Locals lead Mesa Fresh lax to national championship

The Mesa Fresh 2014 lacrosse team claimed gold in the U17 ‘Rising Stars’ division of the Dick’s Tournament of Champions in Wesley Chapel, Florida over the New Years weekend. Mesa Fresh entered the playoff action as the number nine seed and qualified for the finals with wins over (then) top-seeded New Westminster (Canada), 13-1, and Utah Starz, 11-4, before defeating the Baltimore Breakers, 10-5, in the semifinals.

In the finals, Mesa Fresh faced Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA). Though they fell behind national power FCA, 4-0, early in the title game, strong defensive and offensive efforts as well as outstanding goaltending allowed Mesa Fresh to rally for a come-from-behind win to capture the tournament championship.

Mesa Fresh head coach Pat Carney stated that his team actually benefited from losing its opening match to Carolina Light in overtime.

“It was a good wake-up call for us,” said Carney. “We went from playing the wrong way to playing the right way. After that loss we got better and better every game. After the overtime loss, the kids realized they needed to play ver unselfish lacrosse. They really came together and played as a team. Even when thing weren’t going our way – and we were losing 4-0 in both the semis and finals – we played like warriors. We played great team ball and our goalies came up big when we needed them. They helped us gain the momentum.”

Coach Carney, his son, Tucker, and teammate Kevin Murphy are all natives of Strath Haven. Following the championship game, Mesa Fresh goalie Bryce Womack (Perkiomen Valley) was named MVP, making six saves in the second half of the championship game.

“It was a total team effort,” coach Carney said. “Nobody was concerned about stats or goals or assists. It was just, ‘How can we win and come together?’ We had very good and high quality possessions and waited for high quality shots. They played very unselfishly and used high paced ball movement. We also had great team defense. Everyone helped and our slides were good; they played very physical defense and responded to every challenge in front of them.

The Mesa Fresh lax team (seen above) are (toprow, from left) Coach Pat Carney, Peter Blynn, Jake Cresta, Jeff Odiorne, Kevin Murphy, Jon Weinstein, Jake Scott, Matt Heim, Tyler Butler, Hunter Eaton and Coach Peter Scott.

In the middle row (from left) are Peter Cost, Tucker Carney, Drew Murray, Eric Giannetti, Alex Mezey, Ian Riehl, Bryce Womack, Richie Buzza and Josh Hughes.

In the bottom row (from left) are Conor Glancy, Kevin McGeary, Trip Traynor, Brent Millichap and Connor Black.

The Mesa Fresh roster included:
Connor Black, Defense, The Haverford School
Drew Murray, Midfield, Penn Charter
Bryce Womack, Goalie, Perkiomen Valley (Named MVP)
Peter Blynn, Midfield, The Haverford School
Jon Weinstein, Defense, Bishop Shanahan
Kevin Murphy, Midfield, Strath Haven
Tucker Carney, Attack, Strath Haven
Tyler Butler, Defense, Central Bucks East
Kevin McGeary, Midfield, Malvern Prep
Peter Cost, Defense/LSM, Conestoga
Jeff Odiorne, Attack, Haverford School
Brent Millichap, Goalie, Bayard Rustin
Matt Heim, Midfield/Attack, Central Bucks East
Jake Cresta, Defense, Hatboro Horsham
Hunter Eaton, Defense, Conestoga
Tripp Traynor, Midfield, Malvern Prep
Richie Buzza, Midfield, Malvern Prep
Alex Mezey, Attack, Conestoga
Conor Glancy, Attack, Malvern Prep
Ian Riehl, Midfield, Downingtown East
Josh Hughes, Defense, Great Valley
Jake Scott, Attack, Conestoga
Eric Giannetti, Midfield, Bishop Shanahan