After Hershey's heart-pounding 8-7 (OT) win over Carlisle on Apr. 25, midstate boys' lacrosse fans were left wanting more between these two rivals.
Their regular season meeting featured stellar defensive play, solid goaltending, clean, physical hits and plenty of momentum swings. Hershey held a pair of two goal leads at 3-1 and 5-3 before a four-goal run from Carlisle gave it a 7-5 lead after three quarters.
Hershey, behind an overtime goal from Logan Calhoun, ultimately prevailed and gave last year's District 3 runner-up their lone loss of the season.
The belief was that we'd see these same two teams duke it out for the Mid-Penn Conference boys' lacrosse championship.
Correct.
Hershey, which downed Mechanicsburg last week, is once again the Keystone Division champ, while Carlisle garnered the Commonwealth title after Monday's win over Mechanicsburg.
These two evenly matched teams will try to to better their Apr. 25 classic encounter when they lock horns Thursday night for top league honors at Central Dauphin Middle School's Landis Field at 7 p.m.
Here is a quick tale of the tape:
LINKS:
<<<CARLISLE VS. HERSHEY RECAP FROM APR. 25>>>
<<<CARLISLE VS. HERSHEY BOX SCORE FROM APR. 25>>>
CARLISLE (14-1, 11-1)
Head coach: Steve Kidder
Goals for: 183 (12.2 avg) | Goals Against: 78 (5.2 avg)
Top Scorers: Max Breschi (42g, 17a), Chris Fowler (43g, 20a), Matt Quattrone (40g, 18a), Jon Mundell (17g, 6a), Colin Wallace (12g, 8a), Hunter Scott(10g, 14a)
Unsung Hero: Sid Ewell
Goalie: Hunter Barrick (71 saves)
HERSHEY (17-1, 12-0)
Head coach: John Schein
Goals for: 269 (14.9 avg) | Goals Against: 94 (5.2 avg)
Top Scorers: George Briggs (30g, 53a), Logan Calhoun (50g, 17a), Joe Clark (52g, 49a), Steve Onorato (33g, 4a), Karl Van Blargen(17g, 5a), Jake Wilson (23g, 2a), Justin Wilson (27g, 9a).
Unsung Hero: David Sickler
Goalie: Kyle Kondracki (158 saves)