Conestoga seeks to extend 'special' run

The word special comes to mind when trying to categorize the past couple of seasons of Conestoga boys' lacrosse.

State-championship special, two-titles-in-a-row special.

But to hear Pioneers coach Brian Samson, in his 11th year, tell it, this season has an added air of significance. It is not strictly about building on the program's 49-3 record the last two years (73-5 the last three), the multiple PIAA crowns (and three straight trips to the title game), or the national recognition, in the form of lofty rankings.

Sure, all those accomplishments gave Samson the platform to make this season what it is - and, as a product, what it can be. But they aren't the reason.

"We have a special group of seniors this year," the coach said. "My feeling was, they deserve it. They wanted it, so they got it.

"A lot of them are younger siblings of kids I coached two, three years ago, so I've known them a long time. I know the families. I sort of watched them grow up. And I think it's rare to find a group of this many kids that talented."

How many seniors? Twenty-one on the roster of 37.

And they got what? The toughest schedule Samson has ever assembled, an 18-game slate that includes seven - the max allowed - nonleague affairs.

This is where it gets noteworthy: Five of those encounters come against teams ranked in ESPNHS's top 50 nationally. Conestoga also has dates with teams from New York and Canada on the docket.

Conestoga has put no limit on this season. The Pioneers did lose their best player from last year - Brian Dailey, a whiz of a midfielder with uncanny speed, now playing at Duke, and last season's Central League Player of the Year - but the team remains loaded.

The starting attack trio is headed to top Division I programs: Bradlee Lord (last year's team offensive MVP, committed to Maryland), Tyler Brooke (Maryland), and Connor Frisina (the team's point leader as a junior with 77, committed to Delaware). Jamie Ikeda, a 6-foot-2, Duke-bound defenseman, leads the back line.

All are seniors, stalwarts from a team that went 23-1 last season, with its only loss to the Haverford School, which went undefeated. Haverford, ranked No. 13 in the country, is again on the schedule (April 28, at Radnor). Malvern Prep (36th), La Salle (22d), and league rival Garnet Valley (41st) are other locally ranked opponents.

But the team that stands out the most? The nation's top-ranked team in the preseason, Calvert Hall, of Maryland, which the Pioneers faced Saturday in their season opener.

The result? Conestoga roared back from a five-goal deficit to win, 11-10, on Lord's goal (assisted by Frisina) with 1 minute, 30 seconds remaining.

"We don't feel like we should be No. 1," Lord said before the game, "but we want to be."

Turns out he had a pretty good bead on things. The win catapulted the Pioneers from No. 11 to No. 2 in the national rankings. They opened league play Tuesday with a 9-2 win over Penncrest. Three more games in the next seven days follow, including at home vs. Malvern and at No. 31 Boys' Latin (Md.).

Conestoga does have some question marks - such as how Miles Thomas will fill in for Dailey, and who will declare himself the lineup's third defensive starter, alongside Ikeda and Carson Scott.

All minor concerns, really, for a team perfectly capable of filling holes with a little time and practice. When the Pioneers face Haverford, their biggest local rival, in a little more than four weeks, the personnel questions should be settled.

"Being able to go region to region - we're playing a New York team this year, a couple Maryland teams - it's definitely exciting," Lord said. "Definitely different playing out-of-state teams because there's a rivalry, especially New York and Maryland and Philadelphia. Philadelphia is an up-and-rising lacrosse community."

Seems as if it already has risen.