The Quakertown boys lacrosse team is still a work in progress.
But things are definitely on the upswing.
Quakertown fell to host Plymouth Whitemarsh, 13-9, in a Suburban One League American Conference game on Tuesday.
It was a game effort by the Panthers, who scored first when Cody Jefferson took the first shot of the game and netted a goal just 16 seconds into play.
The Colonials quickly tied it up, but Alex Jalboot took a ball from Mason Borzio and put it in the cage, and Jacob Mosser grabbed his own rebound to score and suddenly, Quakertown held a 3-1 lead with 5:55 remaining in the first quarter.
That lead disappeared by the end of the frame, with Plymouth Whitemarsh ahead 5-3. The Colonials couldn’t pull away, and still only held a two-goal lead by halftime, 7-5.
PW started putting the ball in the net and by the end of the third quarter was ahead, 11-6, but the Panthers weren’t done, netting three goals in the fourth quarter.
“Their head coach (Ryan Bonanni) is a class guy,” Quakertown coach Tony Carty said. “PW has a great program and we were more competitive with them than we have been.”
Jalboot, a senior captain, led the Panthers with five goals.
“We have a lot of seniors and juniors but the freshmen class is very up-and-coming,” said Jalboot, who also played soccer for Quakertown. “PW traditionally has a really strong program and they’re a great team. We just tried to do the best we can and I think we played pretty well.
“We’ve gotten a lot better over the last couple of years. My freshman year was pretty rough and we’ve come a long way. You can really see the difference for us, and not just in the scores. It’s the hustle and the way we play. It’s all there. We’re closing the gap.”
Borzio and Mosser each ended the day with a goal and an assist, Jefferson and Evan Mooney had a goal apiece, David Hammond contributed two assists and Fred Hipple and Gabe McNutt each chipped in an assist to round out the scoring for Quakertown.
Herb Arnold made nine saves in goal for the Panthers.
“We’ve come a long way,” said senior Tyler Dallison, who handles the faceoffs for Quakertown. “We’d have lost to this team by 15 goals my freshman year.
“We’ve become more of a family and not just a team. That’s a big thing. If you’re going to win games you’ve got to be hyped and together. Other teams had that when I was a freshman and we didn’t, but now we have it, too. We work together and pick each other up and that’s made a big difference.”
Quakertown falls to 4-11 overall, 1-6 in league play.
“We have a few games left so we have a chance to get a couple more wins,” said Jefferson, a senior captain and long stick midfielder. “We were much more competitive with PW than we have been in the past. We were ahead early in the game, and that’s fun. We’re hanging with a lot more teams and we’re in games where we’re only losing by two or three goals. Three years ago, we would have lost those games by eight goals or more.
“We weren’t intimidated by them. Our motto is ‘hustle, hit and never quit’ and we’ve stuck by that. We come to play. In past years if we got behind, we’d just lay down but now we don’t do that. We keep playing.
“We’ve got a good older group and a supportive younger group. We’re missing one piece and if we put that together we’ll be there. I’m not sure what it is, but hopefully in the next couple of years, they’ll find it and turn the corner.”
He will continue his lacrosse career at Penn College of Technology, where he will study civil engineering.
The Panthers return to the field on Thursday, hosting SOL American foe Cheltenham at 5 p.m. It will be Senior Recognition Night for Quakertown.
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