RECAP >> For one half of lacrosse on Monday night, Ben Franco stood on his head in goal and did all he could between the pipes to give himself and his Emmaus team a chance.
Thanks to his 12 saves in the first half, including a number of point-blank stops, the Hornets sophomore goalie kept his team within striking distance of Central Catholic as the Hornets trailed by just one (5-4) in a back-and-forth opening 24 minutes of play.
But not even the standout play of Franco could withstand the constant pressure that he and his Emmaus defenders were under against the Vikings high-scoring offense.
The visitors from Central Catholic came out and dominated the second half of play as they outscored the Hornets 6-1 as the Vikings handed Emmaus its first loss of the season 11-5 on a incredibly windy and cold Monday night at Memorial Field.
“We let them score in transition a lot and their transition game is very good and historically it’s been,” said Hornets second year head coach Desi Gonzalez. “They probably had six or seven goals in transition and it is something we need to work on and get better at.”
The loss dropped Emmaus to 10-1 overall and 7-1 in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and it also marked the eighth straight time that the Hornets have been beaten by the Vikes dating back to the 2015 season. The five goals scored by were a season-low, while the 11 allowed was the most.
Central Catholic, which improved to 10-1 overall and 7-1 in the league, had a balanced attack with six different players scoring goals.
Senior Justin Pasquale led the way with a hat trick, while classmates Matt Scandone and Todd Gloss along with junior Alec Brogle each added a pair of goals. Jack McGorry had a game-high three assists to go along with his only goal of the game with 1:54 left until halftime giving Central Catholic the lead for good at 5-4.
Senior Evan Bhagat registered his second straight hat trick and led the Hornets. Fellow senior Sam Conway added his 20th goal of the season in defeat, while another senior, long stick midfielder Devon Boyko, scored his third goal of the season that tied the game at 4-4 with a little over four minutes left until half.
Emmaus has jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the opening quarter on goals from Bhagat and Sam Conway before the Vikings responded with three straight goals from Tyler Schifko, Alec Brogle and Matt Scandone to take a 3-2 lead.
Both teams scored a pair of goals in the second quarter to give Central a 5-4 lead at the half, and then after that, it was all Vikings as they scored seven unanswered goals, including a 4-0 third quarter which opened up a five goal lead (9-4) heading into the final 12 minutes of play.
Statistically, Central Catholic dominated as they nearly out shot Emmaus 4-to-1 in the game (31-8) and held a huge advantage at the faceoffs, spurred by Luke Telago winning 17 of 20 at the X. Between the pipes, Franco wound up with 20 saves on the night, while his counterpart senior Nolan Barr made just four stops.
Emmaus will look to bounce back from its first loss of the season on Thursday as they make short trip up Cedar Crest Boulevard to take on rival and undefeated Parkland. Opening faceoff is set for 7 p.m.
“I’m not worried going into our next match-up,” said Gonzalez. “I’m feeling pretty good. These guys know that they can compete. We just need to fill some holes and I think we’ll be fine.”
Similar to its losing streak against Central Catholic, the Hornets also have had tough time of it against the Trojans, having dropped eight straight meetings and 11 of the last 12 since 2015.
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CCHS – 3-2-4-2 – 11
Emm – 2-2-0-1 – 5
CCHS goals – Tyler Schifko, Alec Brogle 2, Matt Scandone 2, Justin Paquale 3, Jack McGorry, Todd Gloss 2
CCHS assists – McGorry 3, Pasquale
CC saves – Nolan Barr 4
Emm goals – Evan Bhagat 3, Sam Conway, Devon Boyko
Emm assists – Bhagat, Leschinsky, O’Connor
Emm saves – Ben Franco 20
Photos courtesy of Robert Thompson:
