FAIRVIEW VILLAGE — After the Senior Night festivities ended, chilly winds blew across the fake grass at Methacton High School's stadium, and the Warriors boys’ lacrosse team prepared for a match against Pottsgrove.
The score was tied at 0-0 after the first quarter, but then the Warriors surged ahead to a 7-1 lead by halftime, ultimately winning 12-5 on Thursday.
Lukas Reger and Christian Kay each scored three goals, and Michael Maro contributed two goals and four assists for Methacton, a promising team in the Pioneer Athletic Conference.
“I didn't score in the first quarter, so I knew I had to find my teammates or take the shots, and I was just more aggressive in the second quarter and got my chances,” Reger said. “We started slow, but once we got going, we were really on a roll.”
The Warriors (6-5, 4-2 PAC) were extremely strong in the second half while Pottsgrove struggled to defend their end.
“We were playing a bit laid-back with the zones in the first quarter, so they had the ball for a while,” said Methacton coach Ryan Pannella, who took over in January of last year. “We didn’t get many offensive opportunities, hit the goalie a lot. So we discussed our shot placement and overall strategy.
“I think in the second quarter, the guys woke up,” he said. “I think the distraction from Senior Night wore off and we started playing.”
Despite being behind, the Falcons (5-6, 0-5) kept fighting, scoring four goals in the second half and narrowing the gap to within five points twice. Even with the result, Pottsgrove coach Brendan Wurtz noticed improvement.
“Honestly, I think this was one of our best games this season,” Wurtz said. “Coming off a tough loss on Tuesday (15-4 to first-place Perkiomen Valley), then having one practice before a game like today — everything we coached from that Tuesday game at Wednesday’s practice, the kids executed today.
“We were just working on the commitment from our guys,” he said. “Whether it was offense, defense, knowing their responsibility and committing to it, performing it, not just knowing it and being a step late.”
With the win, Methacton kept its goals of a breakthrough season firmly in sight. Along with Perk Valley, Owen J. Roberts, Upper Merion and Boyertown are among the squads the Warriors chasing.
“Last year we had a very quick turnaround in the offseason,” Pannella said. “I got hired really late, so we were piecing everything together. We didn’t have much of an offseason. This year we did, and we were able to mesh more offensively and able to get in a lot of work defensively, and also just get together as a team on the field.
“No knock to our seniors last year — they were great — but we only have four,” he said. “This year we have 11 that are truly returning, and we had six or seven more come join who are athletes in the school. Having that senior leadership has really helped. We’ve kind of leaned on them.
“We have defeated teams we are expected to defeat, and we aim to move forward,” Pannella said. “Making it to the PAC finals or final four is one of our goals, and to achieve that, we need to break through the barrier of teams that are usually there.”
Experienced juniors like Reger are also stepping up, and he’s pleased with the progress the Warriors are making.
“I believe we can reach districts and the PACs, and perform well in both,” Reger said. “We have a great group of guys here, and this was a solid win on Senior Night. Last year wasn't great, we had a lot of close games we should have won, but I think we’ve made a lot of progress this season.”
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Methacton 12, Pottsgrove 5
Pottsgrove 0 1 2 2 — 5
Methacton 0 7 4 1 — 12
Pottsgrove goals: Bryce Caffrey 3, Jackson Wescoat, Jake Coburn.
Methacton goals: Lukas Reger 3, Christian Kay 3 (1 asst), Michael Maro 2 (4 asst), Anthony Cancro, Ceollin O'Neil, Collin McCoy, Samuel Sardo.
Shots on goal: Pottsgrove 21, Methacton 23
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Follow Christiaan DeFranco on X at @the_defranc.
