Jun 5, 2017 By Eleanor Bailey 4 min read

A 14-5 loss to Manheim Township in the opening round of the PIAA Class AAA boys’ tournament in no way dampens the spirit of the Peters Township boys’ lacrosse team.

This spring, the Indians achieved new heights in the sport. Plus they plan to continue accomplishing great things such as winning WPIAL championships, as they did on May 26 when they edged Mt. Lebanon, 12-11, in double overtime.

“From the beginning of fall ball, our goal was WPIAL championship or bust,” said PT head coach Mike Kaplan. “We accomplished that goal.

“It’s not an easy task to go from the excitement of winning the WPIAL championship, which was the target since Day 1, to rallying to play again (in the PIAA). Obviously, it’s a little disappointing for our season to end with such a big loss, but Manheim Township was an immensely talented team, and we’ve still had an incredible year. I couldn’t be more proud of the boys for how hard they’ve worked this year.”

Since Kaplan arrived on the scene four years ago, the Indians worked toward the school’s first-ever banner in boys’ lacrosse. That diligence paid off handsomely and not just in winning hardware. Four players garnered post-season acclaim, and Kaplan was honored as Class AAA Coach of the Year.

“Winning Coach of the Year is a huge honor personally, but it’s hard to take the credit. I have an incredible staff, and the players make it easy for us by responding well.”

Nicki Phelps, Aidan Stopperich, Colton Abate and Shawn Caven responded in an all-star capacity. Recruited to play at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Phelps attained All-America status for the Indians. The junior also claimed all-section and all-WPIAL honors as a long stick man. While Stopperich also gained all-district acclaim, the junior midfielder joined fellow classmates: Abate, an attack, and Caven, a defender, on the all-section squad.

Abate scored a goal in the loss to Manheim as did junior midfielder Clayton Scott. Danny Bacchiochi, the hero in the WPIAL final having scored the game-winner against Lebo, registered a hat trick. Junior Ben Delaney garnered two assists while senior Jake Heeter dished up the other.

“It was a hard end to a great year,” said Kaplan of the loss to Manheim. “Overall, though, I’m very pleased with how the team played all year.

“It’s hard to put into words,” added Kaplan of what this season means. “The seniors this year were all freshmen when I first took over as head coach. Seeing them grow and how hard they’ve worked has been an incredible journey, and being able to cap it off with a championship means a lot.

“The assistant coaches and myself gave them the challenge at the beginning of the year that it has to be a WPIAL championship or nothing. That’s a lot of pressure, but they rose to the occasion.”

Indeed, Peters Township upset No. 2 seed Pine-Richland, 19-4, in the first round of the playoffs. The Indians then won two overtime decisions, including a 7-6 semifinal win against Quaker Valley before the Lebo victory, to take home the title.

“This year was a year of firsts for Peters Township,” Kaplan said. “We’ve joined a rather small group of elite schools that have won the championship. It’s important for us going forward to be proud of our accomplishments, but remain hungry for more.”

Because the Indians graduate just six seniors – including their goalie, Matt Michalowski, as well as midfielders James Bollman, Zach Casili and Heeter, not to mention defenders Evan Pakela and Ryan Lavelle – they will be the team being chased by those teams hungry to unseat them as champions. However, as district winners, Peters Township has bigger plans.

“As for our future, I am very optimistic,” Kaplan said. “We have a large junior class, many of whom were big impact players for us this year such as Danny (Bacchiochi) and Nicki (Phelps) and that’s just two of the 13 we had on the varsity.”

Among the other juniors are: the aforementioned all-stars as well as Dante Mahremas, Will Delaney, Tanner Scott, Zach Gramling, Jake Hurley, Zach Cicacci and Luke Hirata, a goalie. The Indians’ roster also featured a pair of sophomores in Jack DeGurian and Nico Mahramas as well as one frehsman, Aidan McCall.

“We’ll be very senior heavy next year, and will expect them to lead us to another WPIAL championship game, and likely beyond,” Kaplan said. “We need to continue to improve each year, and winning back-to-back WPIAL championships would be incredible, but I’d like to see us rise to the occasion and compete at the state level.”