Garnet Valley pulls away from North Penn in District 1 2nd round
CONCORD >> Thursday night’s playoff-charged atmosphere at Garnet Valley’s Moe DeFrank Stadium provided North Penn an opportunity to see just how far the program has come, and where the Knights would like to get to.
“Our senior class has come a long way in four years. This is the most successful team we’ve had in North Penn history, and it’s a tribute to the seniors and their work ethic,” Knights coach Rick Smith said. “We gotta look at a program like Garnet Valley and say ‘we wanna be there.’
“And I believe we have the players to make that happen the next couple years.”
The Knights battled their way back from an early 5-0 hole, getting to within 7-4 by the half, but ultimately, playoff-tested Garnet Valley would prevail 15-5 over the Knights on a cool night on the turf at GV.
The win advanved the sixth-seeded Jaguars to a District One Quarterfinal showdown with No. 3 Upper Dublin, Saturday at Harriton at a time to be determined.
Seniors Jake Diamond and Luke Homan scored for the Knights, as did juniors Reece Udinski and Nick Keim along with freshman Nic Conroy, as NP — like it had all season — blended experience along with a glimpse of the future.
“We have freshmen that are playing with seniors, and they are shooting and scoring, so I’m hoping that the seniors kind of set the tone for a nice, long run here at North Penn,” Smith said. “We did so many great things this year and we had so many first-time things that we’ve never done in North Penn history.
“I’m so proud of every player in this program. They worked so hard. These seniors kind of laid the groundwork for many years to come, with their work ethic, doing the offseason stuff, and everyone pulling in the right direction — they did a very good job at that.”
The Jaguars’ pivotal run came in the third quarter, which allowed them to extend their lead to 10-4. Denny Nealon was a key cog in the Garnet Valley attack, racking up eight points on the night — two goals along with six assists.
“We were very hyped. We were just trying to get to the quarterfinals and keep our season alive,” said Nealon, a junior who has verbally committed to play at Division One Lehigh University. “Everything was on. The offense was clicking, the defense was clicking — everything went right.”
And now the Jaguars get a shot at the Cardinals, an 18-2 winner over West Chester East.
“I remember my freshman year, we played those guys and got knocked off in playbacks,” Nealon said of Upper Dublin. “That was the end of all the seniors’ careers so I guess we’re kind of doing it for them and hoping it doesn’t happen to our seniors.”
