La Salle scores 5 goals in 2nd half, rolls past Lansdale Catholic
SPRINGFIELD >> Seth Michalak provided the breakthrough and La Salle boys soccer’s offense broke out late in the second half to pull away from Lansdale Catholic Tuesday afternoon.
Michalak finally ended the Philadelphia Catholic League contest’s scoreless stalemate with 26:17 remaining in regulation while Dom Lupinacci’s tally at 15:21 was the start of a four-goal burst in span of less than 10 minutes as La Salle cruised past the Crusaders in a 5-0 win at Meehan Field.
“We said at halftime, once the first one goes, we’ll probably be able to knick another two or three,” Explorers coach Thomas McCaffery said. “I didn’t honestly see five coming and it’s just the way the game played out.”
Five different players found the back of the net for La Salle (4-1-0, 2-0-0 PCL), which pressured for a goal from the start but could not crack the LC defense until the 54th minute when Michalak slotted a ball in off an assist from Aidan Jaggers. Lupinacci put in a rebound almost 11 minutes later while 4:41 after that CJ Massella struck to make it 3-0.
“I think Coach talked to us, told us to play harder and came out a lot stronger the second half,” said Massella, a junior midfielder. “Just told us we had to win more 50-50 balls and made us start attacking more and we did that.”
Thomas Regan had a hand in La Salle’s final two goals – scoring at 7:09 after initially having his penalty kick saved before assisting on Joey Kmetz’s strike with 5:46 left as the Explorers’ five-goal eruption after the break matched their scoring output from their previous four games.
“It’s really just a testament to our guys’ commitment to just keep doing what we’re trying to do,” McCaffery said. “Try to get them coached to swing the ball from left to right, try to open up lanes and as the game wore on I think our subs played a big part cause we were able to turn over guys and keep guys as fresh as we could and it kind of kept wave after wave going at them. And I think ultimately that’s kind of what managed to let us open the door a little bit easier as the game went on.”
Coming off a 2021 season that saw La Salle win the PCL title and reach the PIAA-4A semifinals – falling to eventual state champion Conestoga – McCaffery likes the development of the Explorers so far in the early part of this year.
La Salle started 2022 with three straight wins, edging Archbishop Wood 2-1 in overtime last Friday before falling to New Jersey’s Christian Brothers Academy 1-0 a day later.
“I was kind of hoping that by the middle of next week we would be kind of where we are now so I think we’re a little ahead of schedule from where I really saw these guys progressing,” he said. “And that just speaks to the guys’ mentality and work rate. They really want it and I think that they’re taking to heart the idea of really seizing their moment now that those other seniors have graduated and moved on and they’re really taking advantage of it, which is awesome.”
Lansdale Catholic (1-3-0, 1-1-0), which last year made the PCL semifinals and the PIAA-3A tournament, began this season 0-2 but picked up its first win last Friday beating Devon Prep 2-1.
La Salle visits Holy Ghost Prep for a nonleague match 4 p.m. Thursday with both teams having games at the PCL Play Day Saturday at Cardinal O’Hara – the Explorers facing Archbishop Carroll at noon while LC takes on Archbishop Wood at 2 p.m.
“We have a lot of key players stepping into a lot of leadership roles here,” Crusaders coach Casey Farrell said. “Lot of young guys coming up from JV that we didn’t really expect early on so we’re still trying to find our footing, you know, and that usually takes some time. So, I mean, we’re going to get there. The guys are going to start trusting each other. Everyone hopes it goes a lot faster than it actually does and once we get there, we’re going to be just fine.
“I’m not too worried about today’s game. It’s a blip on the radar that we’re going to correct it as soon as we possibly can.”
LC began to find its offensive footing in the second half but that momentum was disrupted when Michalak put the Explorers up 1-0 in the 54th minute, the senior midfielder getting a ball in front and smoothly sending it into the net.
“With everybody knowing that Seth’s the guy, it’s been hard for him to try to get off the mark here and I know he’s been pushing to try to get a goal in the run of play since we’ve been going here,” McCaffery said. “So to get that first one of the year looking like a little bit of a relief for him which is always good.
“And I think it’s no secret, that’s where everything flows and you see how much it opens up when you watch how the wing play kind of opened up in the second half as everybody collapses in on him, it makes their life easier and just creates space.”
Almost 11 minutes later, Lupinacci added La Salle’s second as he pounced on a rebound after Matt Jones’ shot was saved and knocked it in at 15:21.
“We were starting to put some things together for five, 10 minutes in a row, feeling pretty confident and then they score after our best effort,” Farrell said. “I don’t know if that’s what messed up our brains or what but that will be one of the worst games you’ll see from LC this season I promise you.”
The Crusaders seemed to be on the verge of a scoring chance before a whistle came due to an injury concern. On the on-ball restart, LC’s shot from just above the 18-yard box bounced in on goal but was saved without much difficulty.
“The drop ball situation was a little bit goofy where I was a little bit concerned that if they don’t blow the whistle there, it’s a 2-1 game and we’re in another dogfight with them as normal,” McCaffery said. “But I think that after the drop ball went and we were able to clear our lines on that one, that’s when the kind of floodgate opened up for us on the other end.”
Massella proceeded to make it 3-0 Explorers off a Crusaders turnover, placing his shot into the far right corner with 10:40 remaining.
“Had the ball, just went in-and-out of ‘em and then I saw the opening and shot it and it went in,” Massella said.
Regan got free on a breakaway with the keeper fouling him in the box for a penalty kick. Regan’s shot towards the bottom right corner was saved but Kaden Bono hustled to the rebound and sent it back to the front of the net, where Regan one-timed it in at 7:09.
“The key on the penalty shot was that nobody just waited around,” McCaffery said. “There were four guys crashing the ball off the save and then Tom to be able to tuck it in, he didn’t just hang his head and just stand at the penalty spot, he went and got the next one which just is a testament to how hard these guys want to work to try to get the next play.
Regan collected the assist as La Salle made it 5-0, connecting on a pass to Kmetz, who finished in front with 5:46 left in the game.
La Salle 5, Lansdale Catholic 0
Lansdale Catholic 0 0 – 0
La Salle 0 5 – 0
Scoring: Second Half: Seth Michalak (LS) 26:17, Aidan Jaggers assist; Dom Luppinacci (LS) 15:21; CJ Massella (LS) 10:40; Thomas Regan (LS) 7:09, Kaden Bono assist; Joey Kmetz (LS), Regan assist.
