Norwin boys lacrosse sports new look

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, April 6, 2018 | 4:18 PM

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This season gave Norwin's boys lacrosse team a chance to start over.

With a dozen players graduated from last year's non-playoff team, the Knights are looking to establish a new identity this spring.

“Last year's team was very senior-driven. We had high expectations,” Norwin coach Chad Good said. “We had a lot of slow starts last year, and it was not the type of finish we wanted, either. This year, we're working with a lot of younger kids and a newer team.”

Norwin welcomed back five returning players in senior Omar Nafaa, juniors Danny Good, Tyler Plunko and Alex Flemm and sophomore Nick Shavel.

“Some of the young guys played JV and a little varsity last year. Now that they are full-time at the varsity level, they are seeing that things that used to work at the JV or younger level don't work at the varsity level,” Chad Good said. “They did quickly start breaking some of those habits. We had one preseason game and played in a couple tournaments, but they are just not the same as the first regular-season game.”

The squad opened with a 9-6 loss at Gateway. The Knights found themselves down 7-0 at halftime and rallied to make it a close contest. They dropped a 12-5 decision to Franklin Regional the next night.

“We really controlled play in the second half against Gateway, so that was a positive,” Chad Good said. “We were missing three upperclassmen who were away on a trip, so it was tough, especially with back-to-back games. We didn't have a lot of subs, and the guys were pretty tired when we got to Franklin. They wore down as the game went on. I know we lost both, but I think we learned some good lessons.”

Danny Good, Cam Masten, Ryan McDermott, Nick Olave and Jacob McCormley are the attackers.

“Both games we've had different kids score all the goals. I tell them that, when they are playing the game right the right way and they are valuing their possessions and playing a team game, they do well and we can run a lot of minutes off the clock while getting chances,” Chad Good said. “We have to work on getting our shots on net, but they take care of the ball, which I am really happy with.”

Matt Prock, Cory Johnson, Nathan Good, Hunter Geibel, Tommy McLaughlin and Shavel are at midfield.

“They are starting to find guys who are cutting, and they are cutting more and getting good cuts and finding the lanes they need to,” Chad Good said. “They're starting to get their timing with each other. When you've never played together as a unit, that's something you have to build and develop.”

Dom Palmieri, Alex Fleet, Cory Johnson, Dan Coughenour and Plunko are on defense.

“Tyler Plunko has really stepped up on defense. I think he's going to be one of our anchors,” Chad Good said.

Nafaa returns in goal, but Palmieri had to fill in for two games when Nafaa was away on a school trip.

“Dom did a tremendous job being able to step in and do what we he did,” Chad Good said. “Omar is very good at calling out the slides and cuts. He's very comfortable in goal at this point.”

Norwin is prepared for another challenging WPIAL Section 1-3A schedule.

“Last year was tough. There wasn't a game we went into that wasn't a dogfight,” Chad Good said. “As we've grown as a program, so has everyone else. Every team always comes out ready to play, and every team is going to give a good game.”

Joe Sager is a freelance writer.

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