Strong start for La Salle, but stronger Malvern finish

SPRINGFIELD >> It was La Salle’s turn Tuesday afternoon to try and topple Malvern Prep’s lacrosse team.
Valiant try, familiar result.
The Friars erased an early two-goal deficit with an eight-goal second quarter, then eased past the Explorers, 15-10, to continue their reign of terror over most of Southeast Pa.
Billy Coyle netted six goals and added a pair of assists and goalkeeper Andrew Clark made 12 saves as Malvern held off another challenger to its early-season supremacy.
“Our goal, right now, is to win the Inter-Ac,” Coyle said. “We can’t go undefeated anymore after our loss to Calvert Hall (a 7-6 overtime setback on March 22), so all we can do is try and win the Inter-Ac Challenge.”
La Salle did a lot right early on, winning the majority of the first-quarter draws and finding ways to capitalize. The Explorers came away from the initial 12 minutes with a 4-2 lead.
But it wouldn’t last.
Helped along by a stretch of three Explorers penalties, the Friars scored seven unanswered goals to take a 9-4 lead late in the second period.
It was a deficit La Salle would not overcome.
“They’re a great team,” said La Salle head coach Bill Leahy. “They’re well coached, they have great sticks on offense and we gave them too many man-ups.
“We had five penalties, gave them six minutes of man-up time, and you can’t do that against an offense that good.”
That second period completely turned the game around.
Kyle Anderson got the fun started for the Friars with a goal early in the period.
What followed was what amounted to a clinic on how to attack a very good defense.
Coyle’s first goal knotted the score at 4. Jarrett Donaghy put the visitors ahead to stay at the 4:42 mark. And over the next 3:22, Malvern blew its lead out to 9-4 before Austin Clibanoff halted the run with an Explorers goal in the final 63 seconds.
“The game really turned there with all of those man-ups,” Coyle said. “We got a lot of our looks on those man-up situations.
“This is a pretty big rivalry, so it felt good to get that lead.”
Mike Fay added the cherry to the top of the Friars sundae, and Malvern was sitting on a five-goal lead (10-5) at the break.
It wouldn’t get much better for the home team in the third period as Malvern got goals from Coyle and Quinn McCahon to hold its five-goal advantage through three.
The third period began with a pair of Coyle goals that gave the Friars a 14-7 lead with 10:39 left.
La Salle never stopped plugging, and another Clibanoff goal and a pair by Brett Baskin made it 15-10 with just over a minute left.
But the Friars won the ensuing draw and ran out the clock.
And their run of success over Southeast Pa. remained intact.
“I really liked the way we competed,” said Leahy. “But we had that bad stretch in the second period that forced us to play catch-up.
“And that’s not our style.”