‘Complete happiness’ after Avon Grove wins first state title
WEST GOSHEN » Zach Augustine saw his opening. All that was left was to hope teammate Brendan Harman saw him.
“I saw Brendan cut behind the net, and I was hoping he would see me; I was open,” Augustine said. “He threw it right to me, and as soon as the ball came to me, I shot it as hard as I could. When my shot went into the net, I just ran to my teammates as fast as I could. It’s a dream come true — it’s unbelievable.”
In the afterglow of Avon Grove’s first PIAA Class 3A boys lacrosse championship, it’s easy to see how Augustine could have had trouble believing what just happened. His goal lifted Avon Grove to an emotional 5-4 double-overtime win over Conestoga Saturday in front of a standing room-only crowd at West Chester East’s Harold Zimmerman Stadium.
“When I saw the ball going to Zach, I had a feeling he was going to score,” Avon Grove senior midfielder Doug Jones said. “Words can’t explain what I felt when his shot went in the net — just complete happiness.”
“When I saw Zach’s shot hit the net, it was the happiest moment in my life,” added Red Devils goalie Kevin Malone,
In a tight defensive affair, Avon Grove exacted the ultimate revenge on Conestoga, which beat the Red Devils in the District 1 championship two weeks ago.
Harman not only assisted on the gamewinner but also scored two goals in the win.
“The feeling of winning our first state championship hasn’t sunk in yet,” Harman said. “We’ve battled adversity all year, we lost the district title to Conestoga, and to beat them in the state final tastes sweet.”
“When I saw (Augustine’s) goal go in, I thought, ‘Finally, we’ve won it.’” Avon Grove coach Eric Jackson said. “Somebody had to win, and it’s unfortunate that Conestoga had to lose — I give a lot of credit to Conestoga.”
While the Pioneers never led in Saturday’s contest, they tied the contest on three occasions, the final time with 1.3 seconds left in regulation on a goal by senior attack Henry Berg. It capped a remarkable Pioneer comeback in the last 2½ minutes of regulation, with Conestoga coming back from a 4-2 deficit.
Avon Grove’s defense rose to the occasion Saturday, and particularly shone in the first half, when it held the Pioneers to one goal en route to a 2-1 halftime lead. The Red Devils had an 11-3 advantage in shots on goal in the first half.
“Our defense killed it in this game,” said Hammond.
Conestoga senior attack Tommy Sopko, who scored more than 70 goals for the Pioneers this season, tied the score at 2-2 just after halftime.
Meanwhile, Pioneer junior goalie Scott MacMillan continued to make several impressive saves and the game remained tied until Avon Grove junior midfielder Scooter Whiteside scored (with an assist from junior defender Bryce DeMuth) to put the Red Devils ahead 3-2 with 5:28 left in the third quarter.