Rams Lacrosse Poised for Next Level

Spring-Ford senior Drew Thomas and his Rams lacrosse teammates have had 10 months to stew over their second round district playoff exit last May at the hands of Lower Merion, who would eventually finish sixth in District One.

As the regular season gets underway Wednesday with a PAC-10 battle against Phoenixville, the Rams have set lofty goals for themselves. To a man, they agree that how far they go this season is up to them, and not their opponents.

“Our season ended last year before we reached our goals,” said Thomas. “We lost to Owen J. Roberts in the PAC-10 championship, then got beat in the second round of districts. We want to get back to the PAC-10 final and it would be awesome if we got to beat the Wildcats for the title.”

For the third straight year, more than 100 aspiring lacrosse players have come out for the team. There are many coaches in the league who would love to be in Rams' head coach Kevin Donnelly’s position. 

“The sport is just booming,” said Donnelly. “Everybody loves the game. We have so many talented kids come out that it makes our jobs as coaches so easy. We have preached to the kids about dedication and doing the work for the betterment of the team and they have really bought into it.”

The Rams will be led by a quartet of snipers whose mission will be to bombard the opposition net. Each has the ability to post huge scoring totals.

Thomas, Brian Bock, Paul Major, and Zach Monzo, who was injured for most of the 2010 season, present a threat like very few teams have offensively. The defense, led by Drew Hunsberger and backstopped by net minder Jared Novia hopes to slam the door on PAC-10 offenses.

For the first time, the Rams took their preseason camp to Florida to build team unity and really focus on skills and game strategies.

“We try to do a team building thing like that every year,” added Donnelly. “This was the first time we have gone really out of the area, going to Florida. It was great for the team as we were really alone there and got a lot of great work done.”

“We need to focus on each doing our job,” said Drew Hunsberger. “We have gotten to the final four the last three years, but this year want to finish it out with a championship.”

“It will be great having Zach (Monzo) back this season,” said Thomas. “We have twenty seniors on the team this year, and we all want to make sure we set the tone for the younger guys. We have built a tradition of winning here and it’s important for them to see us lead by example.”

That tradition of winning has been assisted by two youth lacrosse programs that feed into the high school.

“Our goal every year is to get better than the year before,” said Donnelly. “If we play like we are capable of, we will be able to do that again this season. I am glad that the guys want to play Owen J. (Roberts) in the final. They should want that.”

In a tune-up for the PAC-10 season, the Rams routed Lower Merion on Friday, 16-4. They were led by a six goal performance from Paul Major with Manzo, Bock and Troy Szostek adding two goals each.

Drew Thomas posted five points, scoring once and adding four assists in partially avenging the Rams' season-ending loss in 2010.

When it comes to the dream match up for the PAC-10 title, Spring-Ford may get what they wish for. Owen J. Roberts, which finished 16-6 last year, has many players returning including PAC-10 player of the year Kohl Batdorf, who scored more than 100 goals.

“We want to win the PAC-10 first and foremost,” added Thomas. “We have to take care of our end. Every game is important when it comes to district seeding, so we have to bring it every time we take the field. Districts and states would be a great way to go out as seniors.”