By Neil Geoghegan
ngeoghegan@21st-centurymedia.com
@NeilMGeoghegan on Twitter
TREDYFFRIN >> In a good, old-fashioned defensive battle – between two youthful lacrosse squads trying to make waves in the ultra-difficult Central League – the Conestoga boys came away with a 5-2 victory Thursday over visiting Strath Haven.
“We are a very young team,” said ’Stoga head coach Brody Bush. “We had a big senior class last year and we graduated a lot. So this is a rebuilding year. We have a very good freshmen class, but they are stepping up and learning along the way.”
It was the Pioneers’ first league victory in two tries, and the squad is now 3-2 overall. The Panthers fall to 1-1, 2-2.
“We are also a young team and we are going to get better,” said Strath Haven coach Thomas ‘Tug’ McGraw. “We made some errors today that made a big difference in the outcome. But I have a lot of hope and optimism for the future.”
With sophomore defender Gunner Flesher and junior goaltender Mikey Johnson anchoring the back end, Conestoga looks to have a championship-like defensive unit. But the attack has been spotty.
“Our defense has been spectacular all season,” Johnson said. “We stood strong and stayed calm, cool and collected. Three goals for 48 minutes of lacrosse is very impressive for a defense to allow and I’m proud of the boys.”
For a squad averaging just over six goals per outing so far this season, the Pioneers got off to a quick start with three goals in the opening 8:13. They came from senior Clif Hawkins and freshmen Nate Mercaldo and Liam Donovan. And ’Stoga very nearly made it 4-0 when a shot by Teddy McKenzie bounced off the crossbar.
“It was nice to start off 3-0 and get a bit of a breather,” Johnson said.
“We played a good first quarter (offensively), but I didn’t think we played great the rest of the game,” Bush added. “We made some freshmen mistakes.”
The Panthers rebounded with a goal by Joe Oyre in the final minute of the first period, and another by Sean Henry in the final 79 seconds of the first half to make it 3-2 at the break.
“They were very big goals,” McGraw said. “It gave us a lot of momentum heading into the second half.”
That set up, perhaps, the biggest score of the afternoon when senior midfielder Charlie Newhall ended a 22-minute Pioneers’ scoring drought with an unassisted goal midway through the third quarter. And then 24 seconds later, Hawkins made it 5-2.
“The same thing happened in the Marple Newtown game (a 10-6 loss) – once we got the first goal, we started hammering more in,” Johnson pointed out. “Things are definitely coming. When we get a goal, our energy builds.”
McGraw added: “That stretch took all of our momentum away, but at the very end we got it back. A couple fewer mistakes and I think it might have been a different outcome.”
The lone goal in the final period came from Strath Haven’s Jared Craig with 2:09 on the clock. Johnson saved his best for last, stopping six shots in the final 12 minutes.
“As long as we can limit opposing goals we can play with anyone because the defense is our strong suit,” Bush said.
“Leading way is Gunner (Flesher), who has become a force for us. And Mikey in net gives us a chance.”
Another issue that put added pressure on the defense was that Conestoga took a bunch of penalties on Thursday.
“We were a man-down way too much,” Bush said.
The Panthers’ actually had a 14-9 edge in shots on goal, but Johnson and company were rock-solid, particularly on the penalty kill.
“Hey, we needed our first Central League win pretty bad,” Johnson said.
“My motto is to get better every day,” Bush added. “As long as this team can out-effort everyone, I will be happy.”
Conestoga 5, Strath Haven 3
Strath Haven 1 1 0 1 — 3
Conestoga 3 0 2 0 — 5
Strath Haven goals: Craig, Henry, Oyre.
Conestoga goals: Hawkins 2, Newhall, Donovan, Mercaldo.
Goalie saves: Tevlin George (SH) 4. Johnson (C) 11.
