District 1 Class 3A boys lacrosse: Radnor adds district crown to loaded trophy cabinet

RIDLEY TWP. — Having just claimed the District 1 Class 3A boys lacrosse championship Thursday night, the Radnor players raised the trophy in a group celebration.

Just to be safe, and this time for another photo, the Raptors did it again.

Minutes later? A third celebration.

Good times.

“We didn’t win the district last year,” Ryan Goldstein said. “That was a big deal coming into this one tonight. And everyone brought it.”

The top-seeded Raptors brought it early, nicely managed the clock late and ousted No. 2 seed Downingtown East, 14-3, on Ridley’s Phil Marion Field. And while Radnor did recover from any district-tournament disappointment last year to win the state championship, there was a reason why the celebration all seemed so new Thursday. It’s because, in 15 ways, it was.

“We lost 15 seniors from that team,” said coach John Begier. “So this was sort of a new family that had to come together, and it took a month. In mid-April, we started to find our identity and that passion for the team.”

As June and the state tournament loom, the 19-2 Raptors could not be playing much better. In their first postseason challenge, they outscored Kennett, 16-3. That was followed by a 16-3 triumph over Central Bucks East. In the spirit of Central League lacrosse superiority, Springfield kept it close in the semifinals, the Raptors surviving, 10-9, against last year’s district champs.

Then came Thursday and a test from another set of Cougars, who were 18-2 and had played Radnor competitively in the regular season before falling, 11-7. But with the championship at hand, the Raptors built a 5-1 lead within the first 8:55, then scored seven of the eight second-quarter goals.

“We caught them on a rainy, cold day a couple of weeks ago and happened to play a lot better,” said East coach Joe Horvath. “So we showed some potential there. But that’s not really who they were. They are a much better team than that, as evidenced by today.”

In character, the Raptors showed scoring balance, with Mason Montrella scoring five goals and Nick Lucchesi and Owen Knight scoring two apiece. Max Goldstein, Ryan Goldstein, Pablo Strid, Colin French and Jason Trosset each added a goal. Amid that outburst, as if on cue, was Ryan Goldstein, he of the legendary field vision, who was delivering seven assists.

“Ryan is the quarterback of our offense,” Beiger said. “He is a two-handed player who gets everybody involved. He can score. He can pass. He does the little things. And our guys know, when he has the ball, it is going to be on their stick.”

Ryan Goldstein was at his best late in the first half, assisting on French’s goal with 1:41 showing and then connecting with Montrella in transition for a goal to make it 12-3 just before the horn. After Trosset scored the only goal of the fourth quarter with 10:41 showing, the Raptors spent the final 9:04 expertly passing back and forth in an effective delay game.

Max Goldstein and Tommy Deshan provided assists for the Raptors.

Bryson Kolinsky scored twice, and N.J. Cogliati added a goal for Downingtown East, which will regroup for the state tournament, which begins Tuesday.

“We don’t know how the bracket breaks down, but after tonight, we’re just trying to tackle Game 1,” Horvath said. “We had some guys fight out there tonight. We were very mistake-prone and got in our heads and continued to make mistakes. There is a little bit to bite on and work on, and we’re going to do that before next Tuesday.”

Technically, there is a chance of the Raptors and Cougars meeting again – not that Horvath is necessarily looking forward to that.

“If I was the rest of the state,” he said, “I’d be wary of that team.”