Lebo battles Peters Township in semifinals
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Ben Delaney unleashes a shot against two Fox Chapel defenders and scores during WPIAL Class AAA boys’ lacrosse playoff action. Delaney scored the first two goals of the game to give Peters Township a 2-0 advantage. The Indians went on to beat the Foxes 17-5.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Tim McMullen (No. 26) celebrates with Jack Sullivan (No. 6) after scoring the first of his two goals in Mt. Lebanon’s 8-6 victory against Shady Side Academy in the WPIAL Class AAA boys’ lacrosse playoffs.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Jack Sullivan (No. 6) maintains his balance while maneuvering passed a Shady Side Academy defender. Sullivan scored the first goal in Mt. Lebanon’s 6-4 victory against the Indians.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Jeff Delaney (No. 1) and Colton Abate (No. 4) congratulate Danny Bacchiochi (center) after he scored Peters Township’s third goal of the game during WPIAL Class AAA boys’ lacrosse playoff action. The Indians dispatched Fox Chapel, 17-5, to move into the semifinals to face Mt. Lebanon at 6 p.m. May 23 at Moon.
When Mt. Lebanon and Peters Township face off at 6 p.m. May 23 at Moon High School stadium in the WPIAL Class AAA boys’ lacrosse semifinal, opposing coaches Mike Ermer and Mike Kaplan are expecting a far different result than occurred in the team’s previous meeting. Back on March 27, the Indians defeated the Blue Devils, 14-6.
“I don’t expect the game to be such a large margin,” Kaplan said. “Lebo has turned its season around big time.”
“It’s the playoffs. Weird things happen,” Ermer added. “You can’t take anything for granted. It’s going to be interesting. It’s going to be fun.”
Even though they are the defending WPIAL champions, the season has been fun so far for the Indians. They are 17-3 overall and playing as if there is not a target on their backs.
“I don’t think there’s pressure for us to repeat,” Kaplan said, “but with that said, it is one of our three team goals for this year.”
The Indians accomplished their first objective by claiming their first-ever section banner. After resounding wins against Sewickley Academy, 21-2, and Fox Chapel, 17-5, they are one game away from competing in the WPIAL finals set for May 25 at Robert Morris University. The Indians also wanted to compete successfully in the PIAA tournament. The top three WPIAL teams advance to states.
“We accomplished our first goal,” Kaplan said. “Next is to repeat as WPIAL champions and compete at the state level.”
Last year, after winning the WPIAL title, Peters Township lost in the first round at the state level, while Lebo continued its season.
“It’s my goal as the coach to ensure the program continues to get better every year, and our expectations need to come up as we continue to succeed, but right now, our focus needs to stay on Lebo. If we overlook them, there will be no repeat.”
The Blue Devils are playing well at the right time of the season. After opening tournament action with a 16-2 win against North Hills, Lebo dispatched Shady Side Academy, 8-6.
Tim McMullen scored twice and added an assist. Jack Sullivan, Sam Rothschild, John Sramac and Black Nelson tallied the other goals. Rotchschild and Ken Giarla garnered assists.
“We have been a pretty balanced team all year, even as far as grades go, too,” Ermer said. “It’s a real group effort and they have really brought into the group mentality. We are real happy with the way that has come along.”
Ermer is also pleased with his defense, which is led by Tucker Welsh. The sophomore goalie had 18 saves against Shady Side.
“He’s a big kid. He takes up a lot of space but he has deceptively fast hands,” Ermer said. “He plays better the bigger the moment. He responds well under pressure. He likes to have the spotlight on him, which is something that you need out of a goalie.”
A goalie also needs a strong defense in front of him. Mark Pesacreta, Brendan McCarthy, Trevor Tocchet, John Stewart, Anderson Bareford and Joe Gibbons provide that.
“Our defense is really starting to gel,” Ermer said. “They are starting to gain their identity.”
Ermer noted the play of Pesacreta. He takes on the opponent’s best player.
“He’s a big, strong kid and his assignment is to make sure he goes where their best player goes. Mark does a great job of that.”
In beating the Foxes in their quarterfinal match on May 16 at South Fayette, Danny Bacchiochi and Aidan Stopperich proved the Indians’ top players as each registered a hat trick.
Ben Delaney and Will Delaney each scored two goals. Colton Abate also contributed two tallies. He picked up three assists as well.
Mike Vilsack, Dante Mahramas, Nico Mahramas and Aidan McCall completed the goal scoring for Peters.
Consistency and composure say Kaplan and Ermer will decide the outcome of the semifinal clash between the Indians and the Blue Devils. They pointed to those components as keys to victory.
“All year long we’ve tried to send the message of keeping our composure, and focusing on making the next little play, and let those little plays add up in ways that win us games.” Kaplan said. “We’re going to make mistakes and Lebo will capitalize on them. We aren’t perfect. We just need to limit those mistakes, and keep moving towards making the next little play.”
Ermer agreed an even-keel attitude and play will prove the difference in the clash.
“We’ve just got to be consistent,” he said. “We are still waiting to play 48 minutes of lacrosse. We have played bits and pieces of it. I think we’ve got a group that if we come together and if we can put together 48 minutes, then we will be able to compete and get past (Peters).”
Top-seeded Pine-Richland plays North Allegheny in the other semifinal that follows the Lebo-PT contest. The Rams advanced to the Final Four with a 13-2 win over Bethel Park while the Tigers dispatched Upper St. Clair, 7-5.
Lebo girls toppled
In girls’ lacrosse, Mt. Lebanon dropped a 15-14 decision to Sewickley Academy during a WPIAL Class AAA semifinal contest played at Peters Township. The Blue Devils fell behind, 14-11, with under seven minutes to play and could not make up the difference although Cora Broadhurst and Ally Klaber scored to narrow the gap to 15-14 with 2:08 to play.
Klaber finished with six goals and Broadhurst tallied four. Gibbons, a Lafayette recruit, registered a hat trick. Emilia Krakora completed the scoring for the Blue Devils. Elisa Gordon (4), Ellie Hughes (3) and Sydney Larsen (6) accounted for the majority of SA’s tallies