DISTRICT PLAYOFF PREVIEW

We will be doing LIVE tweets from both the Hershey/Susquehannock and Trinity/West York games. Follow us on twitter HERE.

All three games will be played tomorrow, Tuesday (5/13), at 7:00pm.

Previews after the jump.



WEST YORK (9) at TRINITY (8) 7:00PM
- For the 14-3 Shamrocks their third straight trip to the district playoff provides them with their best opportunity at a win. Having previously (5/3) won against the Bulldogs 15-6 on the road Trinity will be the favorite at home on Tuesday evening. In that match-up the Shamrocks fell behind 3-0 early but were able to go on a 15-3 run starting in the second quarter.
     A lot of times in out conference games scouting your opponent can be a real issue and you are forced to go off in-game results and make adjustments. We expect the Shamrocks and Bull Dogs to both be better prepared the second time around. For West York keep an eye on Devyn Roehem, Seth Clauser, and Hunter Betz. All three should be involved in their offensive game plan. West York has an 88.3 laxpower.com rating.
     For the Shamrocks it will be an offensive attack by committee. The Rocks have suffered a lot of injuries this season and unfortunately junior midfielder CJ Sherlock was added to that list last Tuesday. Sherlock has been a tremendous player all season with 28 goals courtesy of his devastating outside shot and ability to dodge to the cage. Coach Heisey has preached the "next man up" philosophy and the under class man have heeded the call. Look for sophomores Mark Mandack, Vinny Oliverio, and Bryce Amos to step into the spot light along side senior leader Connor Bailey (26 goals, 17 assists). Senior Kyle Scott (34 goals, 10 assists) and Jesse Altmeyer (24 goals, 36 assists) will look to continue their 1-2 combo on attack. Tim Hickey and John Behnke are starting to get a lot of attention around the area and this is an opportunity for them and junior goal keeper Austin Bailey to put a much larger area on notice that the Rocks defense is very very good. The Shamrocks have an impressive 91.6 laxpower.com rating.

SUSQUEHANNOCK (12) at HERSHEY (5) 7:00PM
- The Trojans are riding high after their 15-7 Mid Penn Championship win over the Herd and look to keep the good times rolling against Susquehannock at home Tuesday night. Coach Schein's squad has now won 3 of the last 4 Mid Penn titles and looks to continue their success against a 13-5 Susquehannock club. Having won their last six games by a margin of 85-20 the Trojans are playing what might be their best lacrosse of the season at the absolute best possible time.
      The Warriors hail from south York and their only Mid Penn opponent this season was CV (Eagles won 10-9 in OT). Laxpower.com has them at very respectable 87.8. We do not know a ton about their roster but we expect them to have a couple scoring options but ultimately struggle to keep pace with the Trojans high powered attack.
     Wilson, Briggs, and Calhoun are back in form and looking to go further then any Hershey squad before them. Arguably the best attack group in the history of the Mid Penn all three can score as well as facilitate the ball with one another. Dave Sickler show cased his game changing ability at LSM in the MPC and Kyle Knodracki was outstanding in the net during the second half. Look for them to stay in rhythm Tuesday night. Last season the Trojans advanced to the semifinals and were able to finish 3rd overall in the bracket which included a birth in the state tournament. How far this team can go remains to be scene but they would be a difficult one to bet against with how they have been playing the last couple weeks. Hershey has 95.4 laxpower.com rating.

PENN MANOR (15) at CARLISLE (2) 7:00PM
- A less experienced coach/team may worry about being in a let down position after Saturday's league championship loss but Coach Kidder and the Herd have way to much talent and senior leadership for that to be the case. Although the loss will probably sting for some time they still have a ton to play for and are capable of making a great run at districts and into states courtesy of well earned high seed.
     The Comets bring an 11-7 record with a laxpower.com rating of 84.1 into the opening round game. They have played several Mid Penn teams and the most telling game would have been their season opener (3/21) where they loss to Carlisle 13-2 on the road. That game was a lifetime ago in high school lacrosse and we do not want to read to much into it other than Penn Manor will need to have improved significantly to have a shot tomorrow. They also lost to CV (13-5) and Lowed Dauphin (7-6) as common opponents. We expect Kyle Madonna and Wyatt Barnett to be the focal point of their offense.
     The Herd will look to quickly erase any memory of Saturday for it's star attack-man Max Breschi and goal keeper Mark Bowser who struggled against the Trojans. Breschi (41 goals, 26 assists) is one of the best players in the Mid Penn and Bowser (100) one of it's best goalies. In order to succeed they will both need to be playing their A game. Mundell (23 goals, 14 assists) and Faller (27 goals, 13 assists) will need be involved in the offense at the right moments as well. Penn Manor represents an excellent chance for the Herd to get back on track and spark a deep run in the post season. Last year they also lost in the semi-finals of districts to finish 4th overall but were able to capture a first round win in states over Mt Lebanon. Carlisle has a 93.8 laxpower.com rating.