Spring-Ford Overcomes Another Slow Start to Put Down PJP II In Boys Lacrosse

You know it's inevitably that certain spots on the schedule, teams have a tendency to get off to slow starts and last night was no different.  What is alarming is how often the Spring-Ford Rams have done so this season.  In what is becoming a frustrating pattern, Spring-Ford was trailing PJP after the 1st period 2-1 as they got off to another slow start.  In the end, though, a defense clamped down and an offense starting burying opportunities and they pulled away in the 2nd half for a 16-3 victory.

PJP has begun to build itself a program and already have exceeded their win total from the prior 2 years combined with 3 wins this season.  Their confidence to start the game was evident as they controlled the face offs in the 1st period and controlled much of the possession time.  Goalie Ian Schurr was also up to the task, giving up only 1 goal and recording 6 saves in the 1st period as PJP took a 2-1 lead at the end of the 1st.  Spring-Ford got the next 2 goals from Mason Pinciotti and DJ Young to take a 3-2 lead however, PJP answered right back knotting the score at 3 with a man-up goal from Josh Bildstein at the 8 minute mark of the 2nd quarter.

That is when the Rams began to change the outcome and take over the game.  Matt Messerle got going after giving up 2 early goals and was able to shut down the PJP offense over the remaining 32 minutes.  The defense led be seniors Ian Hare, Kyle Hofner, and Freshman Liam Hare shut down the PJP attack while LSM's Senior Kevin Honaman and Junior Brandon Dougherty locked it down at the midfield.

The Rams closed out the first half on a 3-0 run with goals from Paul Major, Mason Pinciotti and Zach Hare to take a 6-3 lead at halftime.  Coming out of halftime, Spring-Ford poured it on adding 10 more goals to their 13-0 run to close out the game.  On the day, Paul Major had 5 goals and 1 assist, DJ Young 3 goals, Ronak Das, Mason Pinciotti, and Zach Hare with 2 goals each, and rounding out the scoring was Alex Marte with 1 goal and 3 assists and Casey Pettine with 1 goal.

The real star on both ends may well have been Schurr who was peppered all night with shots but stood tall making several in-close saves off feeds that were spectacular.  While the book only recorded him with 12 saves, by my count he had at least 18, if not more.  PJP got 1 goal each from Josh Bildstein, Jacob Bevenour, and Chris Cummings.

The Rams win ups their record to 5-1 in the PAC-10 and 5-2 overall.  They next travel to Boyertown for an afternoon matchup at 3:45 on Wednesday.  The loss drops PJP to 2-4 in the conference and 3-5 overall.  PJP hosts Owen J. Roberts on Wednesday at 3:45.