Garnet Valley, Penncrest awarded top two seeds

The District One boys lacrosse tournament will go through the Central League, that much seems certain this season.

The league earned three of the top four seeds and four of the top six, according to the brackets released Sunday.

Central League co-champs Garnet Valley and Penncrest are the first and second seeds, respectively, in the tournament, which earns them byes into the second round. Garnet Valley (13-3) awaits the winner of No. 16 Abington and No. 17 Strath Haven in Thursday’s second round. Penncrest (14-4) will entertain the winner of No. 15 Wissahickon and No. 18 Holy Ghost Prep.

Springfield (12-4) garnered the No. 4 seed, which was originally slated to earn a bye. That has apparently changed, however, as the Cougars open up Tuesday with West Chester East, the 29th team to qualify for what was originally a 28-team tournament.

There are a pair of all-Central League matchups in the first round, with Marple Newtown (7-11) earning the 27 seed and a trip to No. 6 Radnor (13-5). Those teams met 12 days ago, Radnor claiming a 12-7 win behind six Jack Norton goals.

The winner of Marple Newtown-Radnor games gets the winner of No. 11 Ridley (12-6) and No. 22 Plymouth-Whitemarsh. Ridley has lost in the second round each of the last three years; if the seeds hold, they’ll try to buck that trend against a Radnor team that it beat, 11-6, April 7.

The other is between No. 23 Haverford (9-8) and No. 10 Conestoga. The Pioneers claimed a decisive 12-3 win April 21. The winner of that game gets the winner of No. 7 Upper Dublin and No. 26 Lower Merion.

In total, 11 of the 12 Central League teams made the postseason. They claimed six of the top 11 seeds and four of the berths between 23 and 28 (including Harriton at 28).

The other first-round bye goes to No. 3 Bishop Shanahan. Five teams qualify for the PIAA Tournament, which means losers in the quarterfinals will playback for the fifth berth.