Game Observations: La Salle (PA) 7, Garden City (NY) 4

The La Salle Explorers notched a huge road victory on Saturday over Garden City.

Garden City had won 24 consecutive games, their last loss coming in the 2011 New York State Championship Game. They entered the game with a 2-0 record this season, including a big win over Loyola-Blakefield (MD) at M&T Bank Stadium. La Salle entered the game 1-0, with an impressive win over DeMatha (MD) by a 9-6 score.

The game was a defensive battle, with La Salle breaking a 2-2 tie at halftime with two quick markers to begin the third quarter en route to the win.

Game Trends:

First Half
-La Salle came out with good energy, winning the opening draw and getting a few shots on goal, but Garden City’s defense was up to the task.
-Garden City’s first possession was fairly indicative of how the day would go – solid ball movement, but generally held to the outside before throwing the ball away. Unforced errors were a theme for the Trojans.
-La Salle opened the scoring on a nice dodge and shot by junior Stephen Hudak.
-The teams then traded possessions – Garden City again undone by an unforced error.
-Both defenses played well early, especially La Salle’s – their poles are big and athletic.
-After the teams again traded possessions, a nice individual effort by Garden City junior midfielder Cody George tied the game at 1.
-Garden City – when not throwing the ball away – showed why they are dangerous. They spin the ball like a college team – fast and crisp. However, La Salle’s defense held them largely to the outside.
-Some big-time saves by La Salle goaltender Nicholas Hreshko would also foreshadow things to come.
-Garden City took a 2-1 lead when senior Brain Badgett took a pass up top and nicely stepped around a closing defender on his way to the cage.
-The defenses took center stage for the rest of the half. It was at this point in the game Garden City had a couple of solid possessions to try and pad their lead, but were unable to do so.
-La Salle was able to tie the game off a timeout, as senior attackman Brian McNamara dodged from X and scored short side. The score was tied 2-2 at halftime.

Second Half:
-La Salle opened the half with two quick goals from Maryland-bound senior attackman Matt Rambo.
-These goals gave the Explorers a ton of momentum, especially coming off a second quarter where they were able to withstand some pressure from Garden City and enter the half tied up. They played with confidence all game, but it was after their fourth goal you really saw the momentum shift.
-The second half was plagued with fouls. Garden City went two men up with about 8 minutes remaining in the third, but were unable to convert. However, they would net one shortly thereafter on Badgett’s second of the day to make it 4-3.
-La Salle was able to get it right back, however, winning the ensuing faceoff and scoring before the defense for Garden City really got settled.
-Garden City then had a two-minute man up (a non-releasable infraction by Rambo), but threw the ball away eight seconds in and struggled to get possession back for most of the advantage.
-They were finally able to convert near the end of penalty on a goal by Duke-bound senior Justin Guterding to make it 5-4.
-Another foul on La Salle (a questionable call resulting from a scrum for a loose ball) gave Garden City another man-up heading into the final quarter – but they were again unable to convert.
-Garden City got into the penalty parade, taking there own 2-minute non-releasable foul early in the fourth.
-After Garden City goaltender Dan Dolan made a huge stop, the Trojans could not complete a clear, and La Salle called timeout to set something up for the final 45 seconds or so of their man-up.
-On the ensuing possession, Hudak got his second of the day for the Explorers to stretch the lead to 6-4.
-Garden City would follow with some chances, but just could not really get anything going offensively. When they did, Hreshko was there to make a big save.
-After some back-and-forth action, La Salle got their seventh goal with about 3:30 remaining. With about 1:30 remaining (on yet another man-up), Hreshko made the exclamation-point save in a one-on-one situation on the crease.
-FINAL: La Salle 7, Garden City 4

Ten Team Observations

Garden City Offense:
-They moved the ball extremely well around the perimeter, at times looking like a college program with how fast the ball was getting around.
-Far too many unforced turnovers – while some were the result of good defensive pressure, too often the ball was just thrown away.
-When they did have their opportunities, they did no cash in. They controlled the game for much of the second quarter, but could not stretch their lead. Again, solid defense and goalie play for La Salle – but the Trojans did have chances.
-The team lacks a dodger capable of initiating consistently. Some nice moves here and there, but there didn’t seem to be a true threat to the cage.
-Rode hard and had solid stick work in the middle of the field.

Garden City Defense:
-Save a quick two-goal spurt at the beginning of the second half, the Trojans’ defense largely held a loaded La Salle front line in check.
-Poles have excellent handle, especially in transition.
-Were very good at collapsing on cutters inside, forcing numerous turnovers near the crease.
-Defensive midfielders were good and played a physical game.
-Goaltending was solid, including some excellent saves on high-quality chances.

La Salle Offense:
-Senior Matt Rambo was a threat to score each time he had the ball. He was reminiscent of former Syracuse standout Pat Perritt – a physical dodger with an excellent first step.
-The Explorers were opportunistic, and turned minor breakdowns into goals.
-They executed well out of timeouts, scoring twice in such situations, including a huge goal in the fourth quarter.
-Utilized the two-man game well, coming up with some good opportunities off picks.
-They rode hard, causing a few turnovers by Garden City.

La Salle Defense:
-The Explorers are big and physical on the defensive end.
-Their close defenseman all played excellent position defense, rarely sacrificing leverage for stick checks.
-Kept Garden City to the outside and were nearly flawless when sliding and replacing.
-Were very fluid as a unit.
-Goalie play was outstanding, keeping the team in the game early and then pushing momentum to a fever pitch as the game went on with some clutch saves.

Three Players That Left an Impression:

Garden City
Cody George (Midfielder): George plays very fast and was the Trojans biggest threat to dodge and get to the cage. He was also a force in the clearing game, able to leg the ball over using his speed.

Tim McDonagh (Midfielder): McDonagh was tenacious on the defensive end, and had some nice interceptions and ground balls inside. He plays with good toughness as an in-between-the-boxes middie.

Kyle Skramko (Defense): Skramko is a long defender with a great stick. He was excellent clearing the ball and equally as impressive on ground balls, utilizing his reach and using smarts to get the ball up-and-out.

La Salle
Stefan Bergman (Defense): A big, athletic player, Bergman was a force on the defensive end. While teammate Andrew Eidenshink was also impressive, Bergman was all over the field and was a big part of the Explorers’ defensive success.

Nicholas Hreshko (Goaltender): Made some big-time saves throughout the game, including a couple of one-on-one stops that really ignited the team defensively. He was a game-changer.

Matt Rambo (Attack): An offensive weapon who generated numerous scoring chances and was responsible for the game-changing two goals in the second half. Did, however, take a few bad penalties when riding, including a two-minute non-releasable foul for unnecessary roughness.