By Neil Geoghegan
ngeoghegan@21st-centurymedia.com
@NeilMGeoghegan on Twitter
EAST MARLBOROUGH >> Where would the Unionville boys’ lacrosse squad be without the Kupsey brothers?
Certainly not 6-4 overall, and climbing into Ches-Mont contention at 4-1. That’s where the Longhorns stand after Tuesday’s 14-8 triumph over visiting West Chester East that featured an impressive finishing kick that broke open a tight battle.
“As a program, we’ve come back from a lot of adversity this season and last,” said the youngest, Wyatt Kupsey. “And today we proved it again and did it together as a team.”
A sophomore, Wyatt is an explosive attacker who reached the 100th point of his young high school career against the Vikings. And then there is senior attacker Owen, and junior midfielder Luke. Nine of Unionville’s goals were either scored or assisted by one of the three.
“I think it is really cool when the ball goes from one of their sticks to another brother, and it goes into the net,” said first-year Longhorns’ head coach Ian Allender. “Getting all three of them on board today felt really good. I’m sure it felt good for the whole family.
“In past seasons we’ve had the word ‘Brotherhood’ on the back of our shirts. So to have that family part be literal really helps with our chemistry on the offensive end.”
In all, Wyatt poured in a game-high six goals and notched an assist Tuesday; Owen registered a goal and an assist; and Luke chipped in a single goal.
“We talk about lacrosse all the time at home,” Wyatt said about his siblings.
“I couldn’t ask for a better situation. It’s been a great experience. It makes me a better player, being held accountable with my brothers.”
For West Chester East (1-5, 5-5), and second-year head coach Nate Bauer, a very positive performance in the opening 30 minutes turned around very quickly in the final 18.
“This isn’t a major setback,” Bauer said. “Each game we’ve been progressing. The message now is to not give up. We have two games coming up (versus Oxford and Coatesville) that are completely winnable.”
The Vikings scored the last two goals of the first half and the first two second to take their only lead, 7-5. But then the roof fell in as the ’Horns proceeded to score the next eight in succession.
“We got tired,” Bauer said. “Obviously, our ground-ball game struggled today. (Unionville) was just a much more conditioned team, and we just couldn’t catch up.
“We had it going good in the first half. But the ground-ball game killed us.”
The finishing push started with just over five minutes on the clock in the third quarter when senior midfielder Oliver Tarr had his first of two unassisted goals. Wyatt Kupsey and junior Chase Minter each added two more in the surge, and Owen Kupsey and Owen Quinlan chipped in single goals to make it 13-7 in the span of less than nine minutes.
“In the first half the effort wasn’t there. But at halftime we adjusted things and got the effort to where it needs to be. We raised the intensity,” Wyatt Kupsey said.
“We knew (East) was going to be a physical, athletic team,” Allender added. “They put a little bit of fear into us in the first half. We made some offensive adjustments to get the ball speed moving at a higher rate. At the end of the day, the ball moves faster than players can move, and we had to let that happen.
“The halftime talk was about accountability and taking pride in possession of the ball. We wanted to control the controllable.”
The overall faceoff numbers were relatively even, but the Longhorns owned a 9-4 edge in the second half, and the duo of beefy senior Connor Bellafiore and speedy junior Cole Haines combined to win the first four of the fourth quarter.
“We had a little bit of a thunder-and lightning 1-2 punch at the faceoff X, and that helps change things up,” Allender said.
“It starts at faceoff with Cole and Connor winning a bunch,” Wyatt Kupsey added. “And then on offense we started clicking on all cylinders.
“I think momentum in lacrosse is the biggest thing because it is such an up and down game. The side with more momentum and energy is going to win the game.”
According to Wyatt, his brother Owen was the first in the family to start playing lacrosse. And their father, Dan, would then coach each of the three brothers when they reached Kindergarten.
“Then we started playing in the backyard with each other, and that started it all,” he said.
Of the three, Wyatt shows the most natural scoring ability, but there has been a learning curve. For instance, in a 12-11 win earlier this season against Wilson, Wyatt failed to take a single shot in the entire 48 minute contest.
“Wyatt is a great player. The thing for him is maturity,” Allender explained. “Outside of his skill-level, it’s about being able to take on whatever role we give him.”
Junior Riley Gwinn paced the Vikings with three goals and an assist, and sophomore Kyle Keefe contributed a goal and three assists for East.
“When I got here (in 2023), the first thing was just finding guys who wanted to play,” Bauer said. “And I got them. I have a bunch of great athletes and guys who want to learn. We just need to finish games.
“When we get under pressure, we make silly mistakes and force things. When we couldn’t control the ball on the ground, and (Unionville) got up on us, we got tentative.”
Unionville 13, West Chester East 8
W.C. East 2 3 2 1 — 8
Unionville 2 3 4 5 — 14
W.C. East goals: Gwinn 3, Cohen, Kirk, Schemmer, Keefe, Berry.
Unionville goals: W. Kupsey 6, Tarr 2, Quinlan, Minter 2, O. Kupsey, McLaughlin, L. Kupsey.
Goalie saves: Wetten (WCE) 9; Mousaw (U) 9.
