District 1 Class 2A Boys Lacrosse: Penncrest ends Marple's reign, advances to final

NEWTOWN SQUARE – Aaron Goldstein was done being sick and tired of walking off the field against Marple Newtown with his season over.

The Tigers had ruled PIAA Class 2A boys lacrosse like a final boss, winning three straight state championships and three of the last four District 1 titles. Goldstein experienced season-ending defeats to Marple in the district semifinals in his freshman and sophomore years. Last spring, the Lions were ousted by Bishop Shanahan in the same round.

But Goldstein and the Lions wanted nothing more than another shot at conquering the Tigers. That's precisely what happened Thursday.

With a combination of relief, pride and exhaustion written across his face, Goldstein stood smiling alongside junior Shane Pettit after fourth-seeded Penncrest finally knocked off No. 1 Marple in an instant classic, 17-15, to advance to the District 1 Class 2A final.

"It has taken years," said Goldstein, team captain and future Drexel Dragon. "I had my season ended here twice. My freshman and sophomore years, I think we were outscored 50-5 when we played Marple. And it hurt."

Goldstein remembers the bitter feeling from 2023. Penncrest captain Kyle Ridpath was injured, but hopeful he could return if the Lions made a deep enough run.

"If we had won that game (against Marple), he would have been able to come back and play," Goldstein said. "He had a season-ending injury at the beginning of the year, but he was going to come back. We just needed that one more win and we didn't get it. It was Kyle Ridpath, the greatest captain in my four years here."

Those memories were all swirling around after Thursday's emotional win.

Penncrest heads to next Wednesday's District 1 final against No. 3 Upper Dublin at Haverford High chasing its first district title since 2021.

"It just feels so special," Goldstein said.

The Lions got over the hump, and Goldstein helped drive the bus. He registered five goals and two assists, and was unstoppable during a first half that resembled a track meet with sticks. Penncrest stormed out to a 7-1 lead after Goldstein buried his third goal with 2:44 left in the first quarter.

"I think it's confidence that you know you are going to give it your all," Pettit said. "This was the biggest game for all of us, and we needed to play with a lot of confidence from the very start."

The Tigers started clawing back in the second quarter, trimming the deficit to three after Auggie Bruder's second goal of the quarter made it 11-8 midway through the second stanza.

At intermission, Goldstein reminded the Lions what had gotten them there.

"It's we, not me."

That became Penncrest's rallying cry the rest of the night.

"That means it's always our team playing, and not just the individuals," Pettit said. "It's our team that is going to lead us to the win. It's the collective. And you just have to be confident out there and know you're going to win. You can never get down on yourself."

Pettit played like somebody running on pure adrenaline after halftime. The speedy junior scored one circus goal after another. In the third quarter, he barreled toward the cage, absorbed contact and somehow flipped an underhand shot into the net to put Penncrest ahead 13-8.

Later, with the Lions protecting a 15-13 lead, Pettit twisted through traffic and uncorked another improbable shot that slipped past Marple goalie Liam Merchant, who returned in the second half for his first action since surgery, to make it 16-13.

Goldstein could only laugh as he walked back to the Penncrest sideline

"He's a magician," he said.

But the Tigers kept coming.

Jace Kostack and Brett Wolski were sensational in the second half, pulling Marple back into the fight possession by possession. Wolski's faceoff battle with Penncrest's Logan Bruette turned into its own heavyweight matchup.

After Grayson Dicheccio cut the deficit to 15-11, Wolski won the next faceoff and sprinted coast-to-coast for a goal seven seconds later. Moments after that he forced a turnover, raced the other way and scored again to make it 15-13 with 9:15 left.

Lots of chaos, basically.

Penncrest steadied itself when Pettit struck with 7:14 remaining for a 16-13 lead. But Marple answered again. Kostack scored with 4:53 left, then Owen Eagan bulldozed through traffic, twisted himself into a pretzel and scored to cut it to 16-15 with 3:48 remaining.

Then came the save.

Marple had possession with just over a minute left when Kostack turned the corner around the cage and fired while falling to the turf. Penncrest goalie Carson Patti (seven saves) smothered the shot with under a minute to play, one of several huge stops in the second. Pettit then took off the other way in transition and found Matt Kamin for the dagger with 23 seconds left. Kamin buried his third goal and Penncrest's sideline erupted.

"We always felt we had the talent to be one of the top teams in the Central League, so to get this far is truly an amazing feeling," Pettit said. "We thought we had a team that could win districts and go to states. Beating them obviously pumps up our morale, but now we've got to focus on the next game and do what we need to do on Wednesday."

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