Cohesive Marple Newtown is ready for postseason
NEWTOWN SQUARE — Like every other aspect of Marple Newtown’s season, the question posed to Billy Morgan at practice Monday has to be answered in the proper frame of reference.
Does he regard the Tigers’ qualification for the District One boys lacrosse tournament, the program’s first playoff appearance in 12 years, as unexpected?
Had you asked Morgan before the season, the answer would’ve been an emphatic no. But that was before two of the team’s starting attackmen — Tyler Kostack (after just two games) and Tom Higgins (who scored 35 goals in 12 games) — suffered season-ending injuries, before five key members of the squad, including Morgan for the season’s first six contests with a shoulder injury, missed time.
By the release of the April 22 batch of power rankings, which pegged Marple at 31st for a (then) 28-team field, the prevailing sentiment had shifted.
“A lot of the guys, if you asked them, the way our season was going, everyone would’ve been like, ‘˜oh playoffs is a long shot,” Morgan said. “But the guys kept fighting and it came down to the end, and we were lucky enough to get it.’
The Tigers (7-11) have managed to persevere through the adversity, and the reward is the 27th seed and an all-Delco collision with No. 6 Radnor in Tuesday’s first round.
Morgan has been among the most affected by the upheaval. With the abundance of attackmen the Tigers projected to have, the senior captain planned on moving back to midfield. Once the injury dominoes fell, though, he was back to attack, flanked by junior Christian Xitas and freshman Alex Viola.
Through those changes — which included losing Kyle Pedley to a foot injury down the stretch and the absence of junior co-captain Steve Viola on defense — Marple has somehow managed to conjure enough winning lacrosse to make a monumental jump to the postseason.
The secret is the team’s cohesiveness, which starts on the practice field.
“We practice, and everyone comes in, everyone plays all the time,’ senior long-stick midfielder Eric McKelvey said. “So our backups know the offense, they know the defense, they know what to do when they come in. We build our team out of one unit. We don’t have only the starters go practice. We make sure everyone’s on the same level, that way we’re all interchangeable parts.’
At every level, players have assumed larger roles of necessity. TJ Reiley has emerged offensively, leading the Tigers with 39 goals, 23 assists (tied with Xitas) and 62 points. Gino DiCamillo has become a defensive leader, he and Vince Civardelli has been a constant presence on the back end.
“It’s really just everybody, attack, middie, defense, goalie. Everybody has stepped up and come to play,’ Xitas said. “It’s not good when you have a teammate go down. It hurts the team, but everyone has buckled up and played as hard as they can.’
Their first-round matchup is daunting, but at least there’s familiarity on which to build. (Marple had originally been designated as the No. 26 seed, to meet No. 7 Upper Dublin, before one of the district’s myriad recalculations over the weekend.)
Marple and Radnor (13-5) met April 30, a 12-7 decision for the Raiders powered by six Jack Norton goals. Radnor has won four straight games and qualified for states last season. It’s an established program, representing the level that Marple aspires to consistently reach.
But after all they’ve endured this season, the pressure is off for the Tigers, according to Morgan. They’re not satisfied by just making the field, but they enter the playoffs secure in the knowledge that many of their most daunting challenges have been overcome.
“It’s amazing. We rebuilt this program,’ McKelvey said. “Couple years ago, no one would’ve thought we would’ve been competing for anything near the playoffs. Now we’re in it and we’re just a completely different program than we were a few years back. It’s just a change of everything, and everyone’s excited.’
In other District One Tournament action Tuesday:
No. 17 Strath Haven at No. 16 Abington
The Ghosts (13-5) saw their 13-game winning streak ended by last Thursday’s 14-13 loss to Garnet Valley. That unbeaten run, though, was aided by the weakness of the Suburban One National Division through which Abington went undefeated (and is the only postseason qualifier).
The Ghosts boast a high-powered attack, orchestrated by Cameron Leach. But as they showed when Garnet Valley effectively muted Leach, others like Hunter Jones, John Wink and Joe Lomady also pose daunting challenges.
Strath Haven (8-9) enters with one win in its last eight, though the losses were to five District One playoff teams plus Malvern Prep and St. Joseph’s Prep. The key for the Panthers seems to be avoiding slow starts. If they can get Jack Borbee and Jack Ross going early, they stand a chance at a (minor) upset.
No. 29 West Chester East at No. 4 Springfield
The Vikings (9-9) backed into the playoffs, having won two of their last nine to occupy a spot that wasn’t supposed to exist when District One designed its 28-team field. The fact that East hasn’t score more than four times in any of the last five outings plays into the hands of Springfield, which has limited opponents to four goals or fewer on eight occasions this season.
The Cougars (12-5) saw their 10-game winning streak snapped by Upper Dublin last Thursday. The attack has hit its stride lately, with Central League co-player of the year Lucas Spence scoring 25 goals in the last seven games and freshman Kyle Long on a five-game goal streak. The Cougars defense, led by Pat Smyth, will key on Alex Hirsch and Sam Maddox as East’s driving forces.
No. 23 Haverford at No. 10 Conestoga
The Pioneers’ 9-9 record isn’t terribly intimidating. But Conestoga has played, per District One’s most recent power rankings, the toughest schedule in the district, by a large margin. They’ve played just one District One postseason non-qualifier (Upper Darby) in addition to La Salle, Haverford School and Calvert Hall.
Among the Pioneers’ casualties was Haverford (8-9), which it topped 12-3 April 21, the Fords’ lowest offensive output of the season. Haverford snapped a five-game losing streak in its last outing with a 10-5 win over Plymouth-Whitemarsh led by four goals from Mark Edler.
No. 22 Plymouth-Whitemarsh at No. 11 Ridley
Based on the common opponent, Ridley (12-6) would seem to have the edge: The Green Raiders beat Haverford by five goals, and the Fords beat the Colonials (10-8) by five.
After a midseason rough patch, Ridley has won four straight, though their front-loaded schedule affords a week between the regular-season finale and postseason opener. All four of its wins have been against playoff teams, including a 7-5 decision over Wissahickon, another Suburban One American side. PW lost twice to Wissahickon in low-scoring affairs (6-4 and 4-1), and Ridley’s ability to turn Tuesday’s meeting into a more offensive encounter could prove favorable.
