Mt. Lebanon senior lacrosse players enjoy moment on ESPN
It was not the prize Mt. Lebanon sought this lacrosse season.
However the Blue Devils’ appearance on ESPN provides some consolation after the PIAA canceled all springs sports because of the coronavirus crisis.
Noting his team had reached the PIAA semifinals four times, Blue Devils head coach Mike Ermer said Lebo had hoped to be on a “trajectory” for a state title come June.
“We had those aspirations. It could have been,” he said, “but weird things happen.”
COVID-19 happened this winter and in mid-March Gov. Tom Wolf put the state on lockdown, shuttering businesses and closing schools. The WPIAL and PIAA, which organize scholastic sports in the region and state, followed suit, postponing the basketball tournaments, swim championships and spring athletics.
On April 9, all schools suspended in-person classes and their functions for the remainder of the calendar year were canceled.
“We were ahead of schedule last year. We had this year circled for a while,” said Ermer of the boys lacrosse season. “Sure, it’s frustrating, but this puts prospective on life outside of sports. Life is bigger than sports.”
In the minds of many teenage athletes, however, nothing is bigger in sports than ESPN. At the beginning of the month, ESPN anchor Scott Van Pelt recognized the team during a “Senior Night” segment on his show.
The segment acknowledges seniors in high school and college who have missed their final games because of the pandemic.
“Super cool,” said Ermer of the telecast. “It was great for the guys. It’s a tough time and we are all going through it, but it really lifted their spirits.”
Lebo’s rostered featured 13 seniors. They guided the Blue Devils to a 14-8 record last year. The Blue Devils were WPIAL runners-up and PIAA quarterfinalists.
According to Ermer, the seniors have been playing together since fourth grade. He said they are a “tight, knit group” that’s not just talented.
“Amazing group, but really good people,” he said. “Great character kids. That’s why this is most annoying. They deserved to play a season because of the people they are.”
Jack Sullivan, who played on the football team, and Chase Franklin served on the unified bocce team. The sport integrates students with and without disabilities in a competitive interscholastic sports environment.
Sullivan is exploring his options regarding college lacrosse, but is leaning toward the University of Indianapolis, a Division II power, Ermer said.
“Jack was our glue guy, meat and potatoes,” he said. “He would do anything for you. We relied heavily on him last year. Wore the tread off his tires.”
Franklin has settled on Marietta as his college choice. Nicknamed “Tadpole” because of his size as a freshman, he blossomed into a “cerebral” midfielder for the Blue Devils, Ermer said.
“A fantastic kid who understands the game — where you need to be and when,” he said. “He sees plays ahead of time.”
John Sramac saw the net. A 100-goal scorer, he was Lebo’s offensive MVP and a first-team All-WPIAL and All-MSLCA selection in 2018. The 6-3, 190-pound senior is committed to Ithaca.
“John ranks up there,” said Ermer of the best players in the program. “A special player. He can score. He can feed. He’s not a ‘rah-rah’ guy, but a leader by example. He was always in the weight room.
“When your seniors are your best players and hardest workers,” Ermer added, “you will be set up for success.”
Between the pipes, Tucker Welsh set Lebo up for success. The senior goalie was the defensive MVP in 2019. He also garnered All-MSLCA laurels. A two-time WPIAL goalie of the year, Welsh will matriculate to Delaware.
Ermer said Wesh’s father’s occupation, working on the FBI bomb squad, contributes to his “unflappable” nature in the nets.
“When things go haywire, Tucker’s unfazed. You can’t shake him. No matter how good or bad things are he’s even keel. Tucker has really quick hands and the ability to stop the ball. He will be missed,” Ermer said.
Lebo will also miss Carter Davidson’s capabilities. Davidson scored the game-winning goal against Wilson in a PIAA playoff game as a freshman. He will play at Ithaca.
Davidson epitomizes desire and positivity, Ermer said. He missed his junior season because of an ACL tear suffered during a football game.
“Very talented, really good shot and snake bitten,” Ermer said. “Before everything paused, Carter was an example of nothing being guaranteed and to take nothing for granted. We were really anticipating what he would bring to the table as a junior, but then he wasn’t around. Carter, though, still enjoyed every practice, every lifting session, every team meal. What bonds a team together is not necessarily what happens on the field. There are no guarantees anyone is going to play.”
Riley Sohyda, Ryan Pochek, Blake Nelson, Simon Mortimer, Anderson Bareford, Reese Austin, Jack Broadhurst and Malik Snyder-McGee, likewise, are seniors who will never pull on a Lebo jersey again.
Sohyda will continue his career at La Roche University. A defender, he has a “big body and great kid,” said Ermer.
“Enthusiastic about the sport,” he added.
Pochek was another defender Ermer described as “steady Eddie.” A two-year starter, Ermer said Pochek wasn’t “the flashiest” or the most “imposing,” but he was tough to get around because he understood how to play the angles.
Simon Mortimer was another “glue guy” in the defensive midfield, Ermer said.
“He’d get down in the dirt, pick up the ground balls. Do the things that get overlook and he does it with a smile. Always enthusiastic,” Ermer said.
Nelson and Bareford were both attackmen.
A starter since his sophomore season, Nelson will play at Marietta.
“His favorite part of the game was 0-0 because he alway wanted to score a 100 goals a game,” said Ermer, who has a rule that the Blue Devils are not allowed to score more than 19 goals on any team. “He likes to put the ball in the net. You have to call the dogs off with him. But, he’s a great finisher inside the crease with soft hands.
Ermer praised Bareford for his attitude and work ethic, even when his minutes did not match his expectations.
“Anderson’s passionate about the sport,” Ermer said. “It’s tough to put anybody over him as far as his love of the game. He possesses the characteristics that sets up to be successful in life.”
Austin and Broadhurst are two midfielders that come from good stock, which Ermer says “he loves” and will miss.
Austin would have been the top face-off player in the league, but his talents were required all over the field for the Blue Devils.
“He’s a great player with a great mind for the game,” Ermer said. “Relentless in the weight room. He was one of those ‘watch me work. Do what I do’ guys.”
Meanwhile, Broadhurst had an uncanny knack of being in the right spot at the right time.
“He’s a good shooter and he was going to be the guy. He plays well off the ball and sees the play develop so he could be where he needed to be. When he left one go, it was noticeable,” Ermer said of his shot.
Snyder-McGee was out for the varsity for the first time. A linebacker on the football team, he tore his ACL last year, but he was friends with the lacrosse players. As soon as he walked through the doors, Ermer recognized his potential.
“We can do something with this guy because he was strong and athletic,” he said. “When we saw him move and saw his hard work and positive attitude, we knew he could help us once we developed his skills. We were excited about his prospects and the ability to put him in situations that would allow him, and us, to be successful.”
Alas, in 2020 that will not happen. However, the future is bright.
Lebo boasts up to 54 additional players in its’ organization. Several are talented juniors and sophomores.
“We are going to bring them along at a slow boil,” Ermer said. “We were looking forward to seeing those guys marinate and develop with quality minutes in meaningful games this year. But now, we’ll have to accelerate the pace for next year.
“You do feel bad for the seniors, but so much is out of our control. But it was some small consolation that they had ESPN. It was super cool what the producers did with that. The kids had a blast.”
During the ESPN Sports Center’s tribute to the seniors who play boys’ lacrosse at Mt. Lebanon, the segment focused on one of the team’s traditions. After each game, the team MVP is awarded “Manzo’s Boots”
Mike Manzo was a partner in the Pittsburgh firm of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney as well a legal counsel for the WPIAL. He died of a heart attack at age 62 on Mary 30, 2011.
The Scranton native played defensive back on Princeton’s Ivy League championship football team in 1969. After only taking up lacrosse, his freshman year, he became an All-America midfielder for the Tigers.
Manzo also served as a longtime youth coach in the Mt. Lebanon’s lacrosse association. In fact, he was named 2003 Man of the Year by US Lacrosse.
After a day at the office, he would race home to see his wife and children then head to practice, still bedecked in suit and tie. Because the fields usually were muddy from spring rains, Manzo always donned an old pair of duck boots.
During a lacrosse convention in Baltimore, coaches, including the Mt. Lebanon staff, were discussing motivational tactics to instill hard work into players. Clinicians suggested sledgehammers and hard hats.
While the high school varsity was looking to establish a team tradition, the Blue Devils “didn’t want to do something generic like that,” said head coach Mike Ermer.
Remembering Manzo, “we thought hey what about the boots?” asked Ermer.
At the same time, and even more prophetic, the Lebo coaches encountered Richie Moran. The Hall of Fame skipper coached Cornell University to 15 Ivy League titles and three national championships from 1969-97 and to an NCAA record 42 consecutive victories.
Moran knew Manzo from his playing days. He related to Ermer and his staff how Manzo was “an absolute warrior” at Princeton.
“We decided (the boots) were meant to be,” Ermer.
After assistant coach, Chris Hooten, contacted the family. Manzo’s widow, Kathy, found the boots and donated them to the team. Since then they have been treasured by each recipient.
“They mean a lot to the program and the boys,” Ermer said. “They signify Mike’s passion for the game, his dedication and work ethic. They are a treasure. A great way to remember Mike while also promoting team pride and love for the game.”