Allentown Central Catholic wins title over Northwestern Lehigh
The new coach is sure the old coach was smiling a big smile on Thursday evening.
Kevin O’Neill, in his debut season as Allentown Central Catholic’s head coach, picked up this season right where the legendary Dan Dolphin left off last year, his state power Vikings claiming a second straight District 11 Class 2A title with a 13-3 win over Northwestern Lehigh at Lehigh University’s Ulrich Sports Complex.
“Dan’s proud, I know he is,” said O’Neill, who was an assistant coach under Dolphin last year.
“I still talk to Dan on a very regular basis. I know there’s a guy somewhere out there in the southern states right now who is still with us.”
The No. 1 seed in the 2A tournament, Central Catholic captured its 31st straight win overall and its 17th victory this season. O’Neill’s Vikings advance to play the District 12 runner-up in Tuesday’s first round at a site and time to be determined.
Central Catholic crafted a 5-1 advantage after the first 12 minutes and outscored No. 2 Northwestern 5-0 in the third quarter.
“In the heat of the moment sometimes our boys rise to the occasion,” O’Neill said, “and sometimes they try to do too much. I think in the first half we tried to do a little bit too much. But I thought we settled down in the second half and played with more patience.”
The Vikings’ top two players, senior attack Ben Scandone and senior defender Chuck Kuczynski, shared the starring role.
Scandone, who entered play with 50 goals and 37 assists, contributed seven goals and two assists.
Kuczynski, the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference MVP, spearheaded a dominant defense that allowed just three goals.
“Ben’s a next-level player for us,” said Kuczynski, who will play at Syracuse University. “He changes the game. When we need something done, he gets it done.”
“Lacrosse is a game of momen
tum,” O’Neill said, “and Ben is the one who controls the momentum for us on offense. Defensively, it’s Chuck who sets the tone for us. Whenever we need the ball or a big turnover, he does it.”
Seniors Michael Driscoll and Augustine Barr scored two goals apiece for Central Catholic.
Freshman Chris Burke, a reserve for most of the season, excelled in goal with eight saves. He also earned the respect of Scandone, a team captain.
“Christopher Burke was amazing,” Scandone said. “He’s a quiet kid. I came down on defense one time and he’s screaming. I absolutely loved the communication between him and our defense.”
The next challenge for Central Catholic comes in the state tournament.
O’Neill’s Vikings will try to
duplicate their amazing PIAA playoff run of a season ago when they became the first team from District 11 to win a state title.
“We’re ready to see how far we can go again,” Scandone said.
Northwestern (12-8) outscored Central Catholic 1-0 in the second period. Austin Sosnovik, Blaine Snyder and Cade Christopher all scored a goal apiece for the Tigers.
Despite the lopsided loss, Northwestern’s program took a giant stride forward in its third season (fourth year) of existence. The 2022 team picked up a historic initial District 11 postseason win and finished with the 12 victories overall.
Coach Marcus Janda’s Tigers should return a solid nucleus next year, including 45-plus point scorers Sosnovik, Christopher and Snyder, along with netminder Bailen Smargiassi. Sosnovik and
Christopher are juniors; Snyder and Smargiassi sophomores.
They will lose three key contributors, however, in seniors Andrew Collins, Drew Sabo and Taylor Wikert.
“At the end of the day this is a learning opportunity for us,” Janda said. “This is our third season and it’s our first championship game appearance. This is a valuable experience for our underclassmen.
“Unfortunately, we were overmatched today. But I’m ecstatic for our young program and I’m very proud of these young men.”
DISTRICT 11 CLASS 2A BOYS LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIP
(At Lehigh)
CENTRAL CATHOLIC 13, NORTHWESTERN LEHIGH 3
Northwestern 1 1 0 1 — 3
Central Catholic 5 0 5 3 — 13
Northwestern: Goals: Austin Sosnovik, Blaine Snyder, Cade Christopher. Assists: Snyder, Andrew Collins. Shots: 24. Saves: Bailen Smargiassi 10.
Central Catholic: Goals: Ben Scandone 7, Michael Driscoll 2, Augustine Barr 2, Nick Pomajevich, Aidan Carroll. Assists: Scandone 2, Pomajevich, James McCarthy. Shots: 40. Saves: Chris Burke 8.