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WYNDMOOR >> One way or another, somebody was going to make program history on Tuesday in round one of the PIAA Boys Lacrosse 2A playoff clash between Devon Prep and Twin Valley.
Both were desperately looking for its initial win at states, and at the end of a physical tussle, the Tide emerged with a hard-earned 12-9 victory. The District 12 champs, Devon Prep advances to the quarterfinals on Saturday, where it will play the winner of the first-round game between Mars and Hershey at a site and time to be determined.
“These guys are excited about it,” said Tide head coach Mark Consolo. “We’ve been here the last four years and they know what it takes. They were ready to take the next step.”
Now 17-5 overall, Devon won it thanks to an epic 7-0 rally in the second quarter and into the third. The run turned a 3-2 deficit into a commanding 9-3 lead. And even though the Raiders made a late comeback, it wasn’t enough.
“In that stretch we were just making all of the right plays,” said the Tide’s senior midfielder Nick D’Alessandro. “We were just finding open teammates.”
The third place finisher in District 3, Twin Valley (16-5) was making its second straight appearance in the PIAAs.
“You don’t get to this level and expect easy games,” said Raiders’ head coach Decker Coupe. “These are the 16 best teams in the state left. There is no room for error, and we made a couple in less than opportune times.”
The second period was a huge factor. Down by a goal, the Tide got a pair of man-up goals to take the lead for good, including two in the final minute to make it 6-3 at the half.
“We like to play fast,” Consolo said. “But it’s a tough balance when to push and when to fall back. They did a great job with that – they knew when to push the tempo.”
Devon added three straight goals to start the second half – by Ryan Kane, D’Alessandro and senior Nick Walton – to take control. But the Raiders’ Danny Murphy responded with back-to-back goals to kick off the comeback.
“Danny (Murphy) is a senior captain and he didn’t want this to be his last game,” Doupe said. “He took the game by the horns there.”
The first of two big difference-makers was a great individual effort by Tide senior Eamonn Donovan with 1:47 to go in the third. After Murphy and Noah Williams scored for Twin Valley, to make it 10-7 with 8:23 to go, D’Alessandro notched the back-breaker on another outstanding individual move and score.
“Finding that balance just shows how far we’ve come,” Consolo said. “And we are so proud of them for that.”
The Raiders scored two more times, but simply ran out of time.
“Big games and big moments can sometimes get the better of young athletes,” Doupe said. “It was never from a lack of effort, just execution fell by the wayside at times.
“We struggled to clear the ball in the first half so it was in our end too much. The scoring efficiency was probably pretty dang close, but (Devon) just outnumbered us on shots.”
Devon Prep had a 17-6 shots on goal advantage in the first half. It was 25-17 overall. Twin Valley’s Ean Winchester went 17 of 25 on faceoffs, and Raider’s goaltender Dylan Corros finished with 13 saves. Murphy finished with a game-high four goals and Williams had two.
A West Chester resident, D’Alessandro had three goals and two assists, and Berwyn’s Donovan added three goals for the Tide.
“Coach Travis Thomas has been with me from the start,” said Consolo, who is in his eighth season at the helm. “We knew that we had to create a culture, and we’ve added to the coaching staff. It wasn’t just us. It was a team effort getting the right coaches. They’ve done an awesome job.”
In addition to finally beating Lansdale Catholic, winning the district crown, and finally winning in the state tournament, Devon Prep has now achieved quite a few goals that were at the top of the list at the start of the season.
“This is big,” D’Alessandro said. “The progression from our freshman year to now is amazing.
“These were our goals at the beginning of the season. It means a lot to be able to accomplish them.”
Devon Prep 12, Twin Valley 9
Twin Valley 3 0 2 4 — 9
Devon Prep 2 4 3 3 — 12
Twin Valley goals: Murphy 4, Williams 2, Glass, Engle, Shanahan.
Devon Prep goals: D’Alessandro 3, Donovan 3, Walton 2, Kane 2, Chomkp, Sullivan.
Goalie saves: Pascale (DP) 8; Corros (TV) 13.
