MID PENN PREVIEW - 4/24/14

PALMYRA (7-5) at STATE COLLEGE (7-5) 4:00PM

- The Cougars were to play Carlisle at home on Tuesday but lightening ultimately forced a cancellation making it a full week since they had a Mid Penn opponent (they beat Cocalico 16-9 on Monday). If they want to improve their district playoff chances (Currently 23) this would be an excellent opportunity for them to do so. Joey Hess continues to have a great season with nearly even stats on goals and assist (27-24). Nick Mazzacco is firmly established as a second scoring option with 23 goals on the season. Sam Wasson is showing tremendous ability in the net with 130 saves on the year and with good goal keeping the Cougars are able to stay in any game.

    State College crept out of nowhere into second place in the Commonwealth division last week. They were only trailing Trinity 5-4 headed into the fourth quarter on Tuesday and had a great opportunity to make some serious noise. That game got a way from them 10-5 and they must regroup quickly for the Cougars. The story remains the same on their offense as they are led by Brady Franks (27 goals) and Luc Michaels (23 goals). The danger for them is their next leading scorer is at 9 goals and good defenses will key in on their 1-2 combo.

TRINITY (10-2) at MECHANICSBURG (2-8) 4:15PM

- Coach Heisey and the Rocks bounced back nicely from their two game skid with a great fourth quarter win over State College on Tuesday. They look to keep the momentum building as they will travel to Mechanicsburg to play a struggling Wildcats squad. With Trinity's tough defense and a compliment of offensive weapons we suspect they will be in control of this one. Look for Kleist, Scott, and Altmeyer to be very active on attack with Sherlock and Bailey continuing to add to their stats from the Midfield. Trinity must keep their eye on the prize as they are in control of their district destiny and also not completely out of the Commonwealth hunt.

    The Cats are continuing to work hard and fight for all four quarters. Goalie issues have plagued them since losing senior Joe Becker and they are a program looking to grow this year. Aaron Heisey is a fast player with a great outside shot and we have seen some nice development in from Sophmore Sam Shipman. Sophmore Regan Pritchett has the look of a future elite Mid Penn defender.

HERSHEY (11-1) at CARLISLE (10-1) 7:15PM

* Live twitter updates! www.twitter.com/harrsiburglax or @harrisburglax

- They do not get much bigger than this. Last years Commonwealth and Keystone Division champions square off in a Mid Penn Title game rematch. Last years title game belonged to Carlisle in a 12-8 victory over the Trojans handing them only their second loss of the season. Hershey had beaten the Herd 8-7 earlier in the 2013 regular season. This game will mark the 5th time the two teams have played one another in the past three season with Hershey holding a 3-1 lead (1-1 in MP Title games).
     The past is the past and these are two different teams taking the field tonight. Carlisle had much made of losing all three of their starting long poles but has shown they have a lot of talent waiting in the wings as their defense has been dominant most the year. Hershey's offense has continued to hum along as they are again one of the best in the region.
      Both squads suffered their first losses of the season in out of conference games this past Saturday. We fully expect to see both teams in the district playoffs and hopefully states. The likelihood of an early may rematch for the Mid Penn Title is strong as well.
     Hershey's attack group of Wilson, Briggs, and Calhoun will put the Herd defense, goal keeper Mark Bowser, and LSM Sid Ewell to the test. This is more than likely the most dominant offensive group they will have faced all season. Briggs is great at distributing the ball to cutters from X and the they can dodge from the midfield as well. We have seen other defenses take the Trojans out of rhythm and force turnovers so it will be very interesting to see how coach Schein and crew respond if things are not going exactly as they planned.
     Coach Kidder has offensive fire power to match his defense so we expect to see great lacrosse all over the field tonight. Look for Breshi and Faller to be involved through out the game. Dave Sickler has been a stand out defender for the Trojans with a tremendous presence on transition. Kyle Kondracki will anchor Hershey's excellent defense which is underrated due to the attention they get on offense.

CHAMBERSBURG (4-5) at NORTHERN YORK (4-6) 7:30PM
-Chambersburg had lost 4 straight games against Mid Penn opponents and many were questioning where they stood in the pecking order. A 20-5 trouncing of McDevitt answered that question to a certain degree. A better than their record Northern team will be an excellent test to see where both teams stand. Nick Lombardozzi (25 goals), Jake Pierson (24 goals), and JT Hopple (17 goals) offer three legitimate threats to the goal and should provide a lot for the Northern defense to handle.
    The Polar Bears are coming off an emotional Brisbane Cup victory and will need to move on quickly to get ready for the Trojans. Myers (13 goals), Haak (12 goals), Rutter (11 goals), and Sade (10 goals) are Northern's leading scorers and though they have not been overwhelming on offense they clearly have a lot of options to score. It should be noted senior midfielder Luke Lyons returned from his knee injury to play on Tuesday. He played sparingly and we do not know he is all the way back or if they got him in the lineup due to the importance of the Cup to so many of the players involved.


CENTRAL DAUPHIN (5-5) at LOWER DAUPHIN (6-6) 7:00PM
- How good are the Falcons? Are they the 2-6 squad that started the season or the team on a 4 game win streak out scoring their opponents 59-17? That question will have a much clearer answer as they get a very good Mid Penn opponent at home. Their is a definite buzz in the borough and LD looks to continue the momentum. In order to do that Mike Mattis will need to continue to play well leading the midfield with Justin Guevarez having another excellent game in the cage.
     The Rams had regrouped from a shaky start nicely winning three in a row but dropped a heart breaking 12-11 double overtime loss to CV on Tuesday. This is yet another team that will need to regain their focus and come ready to play. At this point LD demands to be taken seriously and Coach Driscoll will have his boys ready for the challenge. CD does not have a dominant leading scorer but Beard (19 goals), Hudson (15 goals), and Nye (15 goals) can all hurt you in a crafty offense.


CD EAST (0-11) at BISHOP MCDEVITT (2-9) 7:00PM
- This will be the Panthers last best chance at getting one in the win column. Difficult Mid Penn teams await further down the schedule and they will need to play very well here to avoid a dreaded win less season. The Panthers are led by midfielder Christian Hess who has found the goal 9 times this season. He'll need to have a great night here.
     The Crusaders looked like they had turned things around after an 0-6 start by winning two of three. A heart breaker to LCD and a blow out loss to Chambersburg has them looking to answer some questions. Coach Walter has continued to improve the program for the long term and we believe they will get their third win tonight at home. Nick Suknaic (14 goals), Griffin Hanes (14 goals), and Jackson Hanes (12 goals) all have a great opportunity to add to their stats and continue to develop the offense.