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St. Joseph's Prep edges Bishop Shanahan in PIAA lacrosse

Hand-eye coordination, lightning-fast reflexes, and knowledge of angles certainly help, but the key to making saves for St. Joseph's Prep goaltender Mike Marchese comes down to something else entirely.

Hand-eye coordination, lightning-fast reflexes, and knowledge of angles certainly help, but the key to making saves for St. Joseph's Prep goaltender Mike Marchese comes down to something else entirely.

"Having a couple screws loose in the head," Marchese said after his six fourth-quarter saves helped the Hawks beat Bishop Shanahan, 9-7, in the first round of the PIAA lacrosse playoffs Wednesday night at Plymouth Whitemarsh.

The Prep, which last made the PIAA playoffs in 2011, will play Manheim Township on Saturday in the quarterfinals.

Marchese, who wanted to be a goaltender since before his first lacrosse practice, finished with 13 saves, nine in the second half.

"You're not exactly the brightest guy, stepping in front of shots going 90 m.p.h.," said the senior, who will play at Notre Dame next season. "But it's a fun job and I love it."

That love started when the Haddonfield native was a third grader, perusing the aisles of a sporting goods store with his father, John.

"I picked out a goalie's stick," he said. "I said, 'Dad, this is what position I want to be.' He said, 'No, no, give it some time.' And after the first practice I said, 'Dad, I need a goalie's stick.' "

The Hawks offense gave Marchese's stick an early break, netting three early goals before the Eagles tied the score at 3 by halftime.

Andrew Watts and Kevin Stump finished with three goals apiece for the Hawks (17-5). Alex Wagner led Shanahan (18-3) with four scores.

"It's fun to make the big-time saves, but you don't always want to have to make those all the time," Marchese said. "I play behind a great offense and they give me a lot of buffer. So if we let up one goal, I know they'll get another goal for us."

After the Eagles took a brief 4-3 advantage, the Hawks responded with five straight tallies. The run was capped by Pete Gayhardt's rocket, which gave the Prep an 8-4 edge with 1 minute, 32 seconds left in the third.

In the fourth, Marchese, or "Cheese" as he's called by teammates, sealed the victory.

"I just love the position," he said. "I love how it's a team sport, but at the same time your own individual effort affects everything else. If I let in a couple of those goals . . . we could be the ones hanging our heads. And I embrace that challenge. I love it, and you know what, it drives me to want to be better."

St. Joseph's Prep 2 1 5 1 - 9

Bishop Shanahan 0 3 1 3 - 7

SJP: Andrew Watts 3, Kevin Stump 3, Pete Gayhardt 1, Griffin Fleming 1, Steve Bradley 1.

BS: Alex Wagner 4, Pat Corcoran 1, Ryan McNulty 1, Jerry Ricardo 1.

Saves: SJP-Mike Marchese 13; BS-Jason Yoquinto 7.

@AceCarterINQ