DISTRICT PLAYOFF PREVIEW - FINALS

CARLISLE (2) vs WILSON (1)

May 22nd, 7:00pm

Hershey Park Satdium

If you were fortunate to be at Lower Dauphin Middle School on Tuesday than you got to see some of the finest players in the district fighting to make it to the championship game. Wilson returns for the second straight season (last year they lost to Manheim Township) while Carlisle makes their second district championship  game in the past three seasons. This marks the first time the District III title game will not have team from Lancaster-Lebanon since 2002. These would be the first District III title for either squad.

(Previews after the jump)

After watching both squads play on Tuesday there are three key takeaways we had headed into Thursday's game. 

One, Matt Close (#4) can hurt you a number of different ways and is player that the Herd must game plan for. We are not sure what Coach Kidder's approach will be but we would love to see senior standout defender Sid Ewell defend him close. Whatever the plan is for Close and the Bulldogs we are sure Kidder started working on it at 7:01pm last night and will have his boys ready to go come Thursday. Even if the Herd can stop Matt close, his brother Adam Close (#2) is also a dangerous player with an excellent shot. Mark Bowser will be an integral part of slowing down the Bulldogs offense and the Close brothers. Wilson did not look over whelming in their 10-8 victory over Hershey and we like Carlisle's chances to keep them from getting to double digits. Carlisle must be as good as they were Tuesday in their one on one match-ups to be successful.

The second key factor will be if the Wilson defense allows Carlisle to play their ball control style of offense. Hershey has a dynamic high powered scoring attack and Wilson kept them in check through out the game. It isn't a stretch to think the Herd could have trouble finding the back of the net. Manheim allowed Carlisle to control the ball and tempo and never really pressured out on the ball. We suspect Wilson will challenge the offense early and that will be telling. For Carlisle to succeed they would like to get out early and have Max Breschi get heavily involved in the scoring. We know that if the Herd gets ahead, especially in the first half, it suits their style of play/game plan much better.

Third, role players will be critical. Wilson is now 23-0 on the season and last night's win over Hershey was only the second contest they had that was within 4 goals on the season. Jason Roland played lights out virtually the whole game in the net for the Bulldogs. From what we saw they can be beat if things go the right way and you have a total team effort. For that to happen Carlisle needs to continue to get big plays from their vast collection of scoring threats. Names like Mundell, Wallace, Faller, and Scott will need to be heard through out the game for Carlisle to succeed.

This should be an excellent game and we suspect this will be a close lower scoring affair. We'll be doing live tweets (available to be followed here) starting at 6:45pm. Best of luck to all the players, coaches, families, and fans!

HERSHEY (5) vs MANHEIM TOWNSHIP (3)

May 22nd, 7:00pm

Lower Dauphin Middle School

The Trojans and Blue Streaks seasons are far from over. Both have earned State Playoff births and will play in the third place consolation game on Thursday back at Lower Dauphin Middle School. This game will have seeding implications so it will matter considerably to each team. Additionally it is a rematch of last season district semi-final that saw Manheim dismantle Hershey 15-3. The Trojans would like nothing better than to return the favor and get momentum back for states.

In order to do this they need their attack to get back in sync. Briggs, Wilson, and Clahoun did not have very much success in their normal dodge from X approach against a very talented Wilson defense and a fantastic night in the cage by their goalie. When these three are on and having their way, which has been the case the majority of the season, they are unstoppable. A major hurdle for this team is what happens when they can't get their signature door step goals. Karl VanBlargen played very well in the semi's and he is a sophomore midfielder who will only get better as time goes. Right now Coach Schein needs him to continue produce as both a dodger from the top and from X.

Defensively Hershey played well Tuesday night holding a high powered Wilson team to just ten goals. They made the Bulldogs look very one dimensional. Unfortunately that dimension was Matt Close and he was able to get some really great shots off at the cage. Gazzio, Donahue, and Kondracki lead a great close defense and we expect them to have a better night against a Manheim offense that can be tricky. Dave Sickler will be a major factor in transition and ground balls as he has been all season. His speed and athleticism routinely changes the field and we expect that to continue. Look for the Trojans to keep an eye on Chris Augeri and Ryan Miller on Township.

Unfortunately we will not be able to offer live coverage of this game but will offer scoring updates as they become available. Again, best of luck to the players, coaches, families, and fans it what should be another great game.