Phoenixville Lacrosse Team About to Start Season

NEWTOWN-The wind still carried a little winter bite, but the day was clear and bright: perfect lacrosse weather for the last scrimmage before the regular season begins.

The Phantoms applied early offensive pressure and opened the scoring against Marple Newtown when Matt Randall potted a sharp angle shot 2:19 into the first quarter. That was the only point in the game the Phantoms would hold the lead, and it didn't last long. Less than a minute later, the Tigers evened the score at the end of an offensive push that began with a Phoenixville penalty for failure to advance.

The Tigers took the lead with 7:27 left in the quarter after some hard work behind the Phantoms' net, capped off by a good overhand shot that made it just under the crossbar. A minute later, senior midfielder Matt Gregory whipped a laser from 20 yards out and beat Phantoms goalie Nick Lolli for a 3-1 Tigers lead. The remainder of the quarter saw a lot of good back-and-forth action, but no more scoring.

Just over a minute into the second quarter, the Tigers sent a quick bouncer past the goalie to boost their lead to 4-1. They scored again 1:15 later, moving the ball quickly and cleanly all around the green, keeping Phoenixville's defense on its heels. Another Marple Newtown goal was waved off, but the Tigers extended their lead again with 7:17 left in the half.

Down 6-1 and reeling under the Tigers' offensive pressure, Phoenixville head coach Joe Youngblood wisely called a time out to try and get his team back on track and interrupt Marple Newtown's momentum. Coming out of the time out, the Phantoms mounted a good offensive push, but were unable to get past a tight Tiger defense and sharp netminding by Tigers goalie Ian Callahan. Gregory was credited with his second goal of the game when Lolli mishandled a tricky bouncing ball into his own net with 1:25 remaining in the half, which ended 7-1.

The second half opened with more Marple Newtown pressure, but a besieged Lolli stood tall, making several saves including a pointblank stop two minutes into the quarter.

Phoenixville's Randall muscled his way out from behind Marple Newtown's goal and scored his second of the game 2:49 into the third quarter, just after the Tigers had finished serving a 30 second penalty for too many men on the field. Three minutes later, Gregory completed his hat trick by sending a blistering shot into the Phantoms' net from 25 yards out. With 2:49 left, the Tigers connected for yet another goal, and the quarter ended with the Phantoms down 9-2.

Compared to the the first three quarters, the fourth was fairly quiet. The Phantoms had some life in them and showed it with a 20-yard sizzler by Brendan Bonner in the first minute. There was one more goal by Marple Newtown with 6:53 left in the game, which ended 10-3.

Phoenixville clearly has some tinkering to do, but despite the one-sided score, they showed plenty of potential. Matt Randall played a strong game from start to finish, as did Alex Clark and Sean McErlayne. Nick Lolli saw way too many shots come his way throughout the game, and the fact that the Phantoms let up 10 goals shouldn't eclipse some of the fantastic saves he made from close range.

This is what scrimmages are for; testing line combinations, finding your team's strengths and weaknesses and adjusting. We'll see what coach Youngblood and company have in store for us in the regular season.