Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 5/24/17
Staff Report
Ryan Flanegan scored five goals and Nick Heiler won 16 of 18 faceoffs as Lansdale Catholic toppled Archbishop Wood, 14-3, to day to claim the first District 12 Class AA championship at the Germantown SuperSite.
Lansdale Catholic wins the District 12 Class AA title
The Crusaders (16-4) will face the District 3 third-place finisher, Eastern York or Lower Dauphin on Tuesday in the first round of the PIAA tournament. Archbishop Wood (10-8) will play the District 1 runner-up, Springfield-Delco or Henderson.
This was the first district title and state berth for LC.
The game was tied, 2-2, after one quarter, but LC used an 8-0 run in the middle periods to seize control. Bobby Bausman posted 13 saves and Grady Kelly (2G 4A), Mike Basilii (2G), Dan White (2G) and Joe Walsh (1G 2A) added to a balanced attack.
“You know, it feels great,” said Walsh, a Second-Team All-Catholic League pick. “It means a lot, not only to me, but I know for the entire team as well. We are all very excited and can’t wait to see what else we can accomplish as we go forward.”
Walsh said the Crusaders wanted to get out quickly.
“Last time we met we came out slow,” he said. “We knew we had to get on the board early this time and keep pushing. Ryan Flanagan stepped up big for us today with five goals.”
Walsh said it was great when he learned there would be two classes this year in the PIAA, allowing smaller schools the chance to make post-season noise.
“Yeah, going into the season we had more motivation to come out strong now that we had an opportunity to compete for a district championship,” he said. “Each one of us have to play our own role on the team if we want to come out strong in the state playoffs.
“We know we can compete with these teams as long as we stay focused on one game at a time.”
Tim Brandenburg had two goals and four groundballs for Wood while Eric Bauer had a goal and two groundballs.
Lansdale Catholic 14, Archbishop Wood 3
LC- 2-4-4-4 – 14
Wood- 2-0-0-1 – 3
LC
Ryan Flanegan 5G
Joe Walsh 1G 2A
Grady Kelly 2G 4A
Mike Basilii 2G
Dan White 2G
Nick Heiler 1G FO 16/18
R MacDonald 1G
K DeHaven 1A
P Albanese 1A
Bobby Bausman 13 saves
ABW
Tim Brandenburg 2G 4GB
Eric Bauer 1G 2GB
Rhys Vaughn 1A 5GB
Dakota Taylor 5GB
Brian Kinkade 2 faceoff wins
Brian Graham 8 saves