Gas tanks near empty, Downingtown East bows out of states in a hurry
UWCHLAN >> What happened on Tuesday afternoon probably shouldn’t take away from what was a great season at Downingtown East, but the Cougars simply did not finish the 2022 season playing their best lacrosse.
That much was pretty obvious in the first round of the PIAA 3A Boys Tournament action against visiting Hempfield. East never led, fell behind by five goals midway through the third quarter, and never recovered in a bitterly disappointing 7-5 setback to the Black Knights, the fourth-seed from District 3.
“Our gas tanks looked low, and I have a hard time with that,” acknowledged head coach Joe Horvath. “If you are playing for the District 1 Championship Game, and you are in states, your gas tank has to be full no matter what. It’s mental. It has nothing to do with school, or parents, or friends, or the heat, or whatever.
“It has to be full, and ours was not.”
The Cougars end the season with a 19-4 mark. Hempfield (15-5) moves on to the state quarterfinals and will play the Freedom-St. Joseph’s Prep winner on Saturday.
“This was a great opportunity, and we let it slip through our hands,” Horvath said. “It’s very unfortunate, but hopefully we can learn from it.”
When asked if, perhaps, his team peaked a few weeks ago, Horvath agreed. East went unbeaten on its way to the Ches-Mont title, and then avenged one of its two regular season losses by clobbering Spring-Ford early in district action. But the Cougars needed a miracle finish to escape an upset to Unionville in the semis, and then dropped its final two outings, including a 14-3 setback to Radnor in the district final.
“I think there is a good chance that our gas tank started running low after the league (season),” Horvath explained. “I think we were fortunate to win a few games in the postseason. We put together some heroic efforts, but I could see it on faces.
“To do the things we wanted to do, like win a district title and a state title, you have to have a full gas tank every day, in games and in practices, and I don’t believe we had that.”
The stats were tilted East’s way in shots on goal (17-12), and on face offs. Senior N.J. Cogliati won 11 of 16 in the circle, despite still ailing from a torn AC joint in his shoulder, but it didn’t translate to the scoreboard. The Cougars were unable to generate many good scoring attempts, and when they did, many shots were off target or saved by Knights’ keeper Matty Weist (12 saves).
“N.J. was a warrior out there for us – he battled through,” Horvath said. “We had some decent offensive possessions, but not many good looks on net. (Hempfield’s) keeper was outstanding and their defense was very steady.”
The Black Knights opened a 5-2 halftime lead, and much of the damage came from senior attacker Max Grube. He scored twice and had two assists in the opening half, and teammate Zack Antesberger added two goals.
Grube added a third goal midway through the third period to extend the lead to 7-2 before East attempted a comeback. Three straight goals – including two by senior Dylan McMahon — in the final seven minutes of the third sliced the deficit to two. But neither side scored again.
“We struggled as a team in this game,” said junior defender Mike Waite. “I’m not really sure what to say, we just didn’t come out to play today. It was nowhere near our best performance.
“We had a good game plan on offense and defense, but Hempfield just played better today.”
The Cougars also had some bad luck, including three shots that hit the post, including one by junior midfielder Bo Horvath with 4:23 to play. East also took a costly penalty with just over three minutes on the clock, and freshman keeper Brady Quinn had to make a point-blank save with 1:39 to go. And then the Cougars had a two-man advantage for the final 1:17, but only managed a weak shot attempt.
“We came back in the second half, but there just wasn’t enough time,” Cogliati said.
“We weren’t connecting as a team like we usually do, but we played our hearts out.”
Downingtown East made some changes on the fly – like veering from its two-man goalie rotation and dipping deeper into its bench to counteract the hot and humid conditions – but it did not provide the kind of spark needed.
The sting of the loss will be front and center for a while, which means that appreciation for an outstanding season will come later.
“I don’t want to undercut any of our accomplishments,” Joe Horvath said. “We did a great job in the regular season, and we showed some real merit in the postseason.
“We have something to work with moving forward. And that is our intention, to build on this.”
Hempfield 7, Downingtown East 5
Hempfield 3 2 2 0 — 7
Downingtown East 2 0 3 0 — 5
Hempfield goals: Grube 3, Hilton, Anteberger 2, Rankin.
Downingtown East goals: Horvath, Petruno, D. McMahon 2, Hemberger.
Goalie saves: Weist (H) 12; Milon (DE) 1; B. Quinn (DE) 4.
