Cougars top Rustin to set up dream matchup with archrival Whippets
WESTTOWN >> The dream boys’ lacrosse matchup pitting two league unbeatens head-to-head for sole possession of the Ches-Mont lead with just a few regular season games remaining is going to happen. And the fact it is neighboring archrivals like Downingtown East and Downingtown West squaring off only makes the match that much more intriguing.
“It’s going to be a circus,” said East’s junior attacker Bryson Kolinksy.
The Cougars secured their participation in Tuesday’s marquee clash with a hard-fought 11-5 road win at West Chester Rustin on Thursday. East has now won eight in a row, and are 9-0 in the league (13-1 overall). The Whippets are also 9-0.
“You want to win your league, and you want to beat your cross-town rival,” said Cougars’ head coach Joe Horvath. “We are looking forward to it – it should be fun.”
West is slated to be the home team, but it’s really immaterial because both squads call DeSerafino Stadium home. It is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m.
“This is the kind of game we’ve been practicing for all season,” Kolinsky said.
“At the beginning of the season we kind of knew that this was going to be a big game. We are ready.”
Trailing by one midway through the first half on Tuesday, Downingtown East reeled off six goals in a row over the next 19 minutes of action, turning a tense back-and-forth battle into a commanding five-goal advantage considering East’s defensive presence.
“We have a lot of trust in our defense,” Horvath said. “They stay firm no matter what, they have a lot of endurance and a lot of high IQ players. They did a nice job.”
It was an impressive overall performance considering the circumstances: the Golden Knights (6-2, 9-5) needed a win to keep their Ches-Mont title hopes alive. Rustin has now dropped three in a row, but are still among the top five in the District 1 2A power rankings.
“The Ches-Mont (title) was in the back of our mind, not front and center,” said Knights’ head coach Kevin Philibin. “Our focus is the next game and getting better every day, and I felt we got better after (an 11-6 setback at) Downingtown West (on Tuesday).”
There were three ties and three lead changes in the first half. But the Cougars made a big move in the final nine minutes of the second period by scoring four in a row to take a 6-3 lead into the break.
“If you fall asleep at any moment, (Rustin) is going to capitalize – and we did that a couple times early,” Horvath acknowledged. “But we sewed some things up in the second quarter — we possessed it a little more and made smarter decisions on offense.”
Just 12 seconds after Rustin inched ahead 3-2, Kolinsky notched the equalizer, and then Jake McMahon, Connor Sweeney and Alystair Hemburger each scored in succession, with Hemburger’s coming with just six seconds on the clock.
And then the situation got even more dire when East scored the first two goals of the third, including another by Hemburger and a second by Kolinsky. During the 6-0 surge, Kolinsky also notched two assists.
“At the start of the game we were forcing things a little and then in the second quarter we got more comfortable and started possessing more and getting ground balls,” Kolinsky pointed out.
Rustin’s Antonio Santangelo registered his second goal before the end of the quarter, but the Cougars reeled off the next three to close it out emphatically.
“Our defense was playing very good, getting a lot of steals, and pushing for fast breaks and that led to some openings,” Kolinsky said.
“When you play a team like (East) that is very consistent and so well coached, they take advantage of every little mistake and bounce that goes their way,” Philibin added. “I thought our guys played well and challenged them a lot, but a couple bad bounces and a few shots where they are stinging some corners, it was difficult for us to overcome.”
Kolinsky and Hemburger each finished with three goals and sophomore Connor Sweeney chipped in with two for East. Marek Seaman had two goals and an assist to pace the Knights.
East had an edge in shots on goal (18-11) and face offs (12-8), and the Cougars’ sophomore goaltender Evan Milon stopped seven of Rustin’s shots.
Having seen Downingtown West and East in the span of just three days, who better than Philibin to handicap next Tuesday’s clash? With two league contests to play afterwards, the winner will not only have first place all alone, but will also own the tiebreaker.
“I think East is more of a complete team, but (West’s face off specialist Michael) Straub is the most dominant player in the league,” Philibin said. “If he can do the same thing he did to us against East, it will be a challenge.
“I think it’s going to be down to the wire.”
Downingtown East 11, West Chester Rustin 5
Downingtown East 2 4 3 2 — 11
West Chester Rustin 2 1 1 1 — 5
Downingtown East goals: B. Kolinsky 3, Hemburger 3, D. McMahon, Sweeney, J. McMahon 2, Horvath.
West Chester Rustin goals: Santangelo 2, Seaman 2, Jackson.
Goalie saves: Milon (DE) 7; Carney (WCR) 6.
