Lucky 15: Rose dominates as Garnet Valley completes dream run
WEST GOSHEN >> Jason Rose ambled up and down the line of Garnet Valley boys lacrosse players in the twilight Thursday evening, offering water, offering handshakes, absorbing every second like the goalie had so many shots pelted at him. He cracked jokes, relived saves and coordinated cadres of players for photos.
For the last two weeks, the District 1 Class 3A boys lacrosse tournament has proceeded to the beat that Rose set for it. He’s made lacrosse shots bend to his will, exerting what looked at times Thursday like a Matrix-esque mastery of time and space. So why not let Rose orchestrate a trophy presentation, one that he, more than any other soul on the turf at West Chester East High School, willed into being?
Rose was outstanding yet again, stopping 15 shots as the No. 15 seed Garnet Valley completed the most unlikely of District 1 title runs with a 5-4 victory in the final over Central League rival Conestoga.
No. 4 seed Conestoga joined the titans in the wake of the Jaguars (15-8), who also knocked off seeds two, three and 10.
Rose yet again strained description with his brilliance. His Jags were outshot, 39-16, and barraged for long junctures, including 11 shots foisted upon Rose’s cage in the first six minutes of the third quarter. The post and crossbar, best friend of all goalies, intervened on four occasions, and the mere threat of Rose’s blanketing of all corners of the net altered countless shots before they left Conestoga sticks.
For the tournament, he allowed 24 goals on 87 shots, an astronomical save percentage of 72.4 that includes winning three one-goal games in the Jags’ dream run that places him as the tournament’s most outstanding player, beyond the shadow of a doubt.
“It’s been awesome,” defenseman Austin Patton said. “Jason’s been behind me for basically my whole lacrosse career. Always having him there to rely on if we mess up is just fantastic.”
“He gets us all fired up,” attackman Mitch Lachman added. “He makes a crazy save, and we’re all hyped up.”
Rose stones Reilly. Lucky 13. 5:36 left. 4-3 GV pic.twitter.com/56Pb6OArnk
— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) May 24, 2018
The Garnet Valley defense warrants recognition, too, as Rose, the United States Air Force Academy commit who also excels in modesty, is quick to point out. Frank Urso’s team tossed all manner of gadget schemes at Conestoga, keeping the No. 4 Pioneers off balance all night. They’d lock two players off with defensive midfielders and go 4-on-4 zone. They’d snap back to man-to-man mid-possession. They’d press or sit back, but always adapt and confound.
They were beaten the first time they attempted it, just 67 seconds into the game. With two Conestoga attackmen shut off, one stepped over midfield for an unmarked long pole in Scott Smith to dash in and whip one home. But Garnet Valley wasn’t discouraged by that concession and kept talking through their progressions.
PHOTO GALLERY: Garnet Valley vs. Conestoga
“When something happens like that, we huddle up as a group, talk about what we did wrong, say what we need to do, get back on the field and we do it again,” d-middie Greg Reynolds said. “And we run it to 100 percent.”
“It’s all about going in and out of certain defenses, just keep them on edge,” Patton said. “They really don’t know what we’re doing until they get into it and they have to make the decision from there. I think just the changing of defense that we did, even right in the middle of plays, it threw them off.”
Rose stops Reilly then covers in crease. left. Jags clear. 1:11 left. 5-4 game. pic.twitter.com/pTd0gFVTKW
— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) May 24, 2018
The defensive unit of Patton, Sam Morin, Tyler Davis, Aidan Berry and Gavin Miller was stellar all night, right up until the final moments when Patton checked the stick of Tate Kienzle on a desperation drive to the cage with 28 seconds left. Conestoga recovered the ball, and Nick Braendel, hero of Tuesday’s three-overtime win over Avon Grove, whistled one just over the crossbar with one tenth of a second remaining.
“The defense is doing a great job of forcing them to shoot how we want them to shoot,” Rose said. “And even the ones that did go in, I think I could’ve stopped them. I had a clear view of them and made a couple of mistakes. … It dictates the place of the game. We have them playing the game that we want them to play, so it’s a great advantage for us.”
Garnet Valley posted a shutout in the second quarter, leading at halftime through Danny Bradley’s goal. It was set up by Bishop Barnes, who scored in the first quarter. Mitch Lachman made it a 4-2 game in transition from Jake Morin at 7:28 of the third, following a four-and-a-half minute Conestoga possession that featured three Rose denials.
Kienzle got Stoga back within one, but Lachman answered again to the five-hole of Conestoga goalie Scott MacMillan, Nate Ominsky doing the feeding this time with 5:20 left.
“We decided to go short sticks behind and see if we could beat a man and catch the slides,” Lachman said. “Coach said, ‘follow your pole and if you catch it, stick it.’ And that’s what I did.”
Conestoga’s James Reilly — who had a goal and two assists, plus an 11-for-13 day at the X — got the Pioneers back within one with 3:51 to play. But Rose stonewalled Reilly on a similar look minutes later when the Georgetown signee tried to go five-hole.
“It’s just really hard for your team because you’re shooting shots that normally go in on other goalies and it’s not going in, so you get frustrated,” Reilly said of Rose’s play. “It’s a hard thing to fix really quick.”
Jason Rose the stop on Will Schnorr with Stoga man up. 7 for Rose. 3-2 GV with ball. 51 to half. pic.twitter.com/j8Z9XDUjiV
— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) May 24, 2018
When it came time to bestow the trophy on the Jags, there would be no question as to which of the tri-captains got their hands on it first. Rarely has a surer set of mitts done the job.
“I’m so proud of these guys,” Rose said. “A 15 seed winning a championship, it was a lot of fun. And these guys, it’s all them. They never gave up, they never counted themselves out when everyone else did.”
