Big Run Lifts Warriors over Upper Merion Methacton hosted Upper Merion in their fourth PAC contest of the year, in this, the Vikings inaugural season in the PAC.  Methacton would prove not to be very gracious hosts as they turned a 3-3 game on it's head by going on a 10-0 run through quarters two and three to seal the home win.   Stanley Kolimago would open the scoring on the day on the first offensive possession for the Warriors as he dodged down the right alley and buried a shot on the run.  The Vikings, however, responded as Collin Ginsburg put away a feed from Connor Stutzman.  Upper Merion continued it's run as Nick Freda scored on an individual effort in transition and Josh Renhardt scored on another feeder from Stutzman.   The Warriors would answer on another individual effort from Kolimago.  With short time left in the first quarter, the Warriors noticed an odd numbers situation and Jack Pelligrino found Ryan O'Toole who placed a shot just off the hip of Vikings goalie Johnny Salamy to even the score with just 7 seconds left.   There was a clear sense that Methacton had seized the momentum with that last second goal and the second quarter would be all Warriors as they would continue their run of goals scoring five in the quarter while holding the visitors scoreless.  Senior defenseman Kyle Derrickson would score next for Methacton as he caught an Upper Merion middie in the subsitution game, back cutting and finishing the Kyle Kacala feed.  Kacala would add one of his own and O'Toole would finish a feed from sophomore Pay Sikora.  Kolimago added another goal while O'Toole finished the scoring in the second quarter to extend the lead to 8-3 with just 10 seconds remaining.   The third quarter would also be all Methacton as they extended their run to 12 goals while blanking the visitors.  Upper Merion would find the goal just once more in the fourth quarter and freshman Jaxson Peoples ended the scoring for Methacton on an assist from Derrickson in unsettled play.   With the win, Methacton improves to 4-4 on the season and 3-1 in PAC play.  They return to action on Thursday traveling to Council Rock North for a non-league contest.         Methacton:  Stanley Kolimago (5G,1A), Kyle Kacala (3G,1A), Ryan O'Toole (3G), Jack Pellegrino (3A), Kyle Derrickson (1G,1A), Jaxson Peoples (1G), Connor McHugh (1G), Pay Sikora (1A) Upper Merion:  Nick Freda (2G), Connor Stutzman (2A), Collin Ginsburg (1G), Josh Reinhardt (1G)       1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final Methacton 3 5 5 1 14 Upper Merion 3 0 0 1 4  

Quick Start for Methacton in Win over Phoenixville Methacton visited Phoenixville yesterday for their third PAC contest of the year.  The host Phantoms won the first offensive possession of the day and made the most of it, finding the back of the net on their first shot from midfielder Danny Jackson.  However, the Warriors would be unfazed and run off 7 straight goals to stretch out a lead that would never be in doubt for the remainder of the game.   Sophomore attackman Jack Pellegrino started the scoring for the Warriors as he finished a pass from senior Kyle Derrickson in transition.  Pellegrino would then double the Warriors score on a strong individual effort as he ducked past a Phoenixville attackman and ended with a nice inside finish.  The unassisted efforts continued as Senior Ryan O'Toole scored twice followed by Junior Stanley Kolimago on a 15 yard shot. Junior attackman Kyle Kacala added two to end the run for Methacton, first on an individual effort, then off a feed from Senior Cam Sikora.  The hosts would manage to find the net once more in the second quarter on a goal from attackman Derek Bullotta as he dodged downfield, rolled back and fired a shot off his defenders hip and into the back of the net.   The third quarter started much as the second had ended with Kacala netting his third of the day on a feed from Freshman Jaxson Peoples.  With Methacton substituting liberally throughout the third and fourth quarters the hosts were able to add five more goals with Kacala, Peoples, and O'Toole each notching one more for the final score of 11-7.  Senior goalie Harvey Smith got the win with 6 saves and 4 goals against. Methacton returns home for their next contest hosting Oxford on Saturday at 10:00 on the stadium field with JV to follow.   Scoring: Methacton:  Kyle Kacala (4G), Ryan O'Toole (3G,1A), Jack Pellegrino (2G), Jaxson Peoples (1G,1A), Stanley Kolimago (1G), Cam Sikora (1A) Phoenixville:  Derek Bullatta (3G,1A), Danny Jackson (2G), Drew LoPolito (2G), Ignacio Ortiz (2A)   1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final Methacton 4 3 3 1 11 Phoenixville 1 1 2 3 7      

Warriors Rally Late to Overcome PJP II in PAC Opener The first 43 minutes of Methacton's first PAC contest of the year was an exercise in frustration.  The host Panthers managed to seize much of the momentum, score opportunistic goals, and hold the Warriors at bay.  However, the last five minutes of regulation would see a flurry of action for the guests culminating in a double overtime victory on a last second goal.   Methacton's Kyle Kacala opened the scoring on the day as Senior Connor McHugh, after a defensive stop, cleared the ball and pushed in transition finding Kacala on the near pipe.  Four minutes later, Pope John Paul's Ryan Kormos would knot the score at one each on an outstanding individual effort.  While the first quarter would present opportunities for both teams, strong goalkeeping on each end would leave the score tied at 1-1.  The second quarter saw similar swings with Methacton initially taking a lead on a Stanley Kolimago goal on a feed from Kacala.  However, the Panthers would strike back just four minutes later and the teams would enter the halftime break locked at 2-2.   The third quarter was all Pope John Paul as the hosts jumped out to a 5-2 lead scoring three unanswered goals.  Attackman Justin Kent scored on a nice individual dodge down the left alley to finalize the three goal gap.  While the Warriors had a number of chances, they would consistently fall one pass or finish short throughout the period.  The beginning of the fourth quarter looked much like the third with the hosts holding all of the advantage and momentum.  With just over five minutes left in the fourth quarter, sophomore attackman Jack Pellegrino scored on a superb individual effort, ringing the ball off the far post and in to cut the lead to two.  Stanley Kolimago won the ensuing faceoff and took the ball himself scoring his second of the day to cut the Panters lead to a single goal.  Sensing a swing in momemtun, the Panther's coach called a timeout to regroup.   The following faceoff was won by the Panther's Luke Roth, and in the process of trying to dislodge the ball Stanley Kolimago drew a slashing penalty.  However, a stick check led to a 3 minute non-releasable penalty that would ultimately help decide the game.  Methacton gained possession on the dead ball foul and found a number of openings in the PJP man-down defense but were unable to find paydirt.  Following a shot, Senior Ryan O'Toole pushed the ball up from X, and found Sophomore Sean Sykes alone on the back pipe.  Sykes burried the pass high and away to tie the game at 5-5 with just 6 seconds left in regulation.  Winning the ensuing faceoff kept possession with the Warriors to open the first overtime period while still enjoying a man advantage.   The first overtime provided the Wariors best opportunity as Sykes nearly won it himself on another great look from the man-up set.  Unfortunately his shot rung off the crossbar to keep the game knotted at 5 apiece.  From there both teams would trade body blows throughout the end to the first overtime and throughout much of the second, unable to land the knockout blow.  Perhaps the best opportunity came for PJP as transition left them with a one on one with Warrior goalie Harvey Smith.  Smith made the play of the game, stopping the Panther's attacker on the doorstep and keeping Methacton alive.  Smith would also provide the spark for the game winner.  With 39 seconds left he made a save, and pushed the ball himself, throwing an exceptional clearing pass almost 50 yards to Senior Ryan O'Toole.  O'Toole pushed transition and found Pellegrino alone from 12 yards.  The sophomore attackman would bury his second of the day to provide a wild finish with only 25 seconds left in the second overtime.   With the win, Methacton improves to 1-2 on the year (1-0 PAC) while PJP II drops to 0-1 (0-1 PAC).  Methacton plays next traveling to StrathHaven to match up with Central League foe Harriton in a multi team play day on Saturday at 12:00.     1st 2nd 3rd 4th OT Final Methacton 1 1 0 3 1 6 Pope John Paul II 1 1 3 0 0 5    

Kacala Nets Two for Warriors in Loss to Patriots The cold and rainy weather on Tuesday would serve as an ominous foreshadowing of a challenging day for the boys lacrosse team as they traveled to Great Valley to take on the Patriots.  Ryan O'Toole won the opening faceoff creating a fast break but the Warriors were not able to seize the opportunity as unforced errors lead to a turnover.  The Patriots took control of the first quarter, dominating possession throughout.  While Great Valley struggled to penetrate the Methacton zone initially, they found more scoring opportunities as the quarter progressed through unsettled play, opening the lead to 5-1.  Junior Kyle Kacala netted Methacton's only goal of the first quarter.   The second quarter would see much of the same possession woes as the first for the guests.  Great Valley was able to win faceoffs while the clearing and turnover issues continued for the Warriors.  The Patriots would tally two more in the second while O'Toole notched one to take the teams to the break at a 7-2 Great Valley advantage.   Slow pace dominated the third quarter with the hosts adding two more goals to their lead while holding the visitors scoreless.  Methacton failed to capitalize on a number of man-up opportunities while Great Valley made the most of their extra man offense situations.  The fourth quarter would be much more balanced with each team scoring two, including an outstanding individual effort from junior Stanley Kolimago.  Unfortunately the Patriot's lead would prove to be too large of a gap to bridge for the visiting Warriors.  With the win Great Valley improves to 1-1 on the year while the Warriors fall to 0-2 on the season.   Methacton returns to action on Thursday traveling to Pope John Paul II for their first PAC tilt of the season.             1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final Methacton 1 1 0 2 4 Great Valley 5 2 2 2 11      

Despite Early Lead, Warriors Fall in 2017 Season Opener Methacton opened its 2017 campaign by hosting the Raiders of Seneca Valley, a team just outside of Pittsburgh who had made the cross-state trip to play some early season games against Eastern competition.  The battle between the Raiders and Warriors promised to be a physical one as both teams showed some strong and aggressive play early on.   The host Warriors were able to control the momentum early as they notched the first goal of the year in just under a minute of play with Senior Ryan O'Toole finding the back of the net on an assist from Junior Stanley Kolimago.  Methacton would continue to build on their early success as they extended the lead just 3 minutes later as Junior attackman Kyle Kacala found Senior midfielder Cam Sikora alone on the crease.  Sikora finished the pass with a high bouncing shot that found its way just under the crossbar to stretch the lead to two.   The first quarter continued with both teams going back and forth while finding little offensive success.  A Methacton penalty with just over four minutes left in the quarter gave the guests their first extra man offensive opportunity of the day. Seneca Valley Sophomore attackman Nate Lewis buried on a feed from Junior Grant Alexander less than 20 seconds into the man-up.  The Warriors, however, would again build a two goal lead on an exceptional individual effort from O'Toole with just over a minute left in the period.  The senior midfielder swept the ball over the top of the box, ducking inside two Seneca Valley defensemen before drawing a penalty flag and beating the Raider's goalie to the top right corner.  Unfortunately, the chippy play from the visiting Raiders would result in O'Toole missing the remainder of the game.   Despite the penalty, the Raiders seized the game's momentum following the Warriors 3rd goal.  They won the ensuing faceoff and were able to burn the entirety of the penalty time.  While Methacton was able to keep the guests off the board as the quarter closed, the change in momentum was palpable.   The guests would dominate the second quarter in possession, in no small part due to winning consistently at the faceoff x.  The second quarter gave the Warriors little possession and while the guests struggled to find seams in the Methacton defense, they were able to notch three goals in the second quarter to take a 4-3 halftime lead.   The third quarter would more closely resemble the second than the first as Seneca Valley continued to dominate possession.  While the Warrior defense was able to get a number of stops, they struggled to clear the ball only doing so successfully on 1 of 6 attempts.  The result was a fatigued defense and the Raiders were able to add to their lead on a tally from Senior attackman Dom Polochak.  The Warriors were able to close the lead to 5-4 with just over two minutes left in the period as Kacala found Kolimago on the crease for his first goal of the year.   The fourth quarter saw both teams have plenty of chances with both goalies standing tall.  Harvey Smith had a solid day for the Warriors making a number of saves on outside shots.  Senior Brady Moze was also stout for the visiting Raiders as he stood tall and held the Warriors scoreless in the fourth quarter.  The Raiders were able to stretch the lead back to two on a goal from midfielder Nick Sybert.  With under two minutes to play, the hosts had to extend and double the ball carrier which lead to the Raiders adding an open net goal to finish the day with a 7-4 lead.   Methacton falls to 0-1 on the season while Seneca Valley starts 1-0.  Methacton returns to action on Tuesday as they visit ChesMont foe Great Valley while Seneca Valley faces a stiff test on Sunday playing Penn Charter.     1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final Methacton 3 0 1 0 4 Seneca Valley 1 3 1 2 7