Pennridge holds off Ridley in D1-3A second round

EAST ROCKHILL >> Pennridge just needed to relax.

After having a seven-goal lead over Ridley trimmed to two in 7:21, the Rams needed to stop the bleeding. They called timeout, talked things over and got back to how they started the game. Frankie Fanelli found Rocco Fanelli for a goal – just like he did early in the first quarter – and the lead was back to three goals.

“We were just talking about how we have to stay calm,” Frankie Fanelli said of the timeout. “We have the lead and the game’s in our hands. We just have to burn the candle on offense and take the ball away on defense.”

The Green Raiders answered just 22 seconds later, but that’s as close as they’d get.

No. 3 Pennridge beat No. 14 Ridley in the second round of the District 1-3A playoffs Thursday night at Pennridge High School. The Rams advance to a quarterfinal matchup with No. 6 Wissahickon next week while the Green Raiders season comes to a close.

Pennridge (17-1) held two seven-goal leads in the third quarter – 10-3 and 11-4. Ridley (11-8) got goals from Owen Bosak and Tim Signs to close out the third and send the game to the final frame with a five-goal margin, 11-6.

Bosak scored less than a minute into the fourth before John Tinney scored two goals to get the Green Raiders within two, 11-9, with 7:18 to go.

Pennridge goalie Tyler Vandermark, who was fantastic all night, intercepted a pass with 6:20 left before his team called timeout at 6:11.

Frankie Fanelli earned Pennridge a possession when he won the race to a shot that went out of bounds and drew the defense’s attention when he circled behind the net. He fed a wide-open Rocco Fanelli at the far post and he put it away to end Ridley’s 5-0 run and extend the lead back to three, 12-9.

“It all comes down to backyard lacrosse,” Frankie Fanelli said. “Always finding him on the back side. As I dodged, I saw his guy come across and he was wide open. I passed to him and luckily he finished it off.”

Matt Glavin got Ridley back within two with a goal with 4:35 left, but the Green Raiders never got within one. They hit a crossbar and had two great looks get stopped by Vandermark.

“I’m just proud of the guys for not giving up,” Ridley coach Jef Hewlings said. “They’ve played hard all season. They haven’t played well all season, but they’ve played hard all season. To see them fight back and to hear what’s happening on the sideline – the guys on the bench are saying, ‘We got this. Keep working back. We’ve got the next groundball.’ That’s a credit to them. They played hard. They fought hard. They’ve changed the culture of the program.

“I think we had a couple chances at 11-9. We didn’t cash in and that kind of hurt us. (Pennridge is) a good team and they’re going to take advantage of our mistakes and control the tempo of the game.”

Frankie Fanelli finished with three goals and two assists for Pennridge. Rocco Fanelli added two goals and an assist while Drew Ferguson had three goals and Ryan Carickhoff two goals and an assist.

Bosak led Ridley with three goals while Luke Showalter and Tinney each scored twice. Showalter added two assists.

“When we look at it,” Hewlings said, summarizing the season, “we’ll say that Ridley’s back on the lacrosse map. We’ve been off the radar for a while, so having these guys work hard and they’re young – a bunch of them are going to come back and they’re going to be a little bit hungrier. They got a taste of winning this year and I think from that perspective we have to feel good about the program.”

Pennridge 12, Ridley 10

Ridley 2 1 3 4 – 10

Pennridge 4 4 3 1 – 12

Goals: R: Jonathan Daniels, Luke Showalter 2, Owen Bosak 3, Tim Signs, John Tinney 2, Matt Glavin. P: Rocco Fanelli 2, Frankie Fanelli 3, Ryan Carickhoff 2, Levi Souder, Drew Ferguson 3, Matt Kriney.

Assists: R: John Tinney, Chris Capozzoli, Luke Showalter 2, Owen Bosak. P: Frankie Fanelli 2, Rocco Fanelli, Ryan Carickhoff, Matt Kriney 2, Reid Moyer.

Saves: R: Cilin Wintrode 9. P: Tyler Vandermark 15.