Rustin overwhelmed by Hatboro-Horsham in second quarter

senior if he was alright.

Hood adamantly responded he was and he had things under control. The he went out and proved it, winning every faceoff at the X in the second quarter as the Hatters outscored Rustin 6-1 in the frame to break a 1-1 deadlock after the first period.

“Both teams were trying to figure each other out, their offense was patient and we told our guys we’ve seen what they run, don’t overstep or give up a quick run,” Kurek said. “Brian’s our all-league faceoff guy and he says ‘Coach, I’ve got it’ and he didn’t lose a faceoff in the second quarter, so he gave or offense possessions and our offense started getting a feel for the game.”

Hood’s mastery on the X was just one of a few things that the Knights had to overcome. At some point late in the first quarter, Rustin’s standout senior goalie Kyle Mullin picked up a lower leg injury that had him hobbled the rest of the night.

The backbone of the team, the Harvard recruit shrugged off the initial injury and stayed, managing 12 saves and at one point cleared a ball all but hopping off one leg. To coach Kevin Philibin, it was an effort emblematic of the team’s season.

“They played their hearts out all year and this game was a mirror of our season, some ups, some downs and fighting back the whole time,” Philibin said. “It was tough for (Mullin) to plant and get out and clear in the open field the way he’s used to. But that’s the kind of kid he is, he stayed in and fought through it and still made some incredible saves despite not being able to step the way he normally does.”

The Rustin coach gave Hood plenty of credit for his ability to consistently win faceoffs saying it becomes even harder to rally when the other team keeps getting the ball back after a score. When Rustin did have the ball, they had trouble breaking down the Hatters’ defense.