READING — The Bishop Fenwick boys lacrosse team knew it faced a tough test in Catholic Central League foe Austin Prep, and the Cougars proved it Tuesday afternoon in the CCL Cup Final at Father Seymour Stadium.
After struggling throughout the game, Fenwick fell by a score of 12-5 to close out its regular season.
One of the keys to the loss for the Crusaders was their inability to retain possession, as Austin Prep held onto the ball for nearly the entire first quarter and went on to dominate time of possession the rest of the way.
“It’s always a struggle to play teams three times in a year, and in the CCL where we all know each other so well and there’s such a depth of talent at every school that it’s really a grind,” said Fenwick Coach Steve Driscoll. “That’s a really talented team over there (at Austin Prep) and they made us work for everything. We always say that if you don’t possess the ball you can’t shoot, and if you can’t shoot then you won’t score. We just couldn’t possess the ball (Tuesday).”
Aiden Anthony had a goal and an assist to lead the way for Fenwick in the loss, while Stefano Fabiano, Manny Alvarez-Segee, Liam Hill and Max Grenert each scored a goal. Goalie George Kostolias had 10 saves in the losing effort.
Austin Prep got off to a hot start, scoring the first five goals of the game to take a 5-0 lead into the first break. Fenwick didn’t even get its first shot on goal until there were two minutes left in the quarter, and the Austin Prep goalie made the save.
Fenwick finally got on the board early in the second quarter thanks to a give-and-go goal from Alvarez-Segee, but Austin Prep answered right back with a goal of its own a few minutes later to kill the momentum. The Cougars scored again before Anthony found the back of the net, and Austin Prep took an 8-2 lead into the halftime break.
Things didn’t go much better in the second half, as Austin Prep scored the opening goal of the quarter before Grenert responded to make it 8-3. The Crusaders went on a small run in the early part of the fourth quarter with two straight goals from Fabiano and Hill to make it 11-5, but the Cougars sealed the win with another goal in the final two minutes to take the CCL Cup crown.
Fenwick (10-6) now awaits its seeding in the upcoming state tournament.
“This team is a really resilient bunch, and they don’t want this team and this year to end,” said Driscoll. “They realize what they lost last year, and they want to make the most of the time they have now. They’ve got a really great mindset coming into the tournament, so we’re all excited to see what we can do.”
