Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 5/11/18
Staff Report
Jeb Brenfleck collected six goals and one assist and Dave Closterman had three goals and four assists as host Academy of the Nrw Church toppled Shopley School, 13-9, today to win its fifth straight Friends Schools League championship.
Academy of the New Church won its 5th straight Friends Schools League championship
Griffin McGinley posted 13 saves as ANC (15-5, No 7 in the Phillylacrosse.com Rankings) bolted to an 8-3 halftime lead and an 11-4 third-period advantage before the Gators (13-5) made a late run.
ANC now gears for the National Prep Championships, which open Wednesday. The Lions, seeded fourth in this inaugural tourney featuring many of the top prep powers in the nation, open against Hun School (N.J.) at The Hill School at 7 p.m.
“This year we really set out to try and prove ourselves to be among the best around Philly and especially maintaining our strong presence is a huge part of our season,” said ANC junior defenseman/LSM Hunter Jaronski, who scored once. “The league title game is always a highlighted game and we know we have to take care of business.
“Shipley has a great senior class so we knew they were gonna give it all they had. Our seniors have been playing these guys hard for 4 years so wining it, for sure felt good for everyone.”
“Our captains Dave (Closterman), Seamus (Hogan), and Hunter, as well as coach Rob and Jack (Forster), do a great job of telling us to prepare the same for every game,” added Brenfleck. “It’s easy for us younger guys to overlook certain games, but there is great leadership on our team that keeps us in check.”
Randall Brown led Shipley with four goals.
“ANC has some talented players and our goal was to keep the score down and maintain the ball and get well earned goals; we couldn’t do that in the first half but the second half we showed some heart and battled back,” said Shipley coach Mark Duncan. “Hats off to Griff Gallagher, Will Drake, Randall Brown, Dean Manet and Henry Reed, who played their hearts out and our two goalies for keeping us in the game with 5 saves each per half.”
“This is one of several goals we had this season,” said ANC coach Rob Forster. “As important as it is to have success on a national level, winning our fifth straight Friends League title is also very important to us.
“Shipley has a very strong program and it took a whole team game to pull out the victory today.”
“Scrappy and hard-nosed are definitely great words to describe their game,” said Jaronski. “Going into the game it was all about ‘do your job’ because we know these guys and they know us. The guys were excited to get out there and keep proving ourselves.”
The ANC players are excited to compete in the National Prep tourney.
“The National Prep championship is an amazing opportunity for our team and we couldn’t be more pumped to play under the lights,” Jaronski said. “It’s a pretty easy game to get up for. We got a special group of guys that want keep playing together as long as we can.”
“All the guys are really excited for the opportunity that we have to play in he National Prep tournament,” added Brenfleck. “Today was a great game and it’s always fun to win a championship, but we are ready to get back to the grind at practice and focus on our game against Hun. We are looking to make a name for ourselves and make a statement.”
Academy of the New Church 13, Shipley 9
ANC 5-3-3-2- 13
Shipley 1-2-1-5- 9
ANC
Jeb Brenfleck 6 goals 1 assist
Andrew Lapenta 1 goal 2 assists
Joe Paterno 1 goal 1 assist
Dave Closterman 3 goals 4 assists
Wil Vandegrift 1 assist
Ricky Amorim 1 goal
Hunter Jaronski 1 goal
Griffin Mcginley 13 saves
Shipley
Randall Brown 4 goals
Henry Reed 3GS
Griff Gallagher 1g, 1a
Braeden Lange 1g
Hunter Gallo 1 a
Dean Manet 1a
Nate Yi 5
Kyle Mezrow 5
Friends Schools League champions
1996 – George School 12, Academy of the New Church 6
1997 – Academy of the New Church 11, George School 1
1998 – Academy of the New Church 9, George School 3
1999 – Academy of the New Church 4, George School 3
2000 – George School 8, Academy of the New Church 5
2001 – Academy of the New Church 13, George School 3
2002 – Academy of the New Church 12, George School 10
2003 – Academy of the New Church 3, George School 1
2004 – Friends’ Central 15, George School 5
2005 – Academy of the New Church 6, George School 5
2006 – Shipley 16, Friends’ Central 9
2007 – Academy of the New Church 12, Friends’ Central 3
2008 – Friends’ Central 8, Shipley 5
2009 – Shipley 6, Academy of the New Church 4
2010 – Shipley 12, Academy of the New Church 5
2011 – Shipley 15, Academy of the New Church 6
2012 – Shipley 5, Academy of the New Church 4, OT
2013 – Shipley School 9, Westtown 5
2014 – Academy of the New Church 10, Westtown 8
2015 – Academy of the New Church 13, Shipley School 10
2016 – Academy of the New Church 13, Shipley School 6
2017 – Academy of the New Church 15, Shipley School 3
2018 – Academy of the New Church 13, Shipley School 9
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