NORTHERN YORK (3-4) at STATE COLLEGE (6-4) 4:00PM
- The Polar Bears have faced the murders row of the Big Three in the Mid Penn the past week and lost all three contests. They showed excellent fight on the road at Trinity while being overwhelmed against Hershey and lacking enough offense against Carlisle (very common when playing the Herd). They have shown that they are a team on the cusp of getting to the next level and are better than their record shows. Sam Haak and Zach Martick lead the offensive game and will need to continue to improve the remainder of the season.
State College has won 5 of their last 6 (4 on the road) after a 1-3 start. One has to wonder if the long distance travel affects them but they seemed to be unfazed. Today they play Northern at home and will look to continue their mid-season success. This is another squad who wants to move up the ranks and this match-up pits two upcoming squads with a lot to prove against one another. Look for the Little Lions to again show case Brady Franks and Luc Michaels in their offensive attack, they have a combined 40 goals and 49 points on the season.
CENTRAL DAUPHIN (4-4) at CONESTOGA VALLEY (1-9) 4:00PM
- The Rams go out of conference to face the Conestoga Valley Buckskins it what should be an easy road victory for Coach Driscoll's crew. The Buckskins have faced two Mid Penn opponents in Mechanicsburg and Palmyra and lost to both of them. Conestoga has a 73.2 laxpower.com ranking to CD's 84.1.
CD has bounced back nicely from three straight losses to win back to back games outscoring their opponents 23-8. Look for this trend to continue with Eli Hudson, Nate Beard, and Colton Nye continuing to develop and lead the balanced offensive game.
CHAMBERSBURG (3-4) at LOWER DAUPHIN (3-6) 4:15PM
- The Trojans 2-0 start has quickly faded as they have now lost 4 of their last 5 with their only win coming over CD East. If you take out the East game they have been outscored 27-50 in their four losses. Lombardozzi and Pierson can score (38 goals combined) for Coach Flohr's squad, but they need to get more people involved. JT Hopple has shown promise as of late as their third scorer.
The Falcons are looking to continue their season turn around now having won three of their last five after a 0-4 start. It's not the team you begin the season with as much as it is the team you finish with that matters to most Mid Penn teams. Coach Vickroy looks to have righted the ship and Mike Mattis is big part of that. Mattis has an excellent outside shot which has led to 15 goals on the season. He looks to finish his senior year by continuing to help LD improve and moving the Falcons up the standings.
CD EAST (0-9) at CUMBERLAND VALLEY (6-4) 4:15PM
- CV has been on a tear as of late winning four of their last five to bounce back from a difficult opening schedule which saw them go 2-3. One thing they have done over that time frame is develop more scores in Nick Zumbrum and Tommy Lehman who have been able to take pressure off of Logan Fazakerly on attack. This is a team who should only get better as the remainder of the season plays out and could present a real problem for teams they play down the stretch.
Unfortunately for the struggling Panthers they draw a good team who is playing very well. East will need to continue to develop their fundamentals and will most likely be looking at this game as a learning experience. We are really looking at two programs at very different stages taking the field is this one.
PALMYRA (6-4) at HERSHEY (9-0) 7:00PM
- Another Dauphin County cross town rivalry is on the slate for tonight. The Trojans have been unstoppable all season and will look to continue their dominance on the road against the Panthers. Hershey has man handled virtually everyone they have played this year outscoring their opponents a mind boggling 143-28 in 9 games. They are however coming off their most difficult contest against Trinity in a game they "only" managed to win by 6 goals allowing the highest total scored against them at 8. Look for the attack to be involved early and often in this game with Jake Wilson, Logan Calhoun, and George Briggs continuing to play remarkable lacrosse. If Palmyra can learning anything from Trinity it is that you can take them out of their comfort zone and rhythm.
The Cougars will need everyone to step up in this one. That will start with Joey Hess (23 goals, 18 assists) who was dominant early in the season but has not put up the same numbers as teams are more focused on him as of late. Nick Mazzocca and Trevor Frye will need to pickup the slack and their defense will need to be firing on all cylinders tonight. Coach Gatano's squad does have back to back victories and did take Trinity down to the wire, so they have some real positives heading into the game.
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