Great Valley Lax Team Has No Problem With Bears

Coaches are sometimes unsure how teams will react when a game is scheduled while classes are not. In fact, many will tell you they prefer to know their athletes are in biology before the game rather than on their own.

Case in point: The powers at Great Valley penciled in a 10 a.m. boys lacrosse game against Boyertown on the Thursday of spring break after a week layoff.

The Patriots, however, showed no signs of spring fever as they easily handled the Bears of Berks County, posting an 11-6 victory in a contest they controlled nearly from the start.

It took just 30 seconds for Great Valley (4-4 overall) to establish a lead when Eric Gartner scored his first of two goals for the morning. The edge lasted all of 29 seconds before Matt Salvetti tied things 1-1 when he tossed a shot past GV goalie Peter Hayes.

While the small but vocal following who came to Frazer with the Bears celebrated, it would be pretty much the highlight of the contest for Boyertown (5-6 overall) as Great Valley proceeded to dominate the remainder of the first quarter. Gartner scored again at 5:49 to make it 2-1 and, before anyone could blink, Pats attacker Greg Merrill was firing one home at 5:03 to bring the Great Valley lead to 3-1.

The relentless pressure on the Bears defense never let up as Dan Buchholz scored with 31 seconds remaining and Merrill found the net again with just two ticks of the clock left. The Pats enjoyed a 5-1 advantage as the quarter ended.

Things became a little more stable during the second quarter as only three goals were scored.

Gavin Wilson put one past Boyertown goalie Tucker McCluckie at 7:49 (6-1), and Merrill picked up his third goal of the game at 6:22 and it was 7-1. Salvetti ended the scoring for the first half when he found the back of the net at 5:43, but the Patriots held a comfortable 7-2 lead at the end of two quarters.

The defenses stiffened a bit as the third installment began, the Patriots picked up a goal by Dillan Buettner a 9:42 to push the difference to 8-2. Boyertown countered with a score from Alex Mallard at 8:19, but Merrill hit for his fourth goal at 4:06 and Great Valley found themselves ahead 9-3 after three.

While the Patriots weren't having as much fun as their girls lacrosse counterparts, who are spending the week playing at Walt Disney World's ESPN Wide World of Sports complex in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., they certainly were on a roll.

After Jake McGee of Boyertown cut the lead to 9-4 at 7:27 of the fourth quarter, Buchholz got the margin back 16 seconds later when he fired a bullet past McCluckie and it was 10-4. The Bears got a third goal from Salvetti at 4:31, but with 1:02 remaining in the game, Jeremy Salmon scored for the Patriots (11-5) before the Bears threw a shot in as the horn sounded to end the game in an 11-6
victory for Great Valley.

Merrill had four goals, Buchholz and Gartner had two each, and the Pats got one apiece from Wilson, Salmon and Buettner. GV goalie Hayes made 11 saves.

Information on upcoming games

The Patriots travel to West Chester Rustin for a 3:45 p.m. contest Tuesday, host West Chester East on Thursday at 7 p.m. and play Tatnall High School of Delaware at Radnor on Saturday, April 30, at 9:30 a.m.