (Bucknell recruit), senior midfielder Peter Detwiler (Marquette) and junior goaltender Patrick Jameison (Duke).
There is additional experience with returning starters Chase Kelly (Sr.) and Wade Beckstrom (Jr.), and proven senior Ian Kim on face offs. The defense is led by seniors Wil Peston, Jason Wagner and Toby Murphy.
“We are a senior-led team this year and we have many experienced players returning and great team chemistry,” said head coach Brodie Bush.
How do you follow up on a dream season? Head coach Bob Allvord and his Kennett squad will try. The Blue Demons went 22-3, captured the Ches-Mont crown and advanced all the way to the state final in a whirlwind 2021 campaign.
Trying to replace Daily Local News’ Player of the Year, Sam Forte, will be a challenge, but Kennett has a slew of elite offensive players coming back, including scoring machine Zach Hulme (89 goals) and distributor Jake Freebery (33 goals, 86 assists). On defense, all-area pick Connor Jung is back, and so is long-stick midfielder Luke Good.
“We do have some holes to fill, but a solid returning nucleus, along with some younger guys ready to step up, has us excited for the season,” Allvord said.
With two bona fide stars, Downingtown West should once again be in the mix at the top of the Ches-Mont standings.
Senior Michael Straub (Delaware) and junior Bergey (High Point) combined for 148 points a year ago, leading the Whippets to a 16-5 record. In addition to 36 goals and 29 assists, Straub notched 175 ground balls and was a force on faceoff wins (.756 percent) in ’21. Bergey had a team-high 65 goals.
Other notable returnees include Jackson Chiappa, Carter Grear, Zach Rossman and Thomas Venzie, who – like Straub and Bergey – was an all-league first team selection.
“We have a great mix of confident upperclassmen that have had competitive playing experience and are incredibly driven to take this program to a different level.” said head coach Billy Davis.
Bishop Shanahan has been a district and state contender most of head coach Jon Heisman’s 12-year tenure, and that’s unlikely to change this spring. The Eagles advanced to the District 1 Final and a semifinal berth in the PIAA 2A Tournament last year, and seniors Liam Blakely, Colin McGrory and Andrew Deviney are back to headline the defense, along with junior Ben Rodney-Tims. Sophomore attacker Joe Devine had a nice rookie year and is poised to take on a bigger role.
“We have a strong sophomore and freshman class who will get better as the season progresses,” said Heisman, who is 183-44 all-time at Shanahan.
Coming off the best season in program history (13-5 record), West Chester Rustin has Ches-Mont title aspirations. Midfielder Marek Seaman is one of the state’s top juniors and has already committed to play at West Point. An all-state pick, Seaman poured in 62 goals and finished with 79 points a year ago.
All-league senior defender Drew Lanius and long-stick midfielder Zach Mankowski are also back, and the attack features emerging juniors Antonio Santangelo and Jake Jackson, who notched 45 and 22 goals, respectively, in 2021.
“We hope to compete each and every game this season and give ourselves a shot at a Ches-Mont and district AA title at the end of the season,” said head coach Kevin Philibin.
With a pair of standouts on both offense and defense, Downingtown East has its sights set on competing for the Ches-Mont title. Senior Liam Quinn is a large presence on defense and he’s signed to play collegiately at St. Josephs, and attacker Alystair Hemberger (NJIT commit) is one of the area’s top scorers. Both were first team all-league and all-area selections.
Head coach Joe Horvath also has four other future Division I players in juniors Bo Horvath (Lehigh), Bryson Kolinsky (Delaware), Sam Barton (Colgate) and Mike Waite (St. Josephs). The Cougars were 13-7 a year ago, and will have to replace college-bound Luke Wetzel and Mike Ostertag.
“We will have a nice combination of youth and experience, and plenty of athleticism,” Horvath said.
Look for a big bounce-back from Avon Grove, a traditional power that had a down season in ’21 that featured just 13 outings. The core of that team is back, including dangerous scoring weapons Trent Lucovich, Griffin Edwards and Preston Boyd – all junior attackers – and senior midfielder Michael Villa. Seniors Sam Roberts, Jake Nolan and Hunter Traa will anchor the defense.
The midfield is young but talented, with sophomores Kody Parente, Brayden Goldstein and Lucas Vahey.
“This team looks to compete at the highest level,” said head coach Brian Wallace.
At Unionville, head coach Steve Holmes has a senior class that could propel the Longhorns to a breakout season.
With goalie Nico Kotch and backs David Hoffman and Mark Matson, Unionville has depth and experience on defense. There are also seasoned returnees at midfield (Kevin Carson, Luke Schriver) and at attack (Luc Spano and Kevin Nowaswiat).
“We have as high expectations for our team as we have had around here in a long time,” said Holmes. “Our senior class is deep and ready to lead.”
The task of replacing nine graduated seniors is job one at Devon Prep for head coach Mark Consolo. In ’21 the Tide placed fourth in the Philadelphia Catholic League, played for the District 12 2A title and qualified for states.
But Devon has plenty of firepower returning, including seniors Dan Brown, Chris Walton and Tyler Kenneson, who combined to score 108 goals and dish out 62 assists last season. Brown was second in the league in scoring (59) and garnered first team all-league and all-area honors.
“Our team will lean heavily on playing fast, playing with high intensity, and out hustling our opponents,” Consolo said.
A year after its impressive debut season, Coatesville (7-10 overall) looks to be even better in 2022. The defense is anchored by All-Ches-Mont junior Brendan Ly and goalie Dax Shallis (161 saves). And the attack has potent weapons like junior Owen Ellis (31 goals, 23 assists) and senior Tommy Ortega (33 points).
Head coach Dan Ellis is also looking forward to newcomers like sophomore midfielders Bryce Kerrigan and Jake Van Orden, and juniors Pearse McGeehan and Mike Kennel.
“This group will develop and build off of last year’s inaugural team, and hopefully make a jump into the district playoffs this year,” said head coach Dan Ellis.
Chris Costanzi is out and Brian Outten in as the head coach at Oxford. The Hornets have a long way to go to become an upper tier Ches-Mont team, but the top three scorers – seniors Sean Poole, Will Ehrhart and Dakota Jones – return. And the defense is led by co-captains Dean Hunsicker and Zach Miller.
“I will tell you we will shock a few schools this year,” said Outten, who hails from Bel Air, Md. “Oxford is known to be the underdogs and we embrace that title. We are a very senior heavy team along with some incredible young talent.”
The numbers are down at Church Farm and head coach Kevin Korb, who has just three returning players. The Griffins did have 20 student-athletes go out for the 2022 team, which is promising. The senior leaders are Javon Hill (midfielder) and Danny Akbar (defense), and junior Jordan Mathews had an older brother who played for four years at Church Farm.
“We are basically starting over,” Korb said. “Our school lost the 2020 season (due to CODVID-19) and only half the students came back to campus last spring for the 2021 season.”
