Quaker Valley boys lacrosse concludes trying season in PIAA 1st round

By: Shawn Annarelli
Saturday, June 8, 2019 | 7:41 AM

Quaker Valley’s boys lacrosse team entered the season with aspirations to win the WPIAL Class AA championship and make a lengthy PIAA run.

The Quakers fell short of each of those goals but came away from the experience proud of what they accomplished after facing adversity throughout the season.

“It was really a season of injuries, and everyone on the team stepping up to battle and work hard to compete in every game,” Quaker Valley coach Chip Hansen said. “It was a season of grit, and there was still a lot of fight and a lot of energy at the end.”

Quaker Valley lost 9-6 to Hampton, the eventual runner-up to Mars, in the WPIAL Class AA semifinals.

The Quakers qualified for states by beating Freeport, 12-10, in the WPIAL consolation game despite being down three starters: Brennan Dugan, Cam Wolf and Kyle Wolf.

“Everyone was really gunning for competing in the WPIAL championship game, so that Hampton loss was very tough against a very talented team,” Hansen said.

“Then we play Freeport, and their goalie was outstanding. They peaked at the right time of the year, and we had to work hard to pull that out.”

Freeport and Quaker Valley traded the lead throughout the game. Senior Evan Frund led the Quakers with six goals to advance to states.

“You have a few guys playing in these games that hadn’t played a lot all year long,” Hansen said. “You have guys who played more in that Freeport game than the entire season to date. They’re freshmen and sophomores who stepped up on a pretty big stage, and they played with grit and heart.”

Quaker Valley lost to Hershey, 20-5, in the first round of states. Hershey advanced to the PIAA championship game.

“We had our ups and downs this season with the main problem being the injuries to key players that you can’t control,” senior David Kraus said. “Did that hurt us? Yeah, but we played hard, and it was a fun ride.”

Kraus led the team with 53 goals, 39 assists and 92 points. He had four goals in Quaker Valley’s season finale.

“I’m gonna miss the coaches and players,” Kraus said. “For as much fun as we had on the field, we learned a lot off the field about each other.

“You see guys ahead of you and where life takes them, and then suddenly you’re a senior playing your final game. It made me realize it goes really fast.”

Kraus was particularly close with Frund, who was second with 39 goals despite battling injuries. They were two of the team’s 12 seniors.

“It’s a great group of guys,” Kraus said. “It’s kind of hard to realize it’s all over, but at the same time, I’m lucky to say that I got to be a part of this team. It was a great year, and I couldn’t be prouder of everyone on the team.”

Tags: Quaker Valley