Late surge leads Avon Grove past rival Kennett
LONDON GROVE >> With a brutally tough, front-loaded schedule, and a series of agonizingly close defeats, it was just a matter of time before the Avon Grove boys got off the schneid and knocked off a top notch foe.
That time came on Monday evening as the host Red Devils surged late to slip past arch rival Kennett, 10-8, in Ches-Mont lacrosse action. It was Avon Grove’s first league triumph of the season, and the Blue Demons’ first Ches-Mont setback since all the way back to the 2020 season.
“Last season we lost so many games by one or two goals, and it started happening again this season,” said senior midfielder Michael Villa.
“We just had to put our heads down and go for it.”
Heading in, the Devils had dropped four matches by a grand total of eight goals. And Avon Grove (1-2, 3-4 overall) trailed for much of the way before outscoring Kennett 7-4 in the second half, including three in a row in the fourth quarter to break a 7-7 tie.
“Kennett is a good program and we just stressed that we have to play a full game,” said Devils’ head coach Brian Wallace. “We definitely stepped up our play.”
A year ago, the Demons (3-1, 5-2) cruised to their first-ever Ches-Mont crown, authored District 1’s only undefeated regular season in 2021, and advanced all the way to the state title game.
“We did a lot of good things tonight, but we still have a lot to work on,” said Kennett head coach Bob Allvord.
“It’s the Ches-Mont – everybody brings it every night. On any given day, it just depends on who is playing their best lacrosse.”
In the second half alone, there were four ties, with the last coming at 7-7 after Kennett sniper Zach Hulme scored his fourth goal with 9:19 on the clock. Avon Grove scored the next three goals, and Villa had a hand in them all.
He took a pass from Kyle Anthony and put the Devils ahead for good with 6:05 to go. He then returned the favor on what turned out to be the game-winner on a pass to Anthony less than a minute later, and wrapped it up with a final goal with 2:05 to go.
“This is huge for us an individuals and as a team,” said Villa, who finished with three goals and two assists. “It’s a big confidence booster, and to come against a rival makes it humongous.”
The turning point, however, probably came on a buzzer-beater at the end of the third quarter, when Anthony swept in a pass from Trent Lucovich with 0:00 on the clock. It gave Avon Grove a 7-6 lead heading into the final 12 minutes of regulation.
“That’s always a killer to give up a late goal like that,” Allvord said.
“You want to carry momentum from the end of a quarter, and the buzzer-beaters always kind of throw a little dagger into the mix,” Wallace added.
The Demons got off to a sizzling start, and took a 4-1 lead about 10 minutes in thanks to two goals each by Hulme and Colin Jung. But the Devils fought back starting with a late first quarter goal by Preston Boyd, and then pulled within one on a second quarter goal by Keegan Quatmann.
“We had to push away all of the outside noise and just play Avon Grove lacrosse,” Villa said.
Villa and Lucovich each scored in the opening minutes of the second quarter to give Avon Grove its first lead. In all, the Devils kept the potent Kennett attack scoreless for nearly 20 minutes.
“We kept (Kennett) to four goals for a while, and when you can make defensive adjustments on the fly like that, it really helps,” Wallace said.
“I think we got a little selfish on offense and didn’t share the ball enough and move it enough,” Allvord added. “It took us out of sync and made it easier for (Avon Grove) defensively.”
The Devils wound up with the edge in shots on goal (22-16) and face off wins (12-8). And Avon Grove goaltender, senior Alex Hammond, turned aside 10 shots along the way.
“The weight of the close losses was there, and we all felt it, but sometimes you want that weight to keep you moving forward,” Wallace said. “You like to have some pressure on you all the time to make sure you don’t let down.”
Quatmann and Boyd each added two goals for the Red Devils. In addition to Hulme’s four, Jung wound up with three goals, and senior Jake Freebery had three assists for the Demons. Kennett was without injured sophomore attacker Bo Freebery.
“Credit to Avon Grove – they won the ground ball war in the second half,” Allvord said.
“But adversity is a good thing sometimes. You have to face it to know how to overcome it. We faced adversity today and they have to learn how to stick together, deal with it and fight through it.”
Avon Grove 10, Kennett 8
Kennett 4 0 2 2 — 8
Avon Grove 2 1 4 3 — 10
Kennett goals: Z. Hulme 4, Col. Jung 3, Lower.
Avon Grove goals: Villa 3, Anthony 2, Boyd 2, Lucovich, Quatmann 2.
Goalie saves: Hrabal (K) 8; Hammond (AG) 10.
