Cougars issue warning to the rest of the league with dominant shutout

DOWNINGTOWN >> Regardless of the circumstances, only special boys’ lacrosse outfits can completely dismantle an opponent with the skill and tradition of Bishop Shanahan. That’s exactly what Downingtown East did on Thursday at Mancini Field, which says a whole heck of a lot for the unbeaten Cougars.

That East prevailed wasn’t surprising, especially against an Eagles squad still traumatized by a pair of one-goal setbacks the previous week. But the way that the Cougars did it was shocking. The final score – 15-0 – is sure to send shock-waves across the Ches-Mont and beyond.

“(East) is a quality team – the district runner-up coming back with, basically, their full squad,” Shanahan head coach Jon Heisman said. “I’ve seen them on film and knew they were good, but they didn’t make a mistake. They are unbelievable.”

One of just four District 1 3A teams that are still unbeaten, Downingtown East (5-0 in the Ches-Mont, 6-0 overall) passed its first real test this season with flying colors. But even the Cougars seemed a little surprised about how thoroughly they were able to dispatch the Eagles.

“We just played well as a team. If we play like that, we can pretty much do well against most teams,” said senior attacker Bryson Kolinsky.

“We know that whenever we play Shanahan it is going to be a competitive game. I just think played our ‘A’ game today,” added East head coach Joe Horvath. “We played well on offense, defense, and in transition.”

After opening the season with seven straight wins, the Eagles fall to 7-3 overall (and 2-3 in league action). It was, however, probably the worst time to draw the defending Ches-Mont champs because Shanahan is still licking its wounds from an 8-7 overtime loss to West Chester Rustin a week earlier, and a 14-13 home thriller to Downingtown West on Tuesday.

“We were coming off two very tough games, but we just got beat by a better team,” Heisman acknowledged. “(East) is bigger, faster and stronger. It was men against boys.”

In the opening 24 minutes of action, East raced out to a totally dominating 8-0 lead, and seven different players scored the Cougars’ initial seven goals.

“One of the things we preach all the time on offense is balance,” Horvath said. “Some of the better teams seem to always have balanced scoring – more than one of two guys. And we strive for that.”

The second half was more of the same, but this time Kolinsky was the dominant figure as he scored four of East’s five goals in the third quarter, and notched an assist (to teammate Jake McMahon) for the other.

“Our defense played great, and our offense played well even though we had two more guys go down,” Kolinsky said. “We just have that next man up mentality.”

With junior midfielder Connor Sweeney already out, the Cougars lost two more starters during play on Thursday: sophomore defensive midfielder Joe Morrin (collar bone) and junior attacker Taner Marusa (left ankle).

“We had a couple guys go down and some of our younger guys stepped up. It was just an impressive night for us,” Horvath said.

Kolinsky led the way with five goals and two assists, senior Jake Woodworth added three goals, and McMahon chipped in two goals despite playing on a tender ankle.

There were assists on seven of the goals, three came on plays from behind the cage, and one – by senior long-stick middle Mike Waite – came immediately after a faceoff win. The duo of Jack Basilii and Paxson Warnock combined to go 11-7 on faceoffs against Shanahan’s Ronin Miller, who is playing with a cast over a broken arm.

“We have the ingredients to be a special team, but we have to stay healthy and right now we are a little banged up,” Horvath said. “And we also have to continue to play intelligent lacrosse. We are capable of making mistakes, just like any team, and when we do they tend to be bad ones.

“We’ve played some good games, and some bad ones where we weren’t that dominant. We need to increase the ratio toward the good ones, and that’s what we are looking to do.”

The Eagles will look to regroup with Ches-Mont foes Kennett and Unionville next week.

“We thought we were making some strides, playing tough games against tough teams, and then we laid an egg tonight,” Heisman said. “Hopefully the kids will be OK mentally. We will see what we are made of.

“I think we will regroup. We have plenty of time.”

 

Downingtown East 15, Bishop Shanahan 0

Downingtown East                         3 5 5 2 — 15

Bishop Shanahan                            0 0 0 0 — 0

Downingtown East goals: Kolinsky 5, McMahon 2, Woodworth 3, Shillingford, Waite, Petrillo, Warnock, Horvath.

Goalie saves: Quinn (DE) 6; Gallahan (BS) 4.