The Trinity lacrosse team holds the Mid-Penn Championship trophy high after defeating Cumberland Valley, 12-9.Lacrosse coaches are notorious for preaching to their players the importance of winning quarters of a game one at a time. And that was the message delivered to Trinity players at this year’s Mid-Penn boys lacrosse championship played at Landis Field, Harrisburg, in a driving drizzle on May 14.
After being outplayed and losing the first quarter to their arch-rival Cumberland Valley, 3-1, the ‘Rocks coaches stressed that there were three more quarters to win and that if done, this marquee matchup against two area lacrosse titans would go Trinity’s way.
In a thrilling game that saw seven ties and four lead changes, Trinity netted four unanswered goals to begin the fourth quarter to unknot an 8-8 game. The final score was 12-9, and the game was filled with end-to-end action and numerable momentum swings that made it an exciting game for the large crowd in attendance.
Trinity has only had one blemish this season, a 12-8 loss to Baltimore’s Archbishop Curley in early April. The ‘Rocks went 14-0 in the Keystone division but while the record speaks to dominance, the truth is the ‘Rocks have struggled much of the way as they lost their prolific scorer Nico Chirieleison, senior, and last year’s Mid-Penn player of the year to a hand fracture against Palmyra in early April. The crafty and superb finisher was back for the tilt with CV, yet he is still mending and recovering from a break that required surgery only 6 weeks ago. Trinity is a different team with their Division I Mt. St. Mary’s bound star.
Trinity head lacrosse coach Jerry Standford presents the Mid-Penn Championship medals to the team.Trinity’s strength, however, lies with their defense with senior close defenders Josh Standford and Ryan Smathers leading the way, along with long-stick midfielder Joe Olivetti, who team up to give senior net-minder Brad Brown a sturdy wall in front of the cage to thwart other teams’ offenses.
Last season, the ‘Rocks lost the Mid-Penn championship game to State College by a goal but followed up that loss by winning the District 3 Class 2A championship and then reaching the PIAA quarterfinals where they lost by a goal to South Fayette.
Trinity, under the helm of head coach Jerry Standford (3rd season), will have to win three straight District 3 playoff games to defend their title and then win four in a row to win a PIAA state championship, which will be played June 14. But if the old message rings true that defense is what wins you championships, well the ‘Rocks are well-poised to deliver the wins one quarter at a time.
(Photos by Chris Heisey, The Catholic Witness)
By Chris Heisey, The Catholic Witness
