Before the game started we were treated to one of those rare early spring cold fronts and the rain caused a number of area games to be postponed . . . it probably would have been better for PJP if that had happened here too.  After playing an intelligent, disciplined first quarter that saw them trail 2-1 after one the Pope team threw discipline out the window in the second and paid dearly for the mistake, allowing SA to go on a 7-1 run in the 2nd, pretty much putting the game away. There’s really no easy way to sugar coat this.  I’ve seen at least 3 Pope-SA games and each one of them have had a similar pattern.  A solid PJP start and then a reversion to forgetting they were playing a game of lacrosse, not an invasion of a foreign land.  Five second quarter penalties, a number of them the sort of head-scratching ‘why are they doing that?’ ones allowed SA to score three EMO goals in the period and effectively deflate any hopes PJP had of putting their demons to rest.  Even last year, when Boca finally won the District, PJP was able to give them one of their two regular season losses, only to lose decisively to SA 13-2, and until the Pope players start to take this as a lacrosse game, not a battle to the death, this pattern will continue.  Why they veered away from what they did successfully in the first period is the key to understanding how this played out.  

  For Saint Andrew’s the story is the continuing march on the line of improvement they have shown as the season has played out.  What should alarm upcoming SA opponents is that they again showed a versatility on offense that showed how far that side of the field has come.  Early in the season we wrote about the attack leading the way and then the offense started leaning on a midfield-driven approach.  Well, back to the future . . . as attackmen Peter Dykas (7G), Nick Iznaga (3G/2A) and Sam Baker (3G – Baker has been also running midfield) combined for 13 of the 17 goals, as Dykas in particular asserted himself on the left wing, constantly getting free off dodges and curls. This game might well be the matchup in the District final and let’s hope the PJP kids learned the right lesson from this one or it will be another long night in a series of them. Let’s hope that happens . . .  

  Pope jumped out to the early lead, in front of a solid crowd (especially given the weather!), manned by a number of students who managed to keep their spirit the whole game.  Patrick Brower took a feed on right GLE and dodged to the middle and got to the right crease area before going between the legs of SA goalie Harris Feldman to open the scoring at 11:16.  Iznaga got that one back at 8:06 as he dodged in from the right wing to the middle and used the left hand to go low to the left corner.  The teams then traded possessions as Pope played for longer possessions and SA made some turnovers and the score remained tied until late when PJP took their only penalty of the period.  SA took advantage of the EMO as Dykas was fed from right GLE as PJP goalie Niko Morfogen tried to come out on Iznaga but Iznaga got off a low pass to the crease and Dykas went to his knees to catch it and drop it into the open net with 59 seconds left in the period to end it 2-1. PJP then took early penalties in the second and SA jumped all over it.  At 10:29 Baker took right GLE feed from Nick Diamond on the wing and hit the low left corner with the right hand on EMO and at 8:48, on another EMO, Brian Fox took Davis Diamond’s up top feed on the right wing and went to the high right side for 4-1.  33 seconds later Dykas controlled the ball while falling down and was able to get off a right hand shot into the top of the net for 5-1.  At 5:31 Dykas curled from the left side towards the alley and hit the low right corner for 6-1.  

  PJP finally stemmed the tide on EMO when Drew Minchew went down the left alley and found the low right corner with the left hand at 3:08 but SA responded with three goals in the last two minutes to break it wide open.  At 1:47 Baker took advantage of a late slide to step down and hit the low left corner, then Dykas again curled out, from the right side and finished when the goalie came out too far, drawing a penalty too at 0:50.  Then with 23 seconds left SA scored their third EMO of the period as Iznaga took a right crease feed from Fox on the right wing and easily finished to the low left corner to make it 9-2 at the half. The run continued in the third as SA scored the first five goals to make it a twelve goal lead: 11:05 – Dykas dodging left wing to the middle 8:48 – Davis Diamond working the left side, utilizing behind, GLE and the wing equally before getting to the crease 5:00 – Mark Heatzig taking Iznaga’s feed while cutting to the middle 4:21 – Alex Heatzig going down the field on the clear before firing home with the long pole 3:03 – Davis Diamond feeding Dykas on the crease At 1:32 Minchew took advantage of a delayed penalty call to fire home a right wing shot from about 15 yards as Jared Chaloux fed him from right GLE to make it 14-3 after three. Most of the fourth was played under running time as Iznaga scored at 9:26 as he worked from right GLE up the wing and spun left to the goal, hitting the high far side. Dykas finished off his day at 7:55 on another curl and Baker took D. Diamond’s feed on the last EMO with a minute to go to end it. Both teams played their backup goalies.  

  For PJP a chance to right the ship as they still have three games remaining while SA has finished their regular season.  PJP will face Palm Beach Central tonight at home on Senior Night.   Team Statistics   Faceoffs:  SA 18-5 Shots:  SA 39 – PJP 20 Shots on Goal:  SA 28 – PJP 13 Turnovers: SA 14 – PJP 12 Penalties:  PJP 8 – SA 6   Individual Statistics   SA Peter Dykas  7G Nick Iznaga  3G/2A Sam Baker  3G Davis Diamond  1G/3A Brian Fox  1G/1A Mark and Alex Heatzig  1G each for the brohters Nick Diamond  1A   Pope Drew Minchew  2G Patrick Brower  1G Jared Chaloux  1A   Goalies Niko Morfogen and Zach Czulada combined for 11 saves for Pope and Harris Feldman and Andrew Buzel combined for 10 saves for SA   Thanks to Coach Bolger and Coach Seaman for talking to me before and after the game!