Goalie change leads La Salle past St. Joseph’s Prep

SPRINGFIELD >> La Salle lacrosse head coach Bill Leahy has been very successful on the Explorers sidelines for many years because he’s not afraid to make the changes that need to be made.

Friday afternoon, with the host Explorers battling with rival St. Joseph’s Prep for a share of first place in the Philadelphia Catholic League, Leahy replaced starting goaltender Michael Clibanoff with junior Matt McLaren with the Explorers holding a one-goal lead at halftime.

The result was a spirited performance from McLaren, a very good La Salle effort in the second half and a 13-9 victory that kept the Explorers unbeaten in PCL play.

“Kyle was terrific in the second half,” said Leahy after the Explorers celebrated their victory. “He came into a tough situation and gave us a strong effort.”

“When you’re in a pressure situation like that, you just have to keep your composure,” McLaren said. “I just tried to stay focused and I got a lot of help from our defense.

“That was tough for Mike, but he just wasn’t on top of his game today like he was against Episcopal. He’s played great for us this year.”

La Salle got on top, 2-0, early. But by the end of the first quarter the Hawks had pulled to within 4-3, and then took a 5-4 lead midway through the second quarter.

By halftime, even though La Salle got the lead back, Leahy went to McLaren.

And La Salle responded immediately, using goals from Brandon Meagher and Brett Baskin to hold a 9-6 lead at the 7:16 mark of the third.

Prep would use one of Kevin Stump’s five goals to get back to within 9-7, but the Prep would not get closer as the Explorers and McLaren held firm in their defensive end, as the junior netminder made a series of tough, in-close saves.

“I just knew I had to come in and play to the best of my ability,” McLaren said.

“All week we’ve been working on being physical in practice,” Meagher said. “Our seniors really stepped up and showed us how to do it as Explorers.

“What we did today is just something that comes with being together a lot. The guys trust each other, and that’s why our offense has come together.”

As for the Hawks, head coach Sean DeLaney said his team came up short because it did not keep its composure.

“That was the key to the game,” the Prep coach said. “In the second half we showed a little better composure, but our ball movement was not what I would have liked.

“The ball kind of died in our guys’ sticks.”

But the Explorers were not about to extend their sympathies.

“Composure isn’t something you can work on in practice,” DeLaney said. “But our guys have to be held accountable for their errors. And we’ll work on that.”

LAX-ENDS: Along with Stump’s five goals, the Hawks got two goals from Pete Gayhart and a goal apiece from Daniel Fisher and Kyle Scheuerle. … Meagher’s three goals were bolstered by two goals each from Brett Baskin, Cody Mazurek and Matt Clibanoff. Kyle Landis, Colin Cahill and Ethan LaMond netted a goal apiece. … McLaren finished with five second-half saves.