DISTRICT PLAYOFF REPORT - ROUND 3

CARLISLE 12 MANHEIM TOWNSHIP 6

Everything went exactly as it needed to for Steve Kidder and the Herd on Tuesday night. Carlisle seemed to be in total control of the game from the first whistle and was able to control the ball on offense, dominate ground balls, and play excellent one on one defense to keep Township at bay through out the game.
     The idea that Carlisle could win the game was not all that far of a stretch, but that they could win it so handily would have most likely surprised a lot of local lacrosse fans. Excellent preparation by the players and staff should leave little doubt in anyone's mind moving forward that the Herd could challenge for the district title.

(More after the jump including Hershey vs Wilson)

     George Faller (1 goal) picked an excellent time to get things started as he scored the opening goal off a Drew Amsley (2 goals, 1 assist) feed to get the Herd out in front 1-0 early in the first. Manheim would answer but both Collin Wallace (2 goals) and Jon Mundell (2 goals, 1 assist) were able to keep the Herd out in front at 3-1 by the end of the quarter. At the start of the second Hunter Scott would dodge from X to set up Amsley for a goal on one of his four assists on the day. Mundell would follow with two nice goals of his own to extend the lead to 6-1. Both Mundell goals came off of hard shots from the top. Manheim would again answer to prevent Carlisle from pulling away. Max Breschi (5 goals) opened his day up on a crazy loose ball sequence that found him with the ball and and an open net to extend it 7-2 late in the second. Again the Blue Streaks would find the back of the net to prevent to much separation towards at the end of the half  with Carlisle up 7-3.
   With some surprise at the score you knew the first five minutes of the third quarter would be telling. Could the Herd continue to dominate or would Mannheim get back into the game right away? Kidder's players would go on to execute as they had in the first half. Breschi took advantage of a questionable zone defense call by Manheim with a low bounce shot from the outside to make it 8-3. Again, Breschi would hit a terrific outside shot in the upper corner against the zone to make it 9-3 and his day was well under way.
   With the score 9-4 at the start of the fourth it looked like Township would be out of chances against a staunch Herd defense and their ball control offense. They were however able to draw it close with a couple of quick ball movement goals to make it 9-6. The Herd remained unflappable during the momentum shift and looked to Breschi as he scored his fifth and final goal of the day off an excellent dodge and dive shot to get the them back up 10-6. This effectively ended Manheim's hopes with 4:52 to go in the game. Amsely and Wallace would find two more scores and the final would be 12-6 Carlisle. They move on to play Wilson Thursday at Hershey Park Stadium for the District III Championship.
     One player who really stood out to us in this game was Mid-Penn first team goalie selection Mark Bowser. He made critical saves through out the game and continues to allow Carlisle's defense to play aggressive one on one without sliding early because they know he can stop virtually any shot. Coupled with Sid Ewell and the rest of the Herd defense we wouldn't be surprised to see them take Wilson out of rhythm on Thursday night.

HERSEY 8 WILSON 10

After a 12-4 defeat the first time these two teams played back in April, Wilson had to be the hands down favorite on paper. If you had seen Hershey play the past couple weeks you knew this was a a team that had hit it's stride and would give the 22-0 Bulldogs everything they could handle.
    A slow moving first quarter saw Hershey get a lot of excellent looks at the cage but ultimately get thwarted by sophomore goalie Jason Roland (13 saves on the day). It took more than half the first quarter for someone to score and Ryan Connelly (1 goal) from Wilson had the honors. Connor Howell (2 goals) would score the next for Wilson and as the first quarter drew to a close Hershey found themselves in a pivotal spot in the low scoring early goings. Coming out of a timeout Wilson was flagged for an illegal stick with a three minute non-releasable penalty. With 30 seconds to go in the quarter Hershey held the ball to maintain possession for the 2nd quarter.
    Joe Olives (1 assist) would find senior Logan Clahoun (1 goal) for Hershey's first score while still man up early in the second. This is when Ryan Close (4 goals) entered the scene. Close is a talented player you immediately recognize on the field with an excellent shot. This was the first time we had seen him play but he is clearly one of the best players in the district. Jake Wilson (1 goal, 1 assist) would hit sophomore stand out Karl VanBlargen (2 goals) on an excellent cut to draw it back to 3-2. Wilson would have another stick check penalty, this time only one minute, but Hershey failed to capitalize and we would go into the half 3-2 Bulldogs.
     Wilson face-off man Ryan Terefenko (1 goal) would open the third quarter to put the Bulldogs lead back at two goals. VanBlargen would hit his second goal shortly after that on a fantastic wrap around score from X. With four minutes in the period Hershey went man up from a slash penalty and things uncharacteristically fell apart for the Trojans there. Matt Close setup one of the best clears and dodges to the cage we have seen in sometime and was able to again push the lead to two goals at 5-3. His younger brother Adam Close (2 goals) followed this was an impressive dodge from GLE with an upper corner bullet shot to make it 6-3 and that is where we would end the third.
     At the start of the fourth there was plenty of time for Hershey's high octane offensive attack but they needed to start executing and limit their turnovers. Howell would get the first score of the quarter for Wilson and there was some air taken out of the crowd as the Trojans were now trailing 7-3 after three unanswered scores and facing a dominant defense. In sports one play can change everything and that play came courtesy of two young men. First it was Austin Paxton making a clutch steal in transition to setup George Briggs (2 goals, 2 assists) with the one on one fast break against Roland to bring it to 7-4. Then Dave Sickler (1 goal) made an ESPN top ten worthy ground ball escape into a dodge and score that brought the Trojans back within two at 7-5 and eight minutes remaining. Matt Close would again dodge and shoot from the outside and make it 8-5. Briggs quickly answered for Hershey with a goal of his own by shooting a laser through traffic to score and bring it to 8-6 with just under five to play. And then the Close brothers struck a couple serious blows. Each nabbing a goal over the next few minutes to make it 10-6 with less than two minutes to play in the game. Some of the crowd had started to leave but despite the large hole you knew that there was still a chance, all be it small, that Hershey could fight back and make it interesting. With one minute left Austin Paxton found the net to make it 10-7. Then the frequent collaborators of Wilson and Briggs got together to make it 10-8 with 44 seconds left. Matt Stewart wins the faceoff and we have a Hershey time out with 35 seconds left....
     Unfortunately the Trojans could not get another solid look and a series of ground balls and heaves would end the game. But the fact that they gave Wilson one of their greatest challenges of the year shows how good the Trojans are and should mean good things for states. Hershey will end the district tournament in a consultation game with Manheim Township.