Van Horn, Garnet Valley enjoy relaxing win over CB West

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CONCORD — Nick Van Horn’s voice projected over the turf at Moe DeFrank Stadium during the fourth quarter Saturday afternoon, calling out passes and screens, directing the Garnet Valley defense.

Only thing was that Van Horn, the Jags’ starting goalie, did it from the sidelines while backup Dylan Widdoes faced shots from Central Bucks West. Van Horn was on the sideline last year as the Jaguars qualified for the PIAA Class 3A state tournament, but the similarities between the journeys end there.

Saturday’s 14-3 cakewalk over CB West got the reigning District 1 Class 3A champs back to the semis and states. While the methods were similar, it was worlds away from the way fourth-seeded Garnet Valley collected hardware last year.

The Jaguars (16-3) advance to an all-Central League final four. They’ll take on top seed Springfield, which downed Downingtown East, 9-6, Saturday. The game Tuesday is at 5:15 at Halderman Field.

A year ago, Van Horn was the backup to Jason Rose, who authored an otherworldly postseason to pilot the No. 15 seed to an unlikely title. Three of Garnet’s five district wins were decided by one goal. Only one of the games took place at home.

This time, the Jaguars might be embracing the same underdog mentality. But their development as a team, which has fostered two playoff wins by a total of 23 goals, means such a storyline requires a little more maintenance.

“We’re a little bit more expected to win, but I think we still take that underdog role where we’re proving everyone wrong,” Jake Morin said.

The methods, however, are similar. The attack relies on a collective approach. No one scorer reigns supreme, and the ability of all six players on the field at any time to threaten is paramount in unsettling defenses.

So it was Saturday that nine Jaguars scored, the offense taking whatever it wanted from a West team that didn’t look anywhere near up to snuff for a No. 5 seed.

Morin led the parade with a hat trick and an assist. Mitch Lachman scored twice, including a sumptuous behind-the-back goal. Danny Bradley and Cole D’Annunzio tallied twice each in an onslaught that included a 2-1 shots margin and a 6-0 edge in the second quarter that had the game decided at half with a 10-1 spread.

The only thing stopping the Jags was West goalie Max Dunar, who was solid with 10 saves. But he got far too little help holding back the deluge.

“Their goalie was very good, and we needed to make sure we placed our shots, changed planes and everything like that,” Morin said. “But our teammates do a great job of moving, and that opens it up for everyone else.”

On the other side of the field, the Jags muted the Bucks into oblivion. Leading scorer Eric Ojert did nothing. Van Horn made four saves before exiting after three quarters, and reserve Dylan Widdoes stopped five of six shots in the fourth.

The Garnet Valley defense was so smothering that, in addition to causing turnovers in bunches, it held West without a shot on 90 seconds of man-up time – not by caused turnovers, but just because the befuddled Bucks couldn’t figure out a way to get a shot off against the Jags’ organized defensive corps.

“We stay tight, do our jobs and get the job done,” defender Shane O’Donoghue said. “… I think we have the heart where we need to go, and we put the work in and we show it out on the field.”

The underdog narrative may be easier to sell against Springfield, even if Garnet Valley beat the Cougars in the regular season, 9-8 in overtime.

But with their experience in districts, the Jaguars are ready for the challenge.

“I think we’ve come a far way,” Morin said. “We’ve done a good job of getting our plan all year to get into this position to have this game like we did.”

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Matthew De George

Matthew De George
Matthew De George is the Asst. Sports Editor and the lead Union writer for The Daily Times.

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