The first quarter told the tale.
The Council Rock South boys lacrosse team scored four unanswered goals in the first frame en route to a 14-6 triumph over host Council Rock North in Tuesday night’s Suburban One League National Conference matchup at CR North’s Walt Snyder Stadium.
Joey Smith netted two goals while Josh Geiger and T.J. Shores had one apiece to get the Golden Hawks started.
CR South extended the lead to 6-0 in the second quarter before the Indians finally got on the board with a goal by Andrew Zazoff.
By halftime the Golden Hawks held a 7-2 lead and after the third quarter their lead was 10-5.
“I did not expect to win by this much, but I have faith in my boys,” said CR South senior captain Thomas Gallagher, a defenseman. “We came out on fire in this game, not like other games.
“Once we were up 4-0 after the first quarter I knew we had the game in hand. It was very important to get those first couple of goals because it really motivated the team. Scoring early and building up that lead was a key to the game.
“Even when they started to score a little and get back into it, we were still confident. They have some good players on their team so we had to try to shut them down, but they’re going to score a few goals because they are good players.”
It was the first conference win of the season for CR South (5-3, 1-3).
“It was amazing to get that first win against North,” said Gallagher, who had three ground balls in the game. “We had a rough game in our last game (a 12-5 loss to Pennsbury) so it’s really nice to come back with a big win, especially against North.”
Gallagher, who also played defensive end for the Golden Hawks football team, will continue his lacrosse career at Chestnut Hill College, where he plans to major in nursing.
The Golden Hawks are hoping this game will be a turning point in the season.
“We showed a different level of play tonight,” said CR South senior captain Wesley Waninger, a midfielder. “We came out strong right away. We’ve been coming out a little slow so now we know we have to come out fast. I think this is the beginning of something good for us, and I think we can make it to the playoffs.
“I think we just have to get the team chemistry going and then we’ll be a lot better but this game sure helped. It’s always big to beat North. They beat us last year so it’s really great to win this one my senior year. That was definitely on my bucket list for this year.
“It was a fun win. It was very impactful for our team.”
Waninger, who had an assist in the game, also played defensive end for the CR South football team. He plans to play lacrosse next season at Penn College of Technology, where he will major in automotive business management.
Smith led all scorers with five goals and one assist, while Shores ended the evening with four goals and one assist, M.J. Fenney put in two goals and two assists, and Jack Schink, Geiger, Patrick Malone and Owen Dillon each contributed a single tally. Dillon also chipped in four ground balls, Geiger picked up four ground balls and Andrew Mannherz had two ground balls.
Billy Houser made three huge saves in the first quarter for CR South to help set the tone of the game, ending the night with six.
CR South is back in action on Friday, traveling to William Tennent for a nonleague game at 4 p.m.
It wasn’t the game the Indians were hoping for.
“It’s disappointing,” said CR North senior Tyler Rodowicz, who had a ground ball in the game. “We were so flat tonight. We didn’t take care of the ball. Turnovers on offense and defense. We were getting beat. We knew what they were going to do, and we let them do what they wanted.
“I think the playoffs are still on the table. We have a rough couple of games coming up but I think this team can turn it on. We just didn’t turn it on tonight.
“Our team has a lot of potential. I see a lot of good things for their future. We have six seniors and a lot of juniors so they will have a lot of seniors next year.”
It was the final game for Rodowicz, a long stick midfielder. He faces surgery on Thursday for a torn labrum sustained during basketball season.
“Losing to South in my very last game was not ideal,” he said. “I played baseball up until my freshman year, when a neighbor convinced me to switch over to lacrosse. All my friends played lacrosse so my sophomore year I switched and it was a great decision. The last few years have been so much fun and I’m sorry it’s ending so soon.”
Jake Welwood led CR North with three goals and one assist as well as one ground ball. Zazoff scored two goals and had one ground ball, while Liam Dudley scored a goal and picked one ground ball.
E.J. Allian led all players with 10 ground balls and also had one assist, Tim Gracey had one assist, Logan Atkinson contributed two ground balls and Charlie Rambo added one ground ball for CR North.
The Indians (5-3, 3-2) return to play on Thursday, hosting SOL National foe Central Bucks South at 5 p.m.
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