Shanahan takes step toward defending last two state titles
LONDON GROVE >> Bishop Shanahan knows how deflating it can be to allow the first six goals in a postseason contest. It happened, after all, just five days earlier to the Eagles in the district final.
So on Tuesday in the first round of the PIAA 2A Boys’ Lacrosse Playoffs, when Shanahan inflicted the exact same kind of blow to Lampeter-Strausburg, the end result was predictable: Shanahan wound up scoring 10 of the first 11 goals, on its way to a convincing, yet imperfect, 16-8 victory.
“I saved some of my vocal chords today,” said Eagles’ head coach Jon Heisman.
“It felt a lot different,” added senior All-American Collin Gucwa. “When you are down 6-0, you get nervous and start pressing. Being up 6-0, you are free to just put the pedal down and do what we do.”
Now 16-5 overall, the Eagles move one step closer in their bid to successfully defend the last two state titles (2018 and 2019). They will play the Erie Cathedral Prep-Chartiers winner in the quarterfinals on Saturday.
“It was sloppy, but we took care of business,” Heisman said. “We just made too many mistakes and (Lampeter-Strasburg) wanted the ball a little more than us.
“We’ll take the blame as coaches. We have to get them ready. We have to look ourselves in the mirror.”
Despite some lapses, it was a productive outing on many levels, especially for Shanahan youngsters like Joe Pezone and Joe Devine, who struggled mightily in the loss to Penncrest in the District 1 title game. But it was senior attacker Owen Mehok who sparked the terrific start for the Eagles with two early goals and two assists in the opening seven minutes of action. At the end of the period, it was 6-1.
“Owen is our main guy, and everyone knows that,” Heisman said. “He’s good.”
Mehok then spearheaded another surge early in the second with two more goals and an assist to make it 10-1, capping a four-goal outburst in the first minute of the quarter. In all, seven different Shanahan players scored, the Eagles had a 20-6 edge in shots on goal, and it was 11-3 at the half.
The third period was attacker Dylan Jones turn to shine. The junior poured in three of his four goals on the day to help the Eagles take an insurmountable 15-7 advantage into the final period.
Mehok finished with five goals and three assists before being injured midway through the third quarter. Afterwards, Heisman said he is OK and was taken out a precaution.
A sophomore goaltender, Pezone bounced back with six saves, and Devine, a freshman attacker, chipped in with two goals and an assist. Junior Colin McGrory added three goals.
“Our last game was rough – we started off bad,” said Gucwa, who along with Liam Blakely won 21 of 29 faceoffs. “We didn’t play our best today, but we’ll take the win. We are still playing.
“We got an eight-goal win, we still controlled the field and got some more experience. We want to keep going as far as we can, so it’s great for the younger guys to see what it’s like to play in big-time playoff games.”
An imposing 6-foot-2, 260-pounds, Jones moved into the starting lineup and provided a significant scoring punch for the Eagles, who have had trouble scoring as times this season.
“I was able to get open, my teammates just kept feeding me so I just kept firing,” Jones said.
“He hasn’t played a whole lot this season and he helped us today,” Heisman added. “He’s gotten better and earned his playing time. He’s a big kid and he can shoot.”
Lampeter-Strasburg’s season ends with a 15-6 mark. Colin Sullivan and Barrett Denlinger scored four and three goals, respectively, for the Pioneers.
“A couple of our kids had their heads down afterwards,” Heisman said. “When you win a playoff game by eight goals, you need to keep your head up.
“We as coaches will figure out what to do moving forward.”
Bishop Shanahan 16, Lampeter-Strasburg 8
Lampeter-Strasburg 1 2 4 1 — 8
Bishop Shanahan 6 5 4 1 — 16
Lampeter-Strasburg goals: Sullivan 4, Denlinger 3, Nolt.
Bishop Shanahan goals: McGrory 3, Jones 4, Mehok 5, Devine 2, Oakes, Blakely.
