MID-PENN REPORT 3/31

STATE COLLEGE 8 LOWER DAUPHIN 7

The Little Lions got out to a 4-2 lead in the opening frame and were able to hold that lead to a 8-7 victory despite the Falcons chipping away the rest of the afternoon. State College moves to 2-2 as LD falls to 1-3 with three one goal losses, all with a final score of 7-8. Garrett Schug led the Falcons with 4 goals and 1 assist.

MECHANCISBURG 10 BISHOP MCDEVITT 9

The Crusaders would come out early and often opening up a 4-0 lead on the Wildcats early in the first period. Mechanicsburg would answer by scoring a short handed goal and rattling off 5 unanswered of their own to take it to 5-5 at the half. The score would be tight until Mechanicsburg was able to get a 10-8 lead. The Crusaders would bring it with in one with a look to tie at the end of the game but ultimately fell short. Gracen Hilsinger, Alec Martin, Sam Shipman, and Jaryn Ruth all had 2 goals a piece in well balanced outing for the Wildcats who move to 1-1.

HERSHEY 19 CHAMBERSBURG 3

Hershey moves to 3-0 in convincing fashion over Chambersburg. With a 4-1 lead at the start of the second quarter Hershey opened it up with 7 goals in the frame to take a commanding 11-1 lead. Jake Wilson has another monster day with 6 goals while Brook Briggs managed two scores of his own with a whopping 8 assists.

TRINITY 17 CD EAST 0

Trinity had 12 different players find the back of the net for them in route to 17-0 victory over East. Sophomore Peyton Masaracchia bursts onto the scene as the leading goal scorer with 5 on the day.

MID-PENN PREVIEW 3/31

CUMBERLAND VALLEY (3-0) AT CARLISLE (2-0)

POSTPONED TO 4/1

LOWER DAUPHIN (1-2) AT STATE COLLEGE (1-2)

LD has been in three close games already to start the season having lost to Carlisle and Governor Mifflin by one goal each. A tough road trip means they could be in for number four Tuesday night. State College and Brady Franks grabbed their first win over CD East and will work to keep that momentum moving forward. Garrett Schugg and Brennen Foster will lead the Falcon offense. Nick Mattis will look to slow down Franks and company on defense.

PALMYRA (0-3) AT NORTHERN YORK (1-2)

POSTPONED

CHAMBERSBURG (1-1) AT HERSHEY (2-0)

Hershey is off to another great start and seems set on winning their 5th straight Keystone Division Title. They have outscored their first two opponents 30-11 led by Jake Wilson's amazing 15 goals in those games. For Chambersburg to have a chance they must find a way to slow Wilson down and get Jake Pierson and Grant Swisher in a position where they can match goals. It should be a great game at the face-off X between Collin Bricker and Matt Stewart.

MORE AFTER THE BREAK

MID-PENN REPORT 3/30

CENTRAL DAUPHIN 9 EXETER TOWNSHIP 3

HERSHEY 16 CENTRAL YORK 5
Hershey moves to 2-0 with a dominant win over a quality opponent in Central York. Jake Wilson led all scorers with a remarkable 8 goals (15 in just two games) and Michael Gadd had 5 scores of his own. The Trojans got out early to a 6-2 lead which they extended to 13-3 by the half as they cruised to victory the rest of the way. Hershey will get right back to the grind as they face Chambersburg (1-1) tomorrow night.

EPHRATA 8 PALMYRA 7
 The Cougars drop another one goal game and fall to 0-3. Cam Ihli would lead Palmyra with two goals while a well balanced attack found them with 6 different scorers on 7 goals. Justin Hoover would lead all scorers with 3 goals on the night. The Cougars held a 5-4 lead at the half but would be out scored 4-2 in the final frames.

MID-PENN PREVIEW 3/30

CENTRAL YORK (0-2) AT HERSHEY (1-0) 7:00PM

Rescheduled from Saturday, Hershey aims for win number two against a quality opponent in Central York, A well balance team who made the District III playoffs in 2014 and lost their 2015 opener to Eastern York 10-8. For the Panthers we'd keep an eye out for Janton Yantek and Chrisitan Hock. Hershey had a couple extra days to prepare due to the cancellation Saturday and the cancellation of their game with Trinity on Thursday. The Trojans will continue to utilize the one-two combo of Jake Wilson and Brook Briggs on attack.

EXETER TOWNSHIP (0-2) AT CENTRAL DAUPHIN (1-1) 4:00PM

Exeter Township will play their second straight Mid-Penn opponent after getting defeated by CV 15-5 on Saturday. The Rams are looking to continue to build momentum following their overtime victory against Chambersburg last week. Look for Damien Koussis and Chris Martin to continued to featured heavily in the offense.

PALMYRA (0-2) AT EPHRATA (1-1) 7:00PM

The Cougars will travel out of conference to face the Mountaineers in hopes of getting win number one the early season. Ephrata is a strong club coming of a 17-13 victory against a quality Lampeter-Strasburg team. Dustin Fisher, Brandon Adams, and Justin Hoover lead a balanced offense. For Palmyra standout Junior Longpole Tyler Gallagher will have his work cut out for him but he has been dominant all season and should help to slow things down. Look for Ethan Gain who scored three goals on Carlisle to continue leading the Cougar offense.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE, STANDINGS, & STATS 3/27

SATURDAY MARCH 28TH
Central York (0-1) at Hershey (1-0) 10:00am
Trinity (1-0) at Elizabethtown (2-0) 10:00am
Chambersburg (1-1) at Red Lion (1-1) 10:00am
Mechanicsburg (0-1) at Spring Grove (1-1) 10:00am
Lancaster Country Day (1-1) at Central Dauphin (1-1) 10:00am
Lower Dauphin (1-1) at Governor Mifflin (2-0) 11:00am
Exeter Township (0-1) at Cumberland Valley (2-0) 11:00am
Northern York (1-2) at Dallastown (1-0) 2:00pm

STANDINGS & STAT LEADERS AFTER THE BREAK

MID-PENN REPORT 3/26

CARLISLE 7 PALMYRA 6 (OT)

The Herd moves to 2-0 after another 1 goal thriller. This one would need extra frames to complete. Carlisle got the early 2-0 lead when Palmyra was able to come back and knot things up at 3-3 at the half. It would remain close through regulation with Justin Moore scoring the deciding goal in OT for the Herd. Sophomore George Faller led all scorers with 4 goals for Carlisle.  Ethan Gain busted onto the scene for the Cougars has he put up 3 goals and assist on the afternoon. This marks two straight tightly contested bouts for the Herd and seems to indicate the Commonwealth will be a season long race. Excellent bounce back game for Palmyra following  difficult loss to CV.

CENTRAL DAUPHIN 9 CHAMBERSBURG 8 (OT)
Rams move to 1-1 in this over time thriller on the road over Chambersburg. Trojans fall to 1-1 with back to back one goal games. Chambersburg led 7-5 headed into the 4th quarter when CD went on a 3-1 run to tie and send the game into OT. After a couple of great CD saves Damien Koussis hit the game winner with 54 seconds left in OT. Ian Harper led CD with 3 goals and Grant Swisher had another excellent night for the Trojans with 3 goals and 3 assists.

LOWER DAUPHIN 11 NORTHERN YORK 8
A tight one through out saw a 2-2 score at the end of the first quarter and a 5-4 Northern lead at the end of the half. LD got back in control during the 3rd quarter to lead 9-7 and then pulled away in the 4th for their first victory of the season (1-1). The Polar Bears will fall to 1-2. Garrett Schug led the Falcons with 3 goals and 1 assist. Derek Myers and Josh Petery did the heavy lifting for the Polar Bears as each had 4 goals on the night. Jared Hayes had an excellent night in the net for Northern with 25 saves.

MORE AFTER THE BREAK

MID-PENN PREVIEW 3/26

Another jammed pack day in the Mid-Penn as 12 of the leagues 13 teams play in conference games. 

HERSHEY (1-0) AT TRINITY (1-0) 

 Trinity faces another tough opponent after Tuesdays come from behind victory over CD. The Shamrocks will look to avoid the first half slow start as they face one of their more difficult match-ups of the season. Offensively look for Jesse Altmeyer to continue to distribute while Mark Mandack and the Hergenroder brothers (Mark and Steve) look to score. Hershey's Jake Wilson had a monster day with 7 goals on 1 assist as the Trojans opened strong against State College at home. This will be an early test on the road for Hershey.

CENTRAL DAUPHIN (0-1) AT CHAMBERSBURG (1-0)

Chambersburg looks to get to 2-0 after a fantastic come from behind victory against McDevitt on Tuesday. Look for Jake Pierson and Grant Swisher to be heavily involved in the offensive game plan. For CD this is a prime opportunity to erase memories of their loss to Trinity. Damien Koussis and Chris Martin will be a big part of their attack.

MORE AFTER THE BREAK

MID-PENN REPORT 3/24

Carlisle 8 Lower Dauphin 7
LD jumped out to a 3-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. Carlisle answered with a 4 goal run to make it 4-3 Herd at the half. Carlisle would continue scoring to move it 8-5 at the end of the third and hold on for the 8-7 victory. LD Junior Brennan Foster bursts onto the MP lacrosse scene with 4 goals on the night. Drew Amsley led Carlisle with three scores of his own.

Trinity 9 CD 5
 CD lead 5-1 in the second quarter as Trinity would go on to out score the Rams 8-0 in the rest of the way for the come from behind victory. Mark Hergenroder returns after missing last season to lead the rocks with 3 goals and 3 assists. Damien Koussis led the Rams scoring effort with 3 goals and 2 assists.

Cumberland Valley 9 Palmyra 3
 CV got going early and never looked back. Leading 5-1 at the end of the first the Eagles seemed to have the Cougars under control all afternoon. Seniors Rod Jamieson and John Miller lead all scorers with 3 goals each.

MORE AFTER THE BREAK

MID-PENN PREVIEW - 3/24

A whole lot of action on Tuesday as every Mid-Penn team will play, most of them openers for both squads. Typically teams prefer to open out of conference but due to weather related issues on Friday and Saturday all teams had to post pone their opening games and will need to hit the ground running today.

Trinity at Central Dauphin 4:15pm

The Rams just missed the district post season but did manage to defeat the Shamrocks in their final game of the 2014 season. CD has defeated Trinity's in four of their last five meetings including the district playoffs.  Both teams lost a lot to graduation but certainly have pieces capable of stepping in and producing right away.

For CD look for Chris Martin and Derek Quaid to be involved in the offense right away. For the Rocks we expect Junior Jesse Altemeyer to continue to produce goals and assists along side his fellow classmates Vinny Oliverio, Mark Mandack, and Bryce Amos. Senior Mark Hergenroder returns to play after missing last season with a leg injury and should be a major factor all game.

MORE GAMES AFTER THE JUMP

PENN LIVE MID-PENN PREVIEWS

COMMONWEALTH DIVISION PREVIEW

KEYSTONE DIVISION PREVIEW

THE SENTINEL - LACROSSE PREVIEW

FROM CUMBERLINK.COM

CARLISLE THUNDERING HERD

Coach: Steve Kidder

Division: Commonwealth

Last year: 18-4, 14-1

Key losses: Max Breschi, Sid Ewell, Mark Bowser, Hunter Scott, Colin Wallace, John Mundell

Key returnees: Drew Amlsey, sr.; George Faller, so.; Tim Roesler, sr.; Derrick Coleman, jr.; Bryce Stevenson, jr.; Nate Barnes, so.; Dean Zagorica, sr.; Trevor Weis, so.; Justin Moore, jr.; Matt Fuller, sr.; Levi Negley, sr.; Conor Bremer, sr.

Key newcomers: Dom Gaito, so.; Ethan Blum, so.; Ryan Godfrey, so.; Connor Amsley, so.; Phil Weis, so.

Next Match: Friday at Penn Manor, 4

Breakdown: Carlisle’s offense was gutted by graduation, but the returning players will aim for another run to the district championships if they can help the new players grow.

MORE AFTER THE BREAK

STATE PLAYOFFS - UPDATE

Over the weekend both Avon Grove and Radnor (the teams who beat Hershey are Carlisle) were able to advance to the semi-finals will they will face one another on Tuesday night (6:00pm at West Chester Hanover HS).

Penn Crest and Mt Lebanon were also able to advance to the Semi's were they will play each other on Tuesday at CV.

It should be noted that Carlisle had defeated Mt Lebanon handily earlier in the season (3/28) 11-2. With the state having such varying levels of lacrosse from east to west it would be impossible to devise a perfectly "fair" bracket, but something ought to be done to have better seeding systems. Both Hershey and Carlilse had extremely difficult opening round matchups where other teams had far easier paths to advance.

We'd love to hear your thoughts on State seeding, district seeding, and Mid-Penn Playoffs in the comments section.

PIAA STATE PLAYOFF REPORT - RD1

(From pennlive.com)

Only one very talented team will win their final game of the season at this point and it will not be either Hershey or Carlisle from the Mid-Penn. That should not take away from the incredible seasons both squads have had which included the Mid-Penn's first ever District 3 Title. Both teams have played incredibly well all season and the debate as to who was better could go on for a very long time. Fittingly both have a lot of hardware to show for their accomplishments and were led by tremendous senior classes

(Game reports after the jump)

PIAA BOYS LACROSSE STATE CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET

CARLISLE VS RADNOR

May 28th, 6:00pm Exter Twp. High School

HERSHEY vs AVON GROVE

May 28th, 6:00pm, West Chester Henderson High School

(Previews after the jump)

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)

DISTRICT PLAYOFF PREVIEW - SEMIFINALS

     The Final Four starts tomorrow night and promises to be another excellent evening of Central PA high school lacrosse. For the second straight year Wilson, Carlisle, Manheim Township, and Hershey will meet to determine who plays Thursday night for the district title at Hershey Park Stadium on Thursday. All four teams will play in the state tournament as well. This is truly one of the best nights of local lacrosse and a must see for fans of the game.

     We will be doing live scoring updates from out twitter page (CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW) starting at 4:45pm and will have coverage of both games.

(Previews after the jump)

DISTRICT SEMIFINAL DOUBLE HEADER

PIAA District Playoffs Round 3- Semifinals

Tuesday, May 20th, 5:00 and 7:00pm

Lower Dauphin Middle Schoool

    If you are looking for one of the best nights of local lacrosse here in the Central PA than look no further than next Tuesday night when Mid Penn powers Hershey and Carlisle will take on Wilson and Manheim Township respectively. This is an excellent opportunity to view high school lacrosse played at a very high level.

     This is the second straight year we have been fortunate enough to have two Mid Penn teams make it to the semifinals in districts and this will be some of the best lacrosse played in the area all year.

   Carlisle is the number two seed taking on number three seeded Manheim Township at 5:00pm and will be followed by Hershey who is a five seed playing number one overall seed Wilson West Lawn at 7:00pm. Both games will be held at Lower Dauphin Middle School so you will be able to see two great games at one location!

    If you are unable to attend the games we will be doing live scoring coverage for both from our twitter account. To follow us on twitter click HERE.

DISTRICT PLAYOFF PREVIEW - ROUND 2

Survive and advance is the name of the game as we enter round two of the PIAA District III Playoffs. Trinity fell last night to West York in a hard fought 11-9 contest while Hershey and Carlisle were able to advance with relative ease. Round two should be more interesting for both winning squads and with a victory here they would advance to the semi-finals and earn a birth in the State Tournament.

(Previews after the jump)

DISTRICT PLAYOFF REPORT - ROUND 1

WEST YORK 11 TRINITY 9
-   Trinity's third straight trip to districts will end with their third straight loss in round one. Coach Heisey's team has seen more than it's fair share of injuries and a depleted midfield which put the Shamrocks in a tough spot from the word go. This one will sting as Trinity had bested West York less than two weeks ago 15-6.
     West York got out to an early 2-0 lead and the Shamrocks would be fighting back from their all evening. Senior midfielder Connor Bailey (2 goals) would answer early in  the second to bring the score to 2-1 but the Bull Dogs would quickly regain their two goal lead. Trinity would work the ball to sophomore midfielder Mark Mandack (3 goals) for a score to bring it to 3-2 as he started a break out evening. Again West York would score their own goal to get the separation back to two goals and then score shortly after that to take a 5-2 lead to the half.

(More after the jump)

GREATEST ATTACK IN THE HISTORY OF THE MID PENN?

    On Saturday the familiar names of Logan Calhoun, George Briggs, and Jake Wilson ended their careers as a group in Mid Penn play with a 15-7 win over Carlisle for Hershey's 3rd Mid Penn Title in the last 4 seasons. It was fitting conclusion as all three were involved in their typical fashion. Combining for 9 goals and 7 assists they moved the ball extremely well, dodged in a timely fashion, and continually found the open man (often times one another) for high percentage shots on the door step.

    They will look to continue their run into districts on Tuesday night and hopefully beyond to states. We wanted to take a minute to exam their remarkable achievements as a group in 2014. Individually all three are extremely talented players but together they will leave a legacy in the area that is perhaps unmatched.

More after the jump.