LONDON GROVE >> The West Chester Rustin boys’ lacrosse squad made great use of its final tune-up prior to making a run at a second straight District 1 2A crown.
The Class 2A Golden Knights went to red-hot Avon Grove for a Ches-Mont clash Thursday evening and cooled off the 3A Red Devils 12-7 in the regular season finale for both.
“A game against Avon Grove, and any other high level teams in the district, it’s going be who can play the most consistent for 48 minutes, who makes the least mistakes, and who is able to win the middle of the field,” said Rustin head coach Kevin Philibin. “We focused on those the last few weeks and it’s paid off.”
The Knights (9-2, 14-4 overall) were third in the district power rankings heading in, and are now assured a first round home game.
“We talked pregame about how in the grand scheme of things, this game didn’t matter a ton, but this is now the most regular season wins we’ve ever had,” Philibin added. “So we are just super proud of our guys.
“We have a pretty young team that’s kept working every day to get better. We wanted to peak at the end of the season, and that’s what we are doing.”
The Devils (8-4, 11-7) entered the clash having won nine straight after starting the season 0-3 in the league and 2-6 overall. Number 14 in the 3A Power Rankings, Avon Grove is hoping to finish in the top 16, and get a first round home game.
“But there is no guarantee,” Devils’ head coach Bert Amanto warned.
“By midseason, we dug ourselves a hole and didn’t give ourselves much wiggle room. We’ve been preaching to the boys that every game is a playoff game.”
On Thursday Rustin won just about every important facet, like on faceoffs (13-9), shots on goal (25-13), and momentum swings. Junior midfielder Nate Pechin scored four of his game-high five goals in the first half, and two were back-breakers that came in the waning seconds of both the first and second periods.
“We’ve had some of that on the other end this season and we talked about how the first and last minute of each quarter has to be better, and how we really have to dig in because those can be huge momentum shifts,” Philibin said. “And we saw it first-hand tonight.”
Avon Grove actually appeared to get off to a quick start when senior Josh Cox scored 21 seconds into the match, but his goal was waved off for stepping into the crease. The Knights then scored three times in the first six minutes, all before Avon Grove had managed its first shot on goal. Sophomores Jackson Lamb and Nick Santangelo each had a goal and an assist to get it started.
“It’s a game of inches and a game of seconds,” Amanto said. “We scored one early that was wiped off. It was a late call, but we have to overcome it. It happened 21 seconds into the game and there are a lot more left for us to execute.”
The Devils came back with goals by Cox and Braydon Goldstein in the final 1:16, but Pechin made it 5-2 heading into the second on a goal with one second on the clock. Pechin then dominated the second quarter by scoring both of the Knights’ goals to make it 7-3 at the half, including one with three seconds remaining.
“I like to look and see what (time it is), and we hear a lot from our bench,” Pechin explained. “In those situations, there is nothing really to lose so I just went to the goal and tried to score.
“Coach Philibin says the most important parts of the game are the first minute of the quarter and the last. When those go in, it’s definitely a dagger and a momentum shift.”
Rustin’s Jimmy Boland, Aaron Cotter and Pechin led off the second half with consecutive goals to make it 10-3. And when Lamb scored on a man-up situation with 1:09 to go in the third, the margin was seven.
In all, the Knights had four man-up goals before Avon Grove notched its first by Cox, who scored the Devils’ final three goals.
“When you get penalties and dig yourself a hole, it’s hard to get out of it,” Amanto said.
“We had a few little things to play for, but it meant a lot to us in the long run,” Pechin added. “(Avon Grove) is definitely a very skilled team but we came ready to play.”
In addition to Pechin, Lamb finished with three goals and four assists, and Cotter added two goals.
“(Lamb) has turned into a really big part of our team. He is the quarterback for the offense,” Pechin said.
“It helps having players like Jack (O’Hora) and Nate (Pechin), who pull a ton of gravity towards them, to open up Jackson to have the time to scan the field,” Philibin added. “He has incredible vision and great poise behind the cage. He came into the season and we though he was going to be a second-line (midfielder) and he turned into an incredible attackman who has more than 80 points for the season.”
Cox wound up with four goals, Goldstein added three and sophomore Bryce Cox chipped in with four assists for the Devils. Sophomore keeper Sean Boggetta wound up with 13 shots.
“We’ve talked all season about the man in the mirror,” Amanto said. “That’s who you are accountable to. We are always competing with the best version of ourselves, and we didn’t do that today. We didn’t execute and we didn’t put our best foot forward.
“It’s now win or go home. There is no security blanket of another game.”
As for Rustin, the way Philibin sees things, the District 1 2A Tournament comes down to four top contenders.
“Our class is deeper than it’s been, so it’s not going to be easy,” he said. “Upper Merion, (Bishop) Shanahan and Marple (Newtown) – any of those three teams can take it to us if we don’t show up. But we know if we play the way we can, we can play with anybody else.”
West Chester Rustin 12, Avon Grove 7
W.C. Rustin 5 2 4 1 — 12
Avon Grove 2 1 1 3 — 7
W.C. Rustin goals: Pechin 5, Lamb 3, Cotter 2, Boland, Santangelo.
Avon Grove goals: Cox 4, Goldstein 3.
Goalie saves: Brockett (R) 6; Boggetta (AG) 13.
