St. Joseph’s drop a 16-10 game. The St. Joseph’s Hawks (9-4) played host to the Bryant Bulldogs (9-3). The North East Conference Title and an automatic trip to the NCAA D1 Championships were at stake. Simple as, “win and in.”
In-Game action
If you are a fan of defense the first half was for you. Bryant kept pressing and the Hawks kept keeping them at bay. Tucker Brown (2g) put the hosts to a 1-0 lead at 13:54 with Trevor Weingarten (3g) matching 1:38 later. The Hawks picked up markers from Evan Campbell (2g) and Ryan Doran (3g) to pull in front, 3-1.
Bryant evened things with Aidan Goltz (2g) at the :32 marks followed by Logan McGovern (1g,2a) with one second on the clock to close the physical quarter at 3-3. Bryant closed off the passing lanes and was keeping St. Joe’s on the outside while working their offensive plan with Marc O’Rourkr (4g, 1a) and Kevin Groeninger (2g) to put the Bulldog run to four goals and a 5-3 edge with 13:08 to play. The Hawks countered with goals from Levi Anderson (1g 2a), Tucker Brown notching his 14th of an Anderson feed in traffic. With 2:48 remaining, Doran collected his 22nd, and the half-closed with the Hawks holding a 6-5.
Things Heat Up
The physical play continued in the third and at 13:06 Emmet Kemble knotted it up again, 6-6. Campbell notched his 9th followed by Matt Tufano (1g,1a) but Bryant countered with two from O’Rourke 3:23 apart. Weingarten hitting rope at 2:27. Ryan Doran converted his 23rd courtesy of a nifty Tufano feed and the crowd of 1800, mostly Hawks friends and family, were getting raucous.
Player of the game, Jacob Alexander got the Bryant contingent on their feet when he got the best of Zach Cole on the face-off and took it the house to set the stage for the win it all final quarter and the home team in front, 10-9. Timmy Hackett (1g,1a) Groeninger (9th), Bennett Abladian (1g), and Goltz in a span of just under 13:00 got it to 14-9 and if Philadelphia was going to have a Champion, St.Joe’s would have to seriously amp things up.
Matt Bohmer (1g) tried to light a fire with a goal at 3:36 but, the Bulldogs would bite back with Weingarten at 1:33 and O’Rourke hitting his fourth with :47 left to give Bryant the Conference title and a trip to the NCAA dance. How good was Alexander? Not only did he have a goal, but he also picked up an assist and scooped a dozen loose balls.
By the Numbers
The big news was Alexander went head to head against Zach Cole and outdueled Cole by winning 17 of 30 face-offs. Another standout was Bulldogs netminder, Luke Caracciolo who came up big time and again and finished with 18 saves. Tucker Almany was also good with 11 saves in defeat.
Statistic-wise, things were close with the Hawks taking the edge in shots, 49-47, and shots on goal, 28-27. Bryant had two fewer turnovers, 13 to 15 with the Bulldogs scoring 45 ground balls to 31. Mac O’Rourke finished the tournament with 8 goals and Alexander won 30 faceoffs with 13 against Hobart. St. Joseph’s drop a 16-10 game.
Kevin has followed and promoted the game of lacrosse since May 19, 1974.
The same day the Philadelphia Flyers won the Cup, the Philadelphia Wings were introduced to Neibauer and Philadelphia.
Kevin has covered many sports, including baseball, football, basketball, and.. lacrosse. A former licensed football referee and baseball umpire, Kevin brings a unique insight to his game coverage.
A published writer in JustHockey Magazine, Kevin covered the American Hockey League as well as a monthly story on a pugilist where Kevin used the pen name, The Rink Rat. Neibauer turned his attentions to lacrosse for a few years and does his part, whether podcasting or writing to grow the game. Kevin branched out to his roots and currently provides insight for all Philadelphia teams for Edge of Philly as well as his full-time duties with LaxPhilly.
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