Avon Grove tops Henderson to stay perfect in Ches-Mont
LONDON GROVE – If a very good team drops two of four it can have an adverse effect in areas like confidence and momentum.
But on Tuesday, it only seemed the make the Avon Grove boys’ lacrosse squad more focused and determined. And the Red Devils proceeded to take a fair amount of frustration out on visiting West Chester Henderson, topping the Warriors 10-3 in the first of back-to-back Ches-Mont showdowns.
With close setbacks to the defending state champs (Manheim Township) and the top-ranked team in District 1 (Springfield, Delco) still fresh in the memory banks, Avon Grove improved to 8-0 in the Ches-Mont while simultaneously dealing a big blow to Henderson’s league title aspirations. And the Devils (10-2 overall) can do it again on Wednesday when they travel to West Chester East (9-1) for a quick-turnaround with the Vikings.
“I’m not sure how this (schedule) happened, but it did,” said Avon Grove head coach Eric Jackson. “So we’ll rest up and get ready for a very good West Chester East team.”
If the Devils can survive the back-to-back challenge, a winner-take-all collision at Bishop Shanahan on May 7th would likely determine the crown. The Eagles are the defending 2A State Champions and are currently 7-1 (11-1 overall).
“(Avon Grove is) the only undefeated team left in this league, so they are the team to beat,” said Henderson head coach Paul Stankiewicz.
“Hey, this is the Ches-Mont, so we really have to make sure we play as hard as we possibly can,” added junior midfielder Jackson Muller, who scored three times and added an assist against the Warriors (7-2, 10-4).
That certainly happened on Tuesday, as Avon Grove honored nine seniors playing a regular season home game for the final time. And it seemed to bring out the best in senior attacker Zach Augustine and senior goaltender Zac Hanway. Augustine notched two goals and two assists, while Hanway put on a show by registering 16 saves.
“It’s Senior Night and it’s important for us to come out with energy,” Jackson said.
“I thought we played really well,” added junior James Chastain. “We came out with a lot of energy, and we wanted to play hard for our seniors.”
Even though the Devils’ Tommy Savory opened the scoring just 23 seconds in, the rest of the half was played at a more plotting pace. That would seem to favor the Warriors, and then Henderson faceoff wizard Luke Wierman won his first six face-offs – but somehow the Devils still managed to take command, 6-1, at the half.
“Henderson has a heck of a faceoff guy, and we didn’t see the ball as much as we’d like,” Jackson acknowledged. “But our guys battled, we came up with some good saves early.
“Our defense is coming together, and when you have Hanway in goal, it gives you a lot more confidence. Zac is right up there with some of the best goalies we’ve had. He’s the real deal.”
Muller made it 2-0 through one period and then Augustine took over, scoring twice and dishing out an assist to teammate Mike Russo with just eight seconds on the clock to make it a relatively comfortable half.
“(Avon Grove was) just better than we were – that happens,” Stankiewicz said. “You can see how well they move the ball. We tried to hold it a little bit, but we knew we were in trouble.
“I thought (Avon Grove) played extremely well, and defended our face-offs well. They kept us outside, and the shots we got, their goalie made the saves. (Hanway) is very good.”
Muller scored two more in the third (both on an assist from Russo), and then Chastain delivered a long-range bullet, even though he is a long-stick defender, to make it 9-2. And midway through the first half, Chastain took over the faceoff duties and wound up effectively battling Wierman.
“James is a nice player to have on your side,” Jackson said.
“I think we learned some things from the losses, plus it makes us mad and gives us more determination,” said Chastain, who has already verbally committed to play college lacrosse at the Air Force Academy.
Jeff Benson and Dan Carnuccio each had a goal and an assist for Henderson, who also got a single goal Jack Micco. Wierman won 10 face-offs on the evening, but Chastain won the other seven.
“In the losses, we learned to not force things on offense,” Muller pointed out. “And when we lose, we look inward to reflect on how we can improve moving forward.”
Avon Grove 10, West Chester Henderson 3
West Chester Henderson 0 1 1 1 — 3
Avon Grove 2 4 4 0 — 10
West Chester Henderson goals: Carnuccio, Benson, Micco.
Avon Grove goals: Muller 3, Augustine 2, Russo 2, Lengel, Savory, Chastain.
Goalie saves: McKie (WCH) 9; Hanway (AG) 16.
