Souderton rolls past Great Valley in District 1-3A first round

FRANCONIA >> The Souderton boys lacrosse team grabbed a 2-0 lead less than two minutes into Monday night’s District 1-3A first-round contest with Great Valley.

It took a little bit after that for the Indians to register their third goal, John Martin Vince finally ending the lull by coming from behind the net to score with 2:02 left in the first quarter.

“I just think we got lazy off-ball and we were just ball watching the whole time, waiting for something to do something,” Vince said. “And that’s why we weren’t able to get those goals like we had in the first two minutes.”

But after the opening 12 minutes, ninth-seeded Souderton got its offense rolling. Big Red scored seven times in the second quarter to take a 10-1 lead into halftime then tallied all four goals in the third and cruised past the visiting No. 24 Patriots for a 17-3 victory.

“They threw something a little different, we weren’t necessarily prepared for it on offense,” Souderton coach Craig Hunsberger said. “But our guys do a very good job of feeling it out and working around and they all have really high lacrosse IQs. I kind of just give them keys and they run it.”

Sophomore Vince and junior Ty Quintois both had hat tricks at the break with Vince finishing with five goals and four assists while Quintois totaled four goals as the Indians (15-3) earned their first district win since 2019 and second postseason win in program history.

“It means everything to us,” Souderton senior Jamison McDivitt said. “It’s just kind of a testament to all the hard work that we’ve put in, all those extra shots that we’re getting in after practice, before practice. All of our guys have been into it from the start.

“Nine months before the season started we were all out here three days a week and it’s just a testament to how hard we’ve worked and I’m glad to see it all coming true.”

Tyson Bui scored four goals while Seth Grossman added three goals for Souderton, which advances to visit SOL National rival No. 8 Central Bucks East in the second round Thursday. The Indians lost 9-3 at East April 12 and finished second to the Patriots for the conference title.

“Last time we played ‘em we played honestly terrible,” Vince said. “We were playing lazy, we were letting them dictate what we were doing, we weren’t having good offensive possessions. But we’re definitely ready, we all wanted another shot at them cause we knew we didn’t play the way we should of against them the first time.”

Daniel Siaton had two goals and an assist with Hayden Darabant also scoring for Great Valley (8-10), which lost in the district first round for the second straight season.

“I didn’t expect it to be 17-3,” Hunsberger said. “But anytime your team can go out and perform at its highest level that’s a great day to be a coach.”

Souderton took a 7-0 lead on a Bui strike with 7:21 in the second quarter before the Patriots finally broke through on a Siaton goal at 6:27. The Indians, however, collected the half’s last three goals – Bui coming from behind then cutting towards the net to score at 1:59 to make it 10-1.

“We kind of knew how to adjust to their zone,” McDivitt said. “We knew what defenses they’re looking to run, whether it’s looking to slide from sliding from adjacents and so just kind of being able to pick apart those defenses and get our guys open shots is what kind of got us rolling.”

Souderton proceeded to score all four of the third quarter’s goals for another 7-0 run. Grossman found the back of the net off a Vince assist at 10:08 then Grossman connected with Vince to make it 12-1 at 9:12.

“We all just trust each other that we can put the ball in the back of the net,” McDivitt said. “None of us are really picking for stats or anything like that we’re all just kind of happy, six guys in a huddle every time someone scores so definitely something excited to be a part of.”

Vince intercepted a pass and fed Quintois for a goal with Bui ripping a shot into the top of the net to put Big Red up 14-1.

“It helps when you have all of your units operating together,” Hunsberger said. “Shawn Martin had a big game at the [faceoff] X giving us the ball a lot. Our offense did a good job possessing it and making really good decisions and just getting us out on top with an early lead.

“Once you get out on an early lead you just really try hard not to give it up. We just tried to control the pace of the game and just play our Soudy pace.”

Grossman gave the Indians a 1-0 lead at 10:53 in the first quarter with Quintois doubling the advantage off a Vince assist 47 seconds later. Vince’s first goal at 2:02 sent Souderton into the second quarter up 3-0.

McDivitt made it 4-0 at 10:36 then whipped a pass over the defense to Quintois for a goal at 8:59. Vince struck 56 seconds later while Bui corralled a ground ball and scored at 7:21 to put the Indians up seven.

“Just settling for the right shot, not really looking at the first shot that we had to get,” McDivitt said. “Just kind of seeing the right shot, moving the ball twice, getting the perfect shot to put the ball in the back of the net.”

Siaton put Great Valley on the scoreboard at 6:27 but Vince assisted on a Quintois tally at 4:54 before striking at 3:09. Bui made it a nine-goal margin with 1:59 left in the half.