Rustin’s late surge too much for Unionville in Ches-Mont opener

WESTTOWN – Clinging to a one-goal halftime lead, and just a two-goal cushion through three quarters, it wasn’t exactly domination on Tuesday between the West Chester Rustin boys’ lacrosse squad and visiting Unionville. But then came the fourth period.

The Golden Knights scored five goals in less than four minutes in the last quarter, powering Rustin to a commanding 17-9 triumph over the Longhorns in the Ches-Mont American opener for both.

“We are a pretty deep team this season,” said Knights’ head coach Kevin Philibin. “We have a lot of kids who can play and we are able to run a couple lines out there and wear (Unionville) down in the fourth quarter.

“We’ve had good fourth quarters in all three of our games, and I hope that is going to be a trend this season.”

In all, Rustin outscored Unionville (1-4 overall) 8-2 in the final 12 minutes of action to improve to 2-1. The late surge enabled the Knights to score more goals than in their first two outings combined.

“We were moving the ball a lot more, playing together and not just trying to be a one man army,” Rustin junior attacker Jackson Lamb said of the final period. “It seemed like everybody was getting goals and assists.

“It feels like it’s coming. It took us a while to get our feet under us, but now we are moving and playing well together.”

For the Longhorns, it was a third straight setback following non-league losses to Central Bucks East and Wilson.

“The same things that have been holding us back so far reared its ugly head in that fourth quarter: getting the ground balls, lacrosse IQ and being composed when the ball doesn’t bounce our way,” said Unionville head coach Ian Allender. “Those are things that are still holding us back.”

The ’Horns scored twice in the final 2:10 of the third to slice the margin to 9-7. But Lamb scored three of his game-high six goals in the late rally, and junior teammates Austin Scheivert and Jimmy Boland added single goals to make it 14-7 just 3:48 into the quarter.

“The same reason we were in a one-goal game at the half and a two-goal game at the end of the third against a very good opponent, was us,” Allender said. “And the same reason it turned into a big separation late was also us.

“Abraham Lincoln said that luck is when preparation meets opportunity. Rustin was very prepared for the opportunities we gave them and they capitalized on them.”

The Longhorns got first quarter goals from junor sniper Wyatt Kupsey and sophomore Adam Day a minute apart to take an early 2-1 lead. But the Knights quickly countered to pour in three goals in less than two minutes to take a lead they would not relinquish. Senior Nate Pechin notched a goal and an assist (to Scheivert) and Lamb registered the third.

Unionville’s Chase Minter tied it midway through the second, but Lamb’s second score made it 5-4 at the break.

“Sometimes we forced things a little too much on offense. So we just had to settle down and play our own game,” Lamb said.

“We rushed some things early on and kind of pushed the tempo a little too much,” Philibin agreed. “But we kind of dialed it back a bit and then kind of let our athleticism go out and play in the fourth.”

In the third, Rustin registered three goals in a row to go ahead 8-4, but the Longhorns battled back with three tallies in the final 4:11 to get back into contention. Kupsey finished with three goals to lead the way, but the Knights slanted much of their defense his way all afternoon.

“Wyatt is one of the best attackmen in the state and we threw a lot of different looks at him to keep their offense on their heels,” Philibin said.

“That’s an area where we are optimistic,” Allender added. “If you remove Wyatt from the game, we have five or six other guys that are ready to go. It’s a fun offense to coach because we know we can do a variety of things even if Wyatt gets locked off.”

Pechin had three goals and three assists, Scheivert added three goals, while Boland and Nick Santangelo each chipped in with two goals for Rustin. And led by sophomore Jack Freney, the Knights had a 21-7 edge in faceoffs. He is filling in for No. 1 faceoff guy, injured Drew Gaffney.

And even though Unionville hung around for three quarters, the ’Horns had trouble with clears against a disruptive Rustin defense.

“Our poles, especially on faceoffs and wing play, did an awesome job of getting down on (Unionville’s) hands and putting pressure all over the field to make them uncomfortable so we can get up the field and go the other way,” Philibin said. “A lot of the credit goes to our defensive coordinator Mike Steuber. He does a great job of game planning.”

West Chester Rustin 17, Unionville 9

Unionville                                         3 1 3 2 — 9

West Chester Rustin                      4 1 4 8 — 17

Unionville goals: W. Kupsey 3, Jacoby 2, Halsey, Day 2, Minter.

West Chester Rustin goals: Lamb 6, Scheivert 3, Santangelo 2, Boland 2, Pechin 3, Britton.

Goalie saves: Mousaw (U) 11; Dinsel (U) 1; Brockett (R) 4.