It has been remarkable seasons for the St. Joseph’s Prep and La Salle College High School boys’ lacrosse teams.
The two teams faced each other May 23 in the Philadelphia Catholic League championship game at Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School. La Salle edged St. Joseph’s Prep, 8-7, to take the league championship.
It did not look all that promising for La Salle right from the start. St. Joe’s took an early 2-0 sprint and increased its lead to 4-1. La Salle then went on a 6-0 run allowing for a tight 7-6 lead. St. Joe’s came back to make the score 8-7 but there was not enough time to take the lead or even tie the game and La Salle got the victory.
“It’s been a great season,” said La Salle head coach Bill Leahy. “It’s great to go to the championship game.”
Junior Matt Rambo prevailed for La Salle in the title game with five goals. Rambo has enjoyed a great high school career, earning All-State and All-American honors.
“He put us on his back and carried us to victory,” Leahy said. “He hustled. He shot the ball. He did exceptionally well.”
La Salle went into the championship game with a 15-4 overall record and a 9-0 record in the Catholic League. As the top seed in the league, it had earned a first-round bye in the quarterfinal round. La Salle then dominated Archbishop Wood, 14-1, in the semifinals on May 21 to move on to the title game.
Second-seeded St. Joe’s also earned a bye in the quarterfinals. It was able to reach the finals after a 17-3 rout of Archbishop Ryan in the semifinals two days earlier.
While both teams secured strong leads in their semifinal matches, the final game proved to be much more intense.
This win sent La Salle to the first District 12 championship game against Northeast High School, the Public League champion. Northeast edged Washington, 4-3, in the Public League title game.
At this point, La Salle expects to have a great season in 2013 because there are only six seniors graduating out of a total of 35 players. “The team is young,” Leahy said. “The whole group, minus six guys, will be back.”
Dan McCarty is a freelance writer and a member of St. Pius X Parish in Broomall.
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