Andrew Heller: Wilson defeats South Western 15-5 in District 3 Class 3A first-round boys lacrosse game

Andrew Heller, Reading Eagle, Pa.
·2 min read

May 18—Wilson overcame an unusual first-quarter deficit to beat South Western 15-5 in a District 3 Class 3A first-round game Tuesday at West Lawn.

The fifth-seeded Bulldogs fell behind the 12th-seeded Mustangs 2-0 before scoring four answered goals in the first quarter to take control.

"That team came in fired up," Wilson coach Ryan Sheaffer said. "We knew they were going to start fast and I thought they started really well moving the ball really quick. We got a little unlucky early hitting a couple of pipes and the goalie made a couple of nice saves.

"But once we just started to calm down and get to the net and bury our shots that's when the tide turned."

Freshman Carter Brensinger led Berks and defending champ Wilson (17-4) with six goals. Senior Dylan Garber led in assists with five.

Brensinger scored his first goal in the first quarter to give the Bulldogs a 3-2 lead. Wilson led 4-2 after one.

"I think at the beginning we were getting a lot of good looks but weren't finishing them," Brensinger said. "They came out and scored two, we knew were getting good looks and we just had to finish them. So we kept shooting, put 'em away and got the lead back up."

In the second quarter, Brensinger scored two more and the Bulldogs dominated possession for most of the quarter before the Mustangs scored with under 30 seconds to go.

Faceoff specialist and All-Berks selection Matt Stitzel stifled any potential momentum by South Western (12-7). Wilson immediately answered when Stitzel won the ensuing faceoff and took the ball down the field to score unassisted with one second remaining to make it 7-3. Stitzel won 14 faceoffs.

The Bulldogs outscored the Mustangs 5-0 in the third quarter and 3-2 in the fourth.

For Wilson, Brady Rigdon and Breslin each had two goals, Gavin Lenart, Jack Dendall, Colin Woods and Garber each had one goal. All-Berks pick Alex Hatalsky had an assist and Ben Rada also had an assist.

In net, All-Berks selection Brayden Skipper recorded five saves.

The Bulldogs will play at fourth-seeded Hempfield in a quarterfinal game Thursday at 7 p.m.