Marple Newtown tops Rustin in rematch; heads to PIAA Final

By Neil Geoghegan

ngeoghegan@21st-centurymedia.com

@NeilMGeoghegan on Twitter

GLEN MILLS >> It was the same opponents that hooked up two weeks earlier. But Tuesday’s PIAA Class 2A Boys’ Lacrosse Semifinal battle between Marple Newtown and West Chester Rustin was quite different from the clash in the District 1 Final. And it was apparent very early.

It took Marple Newtown less than 13 minutes in the rematch to equal its scoring output for the entire 48 minutes of the earlier contest. And then the Tigers put the clamps on Rustin’s potent attack by playing keep-away — thanks to a dominating effort from faceoff specialist Alex Chambers.

It all added up to a forceful 10-6 triumph for Marple Newtown, and a berth in the State Championship Game for the second consecutive season. And interestingly, it sets up another rematch as Mars (22-2 overall) topped Lampeter Strasburg in the other semifinal.

“I thought we had a couple good days of practice leading up to this game, and I think if you ask any of our guys, we did not leave it all out on the field the last time we played (Rustin),” said Tigers’ head coach Kevin Merchant. “It left a bad taste in everybody’s mouth, so they came ready to play.”

Now 19-5 overall, Marple Newtown will get another shot at a state title on Saturday at Panzer Stadium on the campus of Penn State (2:30 p.m. start). Mars topped the Tigers 9-6 in the 2022 state final.

“Every big game gives you more and more experience,” Merchant said. “Especially when you have some young guys, sometimes the lights get too bright. But like all of our guys, our freshmen and sophomores come out to play. We will be ready. We just have to play our game.

“We want to be playing our best lacrosse come June, and I think we are close to it.”

Marple Newtown is young – I fact all 10 of its goals on Tuesday at Garnet Valley’s Moe Frank Stadium came from either a freshman or a sophomore. But the Tigers sure looked much better than they did in a 9-4 district final setback to the senior-laden Golden Knights back on May 31.

“We all knew we did not play a complete game against (Rustin) the first time,” said junior attacker Joey Yukenevitch. “But we kept practicing, we dominated the next few playoff games and we knew what we had to do here. We put our foot down and got it done.”

It was a frustrating end to what was the best season in Rustin program history. The Knights never led, their nine-game winning streak came to a halt, and their final season record is 18-6.

“It was a four-goal game and we couldn’t find the back of the net,” said Rustin head coach Kevin Philibin. “Our guys had an incredible season. But the bounces didn’t go our way today, the calls didn’t go our way, and it took us too long to get going.”

The game turned when Marple Newtown prevented the Knights’ from scoring for more than 26 minutes in the middle portion of the contest. Chambers won the first eight faceoffs of the afternoon, and the Tigers registered six goals in that stretch to take a commanding 8-2 lead into the final period.

“Chambers was doing his thing on faceoffs, the offense was doing great when they got their opportunities, and our defense did a tremendous job,” Merchant said.

“I have all the faith in our defensive ability, not just physically but mentally. We are seeing those guys come together and play phenomenal.”

Sophomore Brian Box, who missed the first meeting due to an illness, put Marple Newtown in front for good with a goal 15 seconds into the second quarter to break a 2-2 deadlock. Freshman Evan Kostack then added a pair of goals to make it 5-2 at the half.

“I think faceoffs are the biggest part of the game,” said Chambers, a junior. “And it wasn’t just me, it was the guys out there with me. I’m happy to have Dave (Bertoline) and Brett (Wolski) because they are, in my opinion, the best wings in the Central League.

“If we didn’t win all of those faceoffs, it would have been a lot closer than it was.”

Kostack, and his cousin Jace, each scored in the third to up the lead to 7-2, and that’s when Rustin started losing its collective composure. The Knights were whistled for two penalties, including unsportsmanlike conduct, and Box turned the man-up situation into a goal in the final minute of the quarter.

“Rustin is a very good opponent with some great players,” Merchant said. “But it is all about us and our mindset. We have a brand of lacrosse here that we play and we just needed to make sure we were us.”

The Knights’ Antonio Santangelo finally broke the drought with his second goal early in the fourth but Evan Kostack took a pass from Box and scored behind his back in another man-up spot to make it 9-3 with 6:42 on the clock.

Held pointless so far, Rustin’s big guns Marek Seaman and Jake Jackson accounted for three late goals, but it wasn’t remotely enough to make a difference.

“Marple (Newtown) played well,” Philibin said. “They had a good game plan and we were outplayed today.

“We didn’t have a single man-up the entire game, which seemed a little off, but that’s something we can’t control.”

Evan Kostack led all scorers with five goals, Box added two goals (and two assists), and sophomore midfielder Ryan Keating has two early goals, both off feeds from Yukenevitch.

The unsung heroes for the Tigers were Chambers (who wound up winning 13 of 19 faceoffs against three different foes), and sophomore goaltender Marco Delicandro, who stopped eight shots and was rock solid.

“Marco was also phenomenal today,” Merchant said.

Yukenevitch added: “Lacrosse is a game of possessions. Having Chambers is huge because we need the ball and he gets it to the guys who can score.”

Philibin agreed: “The faceoffs killed us. The Chambers kid is very good and he really made us work. And (Marple Newtown’s) goalie (Delicandro) played very well.”

The District 7 champs from Mars are now all that stands between Marple Newtown and a state crown. And even though the Tigers may actually be a little younger than the ’22 squad, they have already shown an ability to bounce back in an important rematch.

“We were nervous in last year’s state final, but now we know what has to be done and how to do it,” Yukenevitch said.

“I think we are starting to peak and playing at a high level skill-wise.”

Marple Newtown 10, West Chester Rustin 6

Marple Newtown                           2 3 3 2 — 10

West Chester Rustin                      2 0 0 4 — 6

Marple Newtown goals: E. Kostack 5, Box 2, Keating 2, J. Kostack.

West Chester Rustin goals: Santangelo 2, Jackson 2, Seaman, Pechin.

Goalie saves: Delicandro (MN) 8; Carney (R) 8.