Peters Township battles Mt. Lebanon in LAX
For South Hills boys’ lacrosse teams, particularly Peters Township, this week determines their fate. All want to make the playoffs and win a title, but only one will be crowned champion.
“Obviously, the end goal is a WPIAL championship,” said Indians’ head coach Mike Kaplan. “It’s something the players have set out for since the beginning and they haven’t taken their eye off the prize, but it’s still a long and tough road to get there.”
Peters Township’s path is paved with games this week against Sewickley Academy, Mt. Lebanon, Upper St. Clair and Bethel Park. Critical is tonight’s contest (April 29) at 7:30 p.m. The Blue Devils are the defending district champions. They reached the semifinals in the state tournament last year.
“Mt. Lebanon is consistently turning out some of the best players in WPIAL every year; they don’t rebuild, they reload,” said Kaplan, who played at Bethel Park and Seton-Hill University while pursuing a degree in computer science.
According to Kaplan, midfielder Brian Ward and Brian Kelly, an attack player who has just returned to the line-up after an injury, are two of the best.
“(Ward) is an astounding athlete and player and very fun to watch,” Kaplan said. “(Kelly) is an extremely dangerous goal scorer. Factor in the rest of their very talented team, and they’re extremely formidable. It’s a game we are very much looking forward to.”
Because both teams boast strong defenses, the contest may be a low-scoring affair. According to Mike Ermer, Lebo’s defense has been very strong this season thanks to the play of Charlie Cappucci, Jake Zoffer, Matt Ricci, Preston Chamberlin and Nick Tommasi. “Our strength is currently at the defensive end of the field,” Ermer said. Additionally, Matt Lee has been “very consistent” in goal for the Blue Devils.
According to Kaplan, the Indians are up to the task defensively.
“I like to think our starting defense has to be one of the most talented in the area,” he said. Kaplan mentioned that goalie Michael Layton has “stood on his head multiple times” this year. The senior captain averages 12 saves per game.
Sal Merante supports Layton. The senior captain is a long-stick midfielder that Kaplan says “does not stop harassing” PT’s best opposing players. He and James Minton lead the team in ground balls. Down low, Luke Hurley and Duke Schratz have also played extremely well against opposing teams’ talented attack men. Defensively, PT has held opponents to an average of five goals.
“That’s an impressive feat and gives our offense far more opportunities to put the ball in the back of the net. They’re causing a lot of turnovers, and playing almost lights out when man-down. We have to be in the 90 percent range killing penalties.”
Because of injuries, however, PT’s conversion rate has been sparse. The Indians average only eight goals per game. Logan Maloni is the team’s point leader with 17 goals and five assists. Max Buzzelli follows with 13 tallies and 12 assists.
“We’ve struggled to click on offense consistently,” Kaplan said. “The injury bug bit us a couple weeks ago, and we had some key offensive players out for a while, but guys are healthy again and it’s something that is beginning to be pieced together. As we prepare to round out our season, we should finally be firing on all cylinders.”
As the playoffs commence May 11, it is imperative the Indians be playing on all cylinders during their critical eight-day stretch. After hosting Lebo, Peters Township entertains USC at 7:30 p.m. May 2 and visits Bethel Park at 7 p.m. May 5. The Indians also travel to North Allegheny (May 8) and Moon (May 9).
“Conference games (with Lebo, USC and BP) are must win games with playoffs right around the corner,” said Kaplan, who is a software developer for ANSYS in Southpointe. “We’re all competing for a spot and a high seed and probably most important, momentum going into the playoffs.”
While the Indians are 9-3 overall, Lebo was 9-4 heading into this week’s action. The Blue Devils started the season with three, one-goal losses before streaking to five victories and nine triumphs in their past 10 outings.
“All of our losses have been to very good teams so it’s not been too discouraging,” said Ermer. “We may be starting to hit our groove soon.”
In addition to the Peters Township contest, Lebo hosts USC May 6. Of the section battles, Ermer said, “those will be big games. They should have major impact on the fate of the section.
“The league is as difficult as always but our goals are always the same each year. Our first goal is to win the section. After that, we will go from there.”