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BOYS LACROSSE: 2nd-half blitz by Chambersburg sends Northern to 13-6 defeat


CHAMBERSBURG >> Judging by the first quarter and a half Wednesday night, the Chambersburg boys lacrosse team looked completely lost.

On Senior Night, Northern York took it to the Trojans early, winning faceoffs, getting attackers open and stifling the Chambersburg offense.

But then something clicked. From the last half of the second quarter on, the Trojans outscored the Polar Bears 12-1 and wrapped up a 13-6 Mid Penn Conference victory at Trojan Stadium.

"We always seem to come out flat, plus, we didn't warmup much (because of Senior Night ceremonies)," Chambersburg midfielder Jake Pierson said. "We started running a new offense a couple of weeks ago and we're still working out the kinks."

For the final 30 minutes, the kinks were not in evidence.

Pierson scored four of his five goals before halftime to help his team forge a 5-5 tie – including a spectacular behind-the-head shot that tied it with 0:14 left. And fellow midfielder Grant Swisher ran the show. In addition to a pair of goals, Swisher dished out seven assists, which set a school record.

"Yeah, I knew what the record was," Swisher said. "I almost had it in my sophomore year, and I was thinking about it tonight."

Northern (3-8, 2-6 MPC) led 2-0 after a slow first period, and made it 4-0 before Pierson scored on a Swisher pass. Then Derek Myers scored his third goal to make it 5-1 Bears with 7:13 left in the second period.

From that point on, Northern's only score came from Jake Appicela to open the second half.

"We felt pretty good after the first quarter, and we got it to 5-1," Polar Bear coach Jeff Miller said. "But then we just got outplayed. We knew No. 5 (Pierson) and 6 (Swisher) were their go-to guys, but we gave them some really good looks on pick-and-rolls. We just couldn't seem to stop No. 6."

Chambersburg coach Paul Flohr said, "We called three timeouts and I think we were 3-for-3 scoring right after them. When we do that two-man game with Jake and Grant, it's like in basketball – it's tough to defend. It takes some other guys for us out of the equation, but it forces the other team to make a long slide."

Pierson's three goals and one by Cedric Adams made it 5-5 by halftime and the last of those goals was a thing of beauty. With the clock running down, Pierson took a pass from Chris Knode and bore in on Northern goalie Jarrad Hayes. In close quarters, instead of trying to force a shot from the right side, Pierson whipped the ball behind his head and it settled high into the net.

"I've tried that before, but never scored on it," Pierson said. "I almost had one my sophomore year, but it hit the goalie in the helmet and went about 30 feet in the air. I do practice it a lot."

The second half was a blur of goals for the Trojans (4-6, 3-6 MPC).

Swisher said, "We had a lack of effort early, but we turned it around. After halftime we were more hyped and started scoring. And the defense, especially the long poles, played a great game."

Trojan goalie Nate Bradshaw made 14 saves and defenders Mitch Hollar, Blake Amsley and Ramsey Snider kept the Bears' offense at bay. After a rough start, faceoff man Collin Bricker got hot and that helped change the tide, too.

It was still 6-5 Northern with just under seven minutes in the third period when the game was decided.

In the course of 1:46, the Trojans got goals from Jace Hopple (from Bricker) and Matt Snider (from Swisher), then two solo runs by Pierson and Swisher against a tiring Bears defense and suddenly it was 9-6. Inside the final minute of the period, Matt Snider and Bricker scored 9 seconds apart.

In the last period, Swisher scored on a rocket from the left wing and Ben Stine notched his first career goal.

Flohr said, "Once we got it turned around, the guys played with some fire. That's what we need if we want to chase down a .500 record."

Chambersburg 13 Northern York 6

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Northern, Goals — Derek Myers 3, Johnny Heller, Andrew Sale, Jake Appicela; Assists — Heller.

Chambersburg, Goals — Jake Pierson 5, Grant Swisher 2, Matt Snider 2, Cedric Adams, Jace Hopple, Collin Bricker, Ben Stine; Assists — Swisher 7, Chris Knode, Bricker.

Shots — NY 39, Chbg 30; Saves — Nor 6 (Jarrad Hayes), Chbg 14 (Nate Bradshaw); Faceoffs — NY 8, Chbg 10.

JV score — Northern 6, Chambersburg 5. For the Trojans, Riley Ocker had 2 goals, Griffin Leedy had a goal and an assist, and Mason Fisher and Zach Smith each had a goal.