(CONTINUED)

 

 

    After midfielder Dan DeRosa tied the score at 7-7 off of a Grugan feed with just over three minutes gone in the quarter, things went quiet until the young attack trio of Reimer (junior), Grugan (sophomore) and freshman Paul Skulski (Garnet Valley) put together the deciding run of the game.
    “Momentum,” Grugan said when asked about the run. “We just started going off each other.”
    It started with 5 minutes, 40 seconds left in the third when Skulski dodged from behind the goal and finished with his left hand. Reimer followed 41 seconds later when he face-dodged a defender on the right wing and put the ball past Jake Mendlinger.
    The run continued when Dan Leigh (Harriton) and then B.J. Kletcheck (Roman Catholic) found Reimer open on the crease to push Cabrini’s advantage to 11-7. Skulski (one goal, two assists) then beat his defender from up top and found Grugan at the side of the net with 1:38 seconds left in the period to finish the run at 12-7.
    Reimer noted after the game that the Cavaliers took the opportunity when they had it.
    “We were just able to maximize our emotion,” he said. “They were a great team, and we were able to match their intensity.”
    Haverford battled back in the last quarter, primarily due to the efforts of freshman Max Hjelm (Conestoga). Hjelm (three goals, three assists) fed David Lawrence and converted feeds from Jason Leeds and Travis Gregory within a three-minute span to cut the deficit to two, 12-10.
    Distler said after the game that the comeback was typical Haverford lacrosse.
    “Our team is really resilient like that. We’ve done that all year,” he said. “I wasn’t worried.” Distler (two points in his final collegiate game) pointed to an Ursinus game (6-5 comeback win) as an example of the Black Squirrels’ grit.
    That was as close as the Black Squirrels would get, as the Cavs clamped down on defense over the remainder of the quarter before Reimer tallied his fifth goal off of a look from McKinney with 1:29 seconds left to put Haverford away.
    Long-stick middie Grant Firestone also stood out for Haverford, providing a goal and an assist to go with two groundballs and solid defense. His counterpart on Cabrini, Jeff Moore (Springfield-Delco), contributed six groundballs and four caused turnovers, while Joe Monroe (Marple Newtown) added four groundballs.
    Afterwards, both of the Cabrini attack stars looked forward to their matchup with defending national champion Salisbury.
    “They’re a great team,” Grugan said of the top-seeded Gulls. “We just need to play our game. We have lots of athletes and we’re looking to dodge.”
    Reimer added his anticipation.
    “I can’t wait,” he said. “We’ve never played them in my time here.”