Coming off the winningest regular season in program history, Pennsylvania College of Technology men’s lacrosse coach Jordan Williams and his team could be satisfied with what they’ve already accomplished. But they want more.
The second-seeded Wildcats will get that chance when they host third-seeded Bryn Athyn College at 4 p.m. on Wednesday in the United East Conference semifinal. The winner of that match will square off against perennial champion and top-seeded St. Mary’s (Md.) College on Saturday for the championship.
Penn College brings records of 13-4 overall and 3-1 in the conference into the postseason, while Bryn Athyn is 1-3 UE, 3-6-1 overall, and St. Mary’s is 4-0 UE, 9-7 overall. Included in the Wildcats’ record was a 28-3 win over Bryn Athyn last Saturday and a 26-7 loss to St. Mary’s on March 22, so they know their opponents well.
“I think we broke nearly every record we had, whether offense, defense or faceoff. It’s been really cool to see. And we avenged four losses from last year. We didn’t just want to beat the teams that we were better than last year; we wanted to beat the teams that beat us,” Williams said.
Team camaraderie has been a key to success throughout the season, the fifth-year coach said.
“We have a group of guys who believe in trying to get better every single day. It’s a different focus than we’ve had in prior years. At this point in the season, I think in past years, a lot of guys were ready to be done, ready to go home and ready for the season to be over. These guys just really enjoy being around each other,” Williams said. “They enjoy spending time, they like being at practice, they like getting better.
“We have two assistant coaches who started this year, Jacob Hytner and Zach Miller, that the guys have really rallied around, and they’ve done an awesome job. The guys love being around each other. We have a great staff that really believes in what we are doing. It’s cool for our seniors, who were the first recruiting class, to see where we started and where we are now.”
It’s cool for our seniors, who were the first recruiting class, to see where we started and where we are now.
Jordan Williams
head coach, men's lacrosse
Facing Bryn Athyn in a quick turnaround, Williams said taking care of business and not overlooking a team it just beat will be important. If victorious on Wednesday and back in action against St. Mary’s on Saturday, the key, Williams said, will be composure.
“We have to realize that we belong there because we earned it. We can play with any team on our schedule. That doesn’t mean that we can beat every team every single time, but we belong, and we can compete with every team if we play our game,” Williams said.
Thus far during the season, Penn College has outscored its opponents 278-144 and leads in shots on goal 388-221. The Wildcats lead in ground balls 738-516 and lead in faceoffs 322-154.
Individually, Wilmington, Delaware, brothers Eliot Dotson and AJ Dotson, along with Owen Kupsey of Chadds Ford, lead the offense as Eliot has 37 goals, 49 assists and 86 points; AJ has 27 goals, 34 assists and 61 points; and Kupsey has 48 goals, four assists and 52 points.
Faceoff leaders are Levi Borkowski of Norristown, 132-195, .677%; Antonio Santora of Haskell, New Jersey, 113-168, .673%; and Brody Borkowski of Eagleville, 71-97, .732%. Santora also leads in ground balls with 84, while Levi Borkowski has 79.
In the goal, Ryan Twist of Great Meadows, New Jersey, has started all 17 games, allowing 126 goals and making 164 saves with a .566 save percentage.
“I think this is the best version of our team that we’ve had in the past five years,” Williams said. “We can play with that team (St. Mary’s); it’s just how do we stop their momentum when they start it and how do we create some of our own momentum.
“The ultimate goal is, let’s go out and see what we can do for 60 minutes and let’s close the gap. If we can win it, let’s go, and if not, let’s lay another brick toward next season.”
For additional information, visit the Wildcats Athletics website.
For more about the United East, visit the conference website.
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