Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 5/7/16
From Press Release
The Cabrini men’s lacrosse team continued its championship win streak today, as the No. 16 Cavaliers scored their 16th consecutive Colonial States Athletic Conference championship with today’s 21-6 victory over Gwynedd Mercy at Edith Robb Dixon Field.
With the victory, the Blue and White will make its 15th straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament, slated to begin on Wednesday. The Cavaliers must wait until Sunday night’s NCAA Tournament Selection Show to learn its fate. The show will be broadcast on NCAA.com at 9 p.m.
A trio of Cabrini freshmen made the most of their first championship game appearance, combining for 20 points on 13 goals and seven assists.
Rookie Matt LoParo led the way, earning Most Valuable Player honors with a career high 10 points and career best eight goals, including three in the game’s opening 10 minutes.
Fellow rookies Timmy Brooks (Haverford School) and Jordan Krug (Cherokee) added five points each. Brooks found the back of the net three times, while Krug recorded three assists. Senior Ethan Heisman (Henderson) added three goals, while five other Cavaliers marked teh scoring column.
The Blue and White fired 53 shots on the day, with 12 coming from LoParo’s stick, three more than Brooks and four north of Heisman.
The Cavaliers again controlled the faceoff spot, claiming victory in 19 of the game’s 30 faceoffs. Senior Chris Schneekloth (Central Bucks East) went 14-21 with four ground balls, while sophomore Joe Simpson (Upper Darby) won four of his six chances and also corralled four ground balls. Krug, junior Evan Downey and senior Brian also scooped three ground balls each.
Cabrini forced 12 of GMercyU’s 23 turnovers on the day, with freshman Kevin Delaney causing a career high three.
Sophomore goaltender Tyler Morrell (Episcopal Academy) posted 11 saves to secure the victory before being replaced by freshman Riley White (Plymouth Whitemarsh), who added a trio of stops.
LoParo put Cabrini ahead early with two goals in the game’s first five minutes. Senior Kyle Bush (Ridley) extended the lead before the Griffins got on the board with 6:36 left in the first quarter.
The Blue and White began to pull away in the final minutes of the opening quarter, as LoParo, senior Cole Campbell (Emmaus) and Heisman scored to give the Cavaliers a 6-1 lead after 15 minutes of play.
Cabrini exerted its will in the second period, outshooting GMercyU 15-7, causing eight turnovers and allowing just two clears. Brooks and LoParo netted unassisted goals to push the lead to 8-1 midway through the quarter.
A Griffins goal snapped a run of five unanswered goals but the Cavaliers would close the half with a flurry.
The Cavaliers notched four goals in the final 5:19 of the half, as LoParo scored twice, senior Evan Allvord (Kennett) notched a goal and Krug recorded a man-up goal. By the half, the Blue and White owned a commanding 12-2 lead.
Despite facing an uphill battle, the Griffins held their own in the third quarter. Brooks, Heisman and Krug scored the Cabrini, but GMercyU had an answer for each score.
That was until the final two minutes of the stanza, as the Cavaliers went on a 6-0 scoring run over a six minute span to close the third quarter and open the fourth.
Kittredge’s forced turnover sprung a fast break, as the senior hit freshman Nicholas Waliguski for a man-down goal with 2:05 left in the third. With five seconds on the clock, sophomore James Magnani (St. Mark’s) gave Cabrini a 17-5 lead to close the third.
The run continued into the final period, as LoParo hit Heisman 90 seconds in the fourth quarter. On GMercyU’s next possession, sophomore Joey Hoey (Springfield-Delco) forced a turnover to spring another fast break. Senior Carter Treuchet secured the loose ball before finding LoParo for another goal.
Brooks and LoParo closed the Blue and White scoring with unassisted goals.
Tony McCraw and Dominic Moscariello (lansdale Catholic) each had a goal and an assist for GMercyU, while Nick Guglielmi (Council Rock South), Tommy Belmont (Great Valley), Jacob Snavely (Central bucks South), and Ryan Simpson (Upper Darby) also netted a goal.
Junior goaltender Sean Myers suffered the loss after making eight first half saves. Freshman Chris Burns (Washington Township) took over the crease in the second half, notching nine stops.