Mt. Lebanon advances to PIAA semifinals in lacrosse
Tim McMullen (No. 26) races down the field ahead of a pair of defenders during lacrosse action. McMullen scored two goals and provided four assists in Mt. Lebanon’s first two PIAA victories against Wilson, 8-7, and State College, 11-4.
Patrick Moeller scored a goal and had an assist in Mt. Lebanon’s 11-4 victory against State College in the quarterfinals of the PIAA boys’ lacrosse tournament.
Brendan McCarthy breaks away from the pack once he controls the ball and heads downfield during WPIAL Class AAA boys’ semifinal lacrosse action.
After a gut-wrenching loss in the WPIAL championship match, the Mt. Lebanon boys’ lacrosse team rebounded nicely.
With a come-from-behind victory against Wilson, 8-7, and an 11-4 triumph against State College, the Blue Devils found themselves in the Final Four of the PIAA tournament and one step away from competing for a state title.
“We are very happy to still be playing and still have a chance to put together 48 good minutes of lacrosse,” said Lebo field general Mike Ermer. “It is definitely something we will need to do against an outstanding team like Conestoga.”
The Pioneers are ranked among the top 20 teams in the nation, and they defeated Haverford, 9-4, and Manheim Township, 12-6, to reach their semifinal matchup against the Blue Devils played June 6 at Cumberland Valley. The winner advanced to the state final set for 4 p.m. June 10 at Harold Zimmerman Stadium in West Chester.
Lebo wins over the District 3 and District 6 champions put the Blue Devils into the state semifinals for the first time since 2014. That season, Lebo lost to eventual PIAA winner, Penncrest.
The Blue Devils’ spot in the semifinals was never secure. In fact, they fell behind, 4-0, before rallying to dispatch Wilson. The deficit swelled to seven with exactly six minutes to play in the third quarter before Lebo waged the comeback.
“We had a heavy case of the ‘bus legs’ after a four-hour ride,” said Ermer of the trip to Cumberland Valley High School for the first-round playoff contest. “Until we managed to run off eight straight goals, you could see the heavy legs in our guys. We were sluggish, not getting to ground balls, and we were not focused.
“Momentum is an interesting beast,” Ermer continued. “Once you get it on your side, the whole demeanor of the game changed.”
While the defense held Lebo in the game with its “inspired” play, Lebo generated an attack behind Connor Brumfield. The senior exploded for three goals. Kenny Giarla racked up a pair of tallies, while John Sramac and David Harvey provided scores before Carter Davidson notched the game-winner.
Tim McMullen registered two assists. Sramac, Kyle Dalson and Colin White also garnered assists.
Winning faceoffs also powered the Blue Devils to victory. According to Ermer, Dalson and Jesse Dodd did an “amazing” job controlling the restarts. “I’m not sure that we lost any faceoffs after the six-minute mark of the third quarter,” Ermer said. “That was a big part of pulling off a comeback like we saw (against Wilson).
Another deciding factor, said Ermer, was attrition. While Wilson was a “very good team,” it didn’t have depth. “They don’t play an overwhelming number of guys,” Ermer said. “We play a good amount of guys at all positions. So I think we just wore them down and still had more legs in the last 18 minutes of the game than they did.”
Heavy legs again carried Lebo to victory against State College. This time the Blue Devils opened up a four-goal advantage and held on for the seven-goal victory.
“The boys started out very well in the game,” Ermer said. “However throughout the game our legs got heavy and our play got a bit sloppy. Overall we played well but certainly not our best game.”
Statistically, Brumfield and McMullen played best as both scored twice and collected two assists each. Davidson also provided two tallies. Pat Moeller, Sramac, Harvey, Owen Myers and Colin White completed the goal-scoring. Moeller also had an assist.