District 1 Preview: Cougars, Whippets, Knights are top contenders
EAST MARLBOROUGH >> A total of nine Chester County teams have qualified for the District 1 Boys Lacrosse Tournament, which gets underway Tuesday. And to get an accurate idea of just how strong the local squads were in 2022, six of the nine are assured at least one home game to begin the proceedings.
Eight of the nine hail from the Ches-Mont league, with Central League powerhouse Conestoga also in the mix.
“(The Ches-Mont) was a very competitive, deep league this season with a lot of good teams,” said Unionville head coach Steve Homes. “I think we’ve all seen a lot of what we are going to see come playoff time.”
With league champion Downingtown East (16-2 overall) and runner-up Downingtown West (16-2), the crosstown rivals make up two of the top three class 3A seeds (defending champion Radnor is No. 1). And in 2A, West Chester Rustin (13-5) is the second seed, behind only Penncrest.
Fresh off going 12-0 against Ches-Mont foes, the No. 2 Cougars get a well-earned first round bye, and will take on the (15) Avon Grove-(18) Central Bucks West winner in round two on Thursday. That means that East will have had a full week to prepare.
“We definitely need a break and we will heal some knocks,” said Cougars’ head coach Joe Horvath. “We will polish some things up. I am glad we’ve played a tough schedule. It sharpens you up for big games, which is everyone in the playoffs.”
East’s only losses have been to No. 7 Spring-Ford, and to top-seeded Radnor, 11-7, in a clash held May 7.
“I’m glad we saw the number one seed,” said Cougars’ defensive anchor Liam Quinn. “Even though we lost that game, we could walk away knowing it was winnable. We proved to ourselves that we can compete with anyone in the state.
“Going into the postseason, we need to have that mentality, and come into every game ready to go, and expect to have good results.”
At No. 3, the Whippets will host the (14) Council Rock South-(19) Unionville winner on Thursday. South has won seven of its last eight. West topped the Longhorns 15-8 earlier this month.
“We’ve been playing playoff lacrosse for about two weeks now,” Holmes acknowledged. “They all felt like playoff games, so we are ready to go.
“We’ve proven we can play tight with just about anybody. We feel we can be in any game and make a run.”
If both Downingtown squads advance, they could meet again in the semifinals. East won the only regular season meeting 5-2 in what wound up determining the league title.
“If our defense stays disciplined, our offense is possession-based, and we can win the battle between the lines, we can do some things,” Horvath said.
At No. 12, Conestoga had an underwhelming 10-7 overall mark, but played one of the most challenging regular season slates in the state. The Pioneers will host (21) Haverford in round one on Tuesday.
The 2021 state runner-up, (16) Kennett will host (17) Council Rock North, and the winner gets Radnor. The Blue Demons went 11-7 this spring, but have dropped four of the last five.
The last local 3A team in the mix is Great Valley (8-9), who nabbed the final spot and will travel to (9) Souderton. Two other Ches-Mont squads just barely missed out on making the 3A field: (28) West Chester Henderson (9-9), and (30) Coatesville (7-11).
In addition to Rustin, the other local 2A participant is No. 6 Bishop Shanahan. The Eagles (10-8) struggle to score, but have a stingy defense. They travel to No. 3 Marple Newtown for a first round matchup on Wednesday.
Rustin will host No. 7 Upper Moreland in the first round on Wednesday. A win there would set up a semifinal clash with the Shanahan-Marple Newtown winner on May 24.
