Canon-Mac Lacrosse Ends Season Play

By Gary W. Beam

The lacrosse season came to end last night at Canon-Mac Stadium as the Quaker Valley Quakers dominated the Big Macs, posting a 14-4 victory and claiming the prize of a playoff berth in the upcoming WPIAL Division II playoffs.

Missing the playoffs comes as a great disappointment to the players, coaches and supporters of the team after a very successful 13-5 overall season record. The Big Macs dropped their final four games, three of which were division games, with opponents averaging nearly 12 goals per game. A win in any one of those games would have given Canon-Mac its first playoff appearance since Big Macs lacrosse became a WPIAL-sanctioned sport.

The evening started out as most expected with a very tight first quarter as the two teams exchanged goals—with Nick Podlaszewski and Connor Niemeyer scoring for Canon Mac. The Big Macs garnered eight shots on goal with several good scoring opportunities in addition to the two goals that were netted but settled for a 2-2 tie heading into the second quarter.

However, the Quakers took control of the game as the Big Macs had difficulty clearing from their defensive zone, ending up with only two shots on goal and the visitors netting four goals to take a half-time lead of 6-2.

The hopes and dreams of the Big Macs began to fade in the third quarter as Quaker Valley scored the next four goals, bringing their run of unanswered goals to nine, and for all intents and purposes sealing the Big Macs fate. A late goal by freshman Nick Carr provided a sliver of hope to the Canon-Mac faithful but it left the Big Macs with a huge mountain to climb as they trailed at the end of the third quarter 10-3.

Quaker Valley controlled possession in the fourth quarter as the Big Macs offensive struggles continued managing only three shots on goal and watched as the Quakers celebrated their final victory.

While the season ended sooner than hoped, the 2012 team has laid the foundation for a promising future in the Canon-McMillan lacrosse program as significant contributions were made to the varsity team from many underclassmen. The play of juniors Richie Leeds and Brett Haney; sophomores Connor Niemeyer and Evan Crompton; and freshmen Ben Ward, Jonathan Balog, Alex Paulina and Nick Carr were more than peripheral to this year’s success. In fact, the junior varsity team had tremendous success of its own in 2012, completing their season last night with a 5-1 victory over Quaker Valley and ending with a very impressive 12-1-1 record and outscoring their opponents 107-22.

The Big Macs can be proud of their efforts this year and their supporters should be looking forward with much hope and anticipation for 2013.

This is the last column for the year so meet the final three seniors from this year’s team as they appear in the “Senior Spotlight”:

#40 Jose Munoz

Jose is a resident of and is a midfielder for the Big Macs. This is Jose’s initial year participating in lacrosse for CMS. He is member of the Spanish Club and plans on joining the U.S. Marine Corps upon graduation.

#21 Tyler Slovik

Tyler is a resident of and plays attack for CMHS and has been playing lacrosse for seven years. He plans on continuing playing lacrosse and considers Joe Thornton, NHL Most Valuable Player and Ross Trophy winner, as his role model. You can find Tyler restoring his Camaro when not playing lacrosse or working at Home Style Pizza.

#12 Brandon Wehrle

Brandon is a resident of Canonsburg and plays defense for the Big Macs. He has been playing lacrosse for six years and his game is marked by determination and sacrifice taking on many blocked shots. His lacrosse days will be put on the shelf for a while as Brandon has committed to serving his country by enlisting with the U.S. Marine Corps. Brandon considers his grandfather as his role model.