Directions to George School

• Highlights

The boys varsity lacrosse team opened its season with a 16-5 win over New Jersey foe, Hamilton West High School. It was the first ever lacrosse game played on Cougar Field, George School’s new turf field facility, and it attracted a large, supportive, and boisterous crowd on a cold, rainy day.

The Cougars got off to a 5-1 lead after the first quarter and controlled the game throughout. Both the six on six and extra man offenses earned goals, while the six on six and man down units also did well. The team did commit too many penalties, but that often happens early in the season. Hopefully we can improve in that area in the games ahead.

Tucker Bentley, John Arth, James Langeler, and Charlie Palmiotti were all multiple goal scorers, while Sean Potter and Eli Bresler each got one, the latter on a beautiful left handed quick stick. The long stick defensive corp of Kevin Chen, Harrison Fritz, Chris Hellmuth, Ben Hilburg, Jake Kaplan, Jesse Lax, and B’alam Morales Rucuch played well. Goalie Brett Heffelfinger, playing his first varsity game, had 12 saves.

It was a good beginning to the season. The next game is Monday, April 2, at traditional Bucks County opponent Conwell-Egan. George School and Conwell-Egan are the two oldest lacrosse playing schools in Bucks County.

Directions to Conwell-Egan Catholic High School

• Highlights

George School won a hard fought, at times ragged, game at Conwell Egan 5-4. The Cougars led 3-1 at the half, but let Egan back into the game in the 3rd quarter by giving up two unanswered goals. After both teams scored another goal apiece, it was 4-4. Our fifth and winning goal was scored with 4:33 left in the game. James Langeler won the face off cleanly, carried the ball down the field, drew a defender and passed to Charlie Palmiotti. Charlie then passed to Tucker Bentley who deposited it in the net on a classic and beautifully executed fast break.

The story of this game, however, was a gritty and outstanding defensive effort by our goalie, our defensemen and our defensive short stick middies. Egan possessed the ball far more than the Cougars did, and the defense was called upon to hold them off time after time. It was a wonderful effort by all of them, and our sophomore goalie Brett Heffelfinger, playing in his second only varsity contest, recorded 11 saves. Several of them were of the spectacular variety. The team tired a bit as this was our second game in three games, but their determination and will to win were terrific. We hope our conditioning will improve as the season progresses.

George School now has two wins, no losses on the season, and on Thursday we host Truman High School at 4:00 p.m. on our grass field. We hope to keep progressing every game, and Truman should be another good test for us.

Directions to George School

• Highlights
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The Cougars upped their record to three wins and no losses with a well played 7-4 win over Truman High School. Including our one scrimmage, this was George School’s fourth game in eight days, and although the team tired a bit late in the contest, their conditioning showed improvement from the game only two days earlier. That was good to see. There were many stretches when we controlled play, and that was very helpful to our beating Truman for the first time in several years.

Tucker Bentley and James Langeler had multiple goals, while John Arth and Eli Bresler had one each. Charlie Palmiotti and Tommy Lodge-Yanez picked up assists as did Tucker, James, and John. Truman’s goalie made a number of fine saves or the Cougars might have had more goals. Brett Heffelfinger played in goal for George School, and picked up nine saves. In addition to his in goal play, it was his best clearing game of the season thus far. All in all, it was a good performance by everyone.

The next game is against a very strong Upper Moreland team, and hopefully we will be able to play well and continue our progress against a team who most likely will be the toughest opponent we have played to date.

"George School Tops Truman"
phillyBurbs.com, April 6, 2012

"Pa. Boys: Early Surge Boosts Episcopal"
philly.com, April 6, 2012

Directions to Upper Moreland High School

• Highlights

George School suffered their first loss of the season by an 11-6 score to a very athletic and talented Upper Moreland team. The Cougars got off to a slow start, and although down only 2-0 after the first quarter, we had played defense for more than eight minutes of the 12 minute quarter. The team put that period behind them very well, slowly worked their way back into the game, and did a terrific job the final three quarters. The defense was under frequent pressure and responded by playing its best game of the season. The attack was forced into playing an isolation game, and responded well by getting all six goals on isolation sets. If our shooting had been a bit better we could have had several more goals. Although physical, it was a very clean and hard fought contest with only one penalty called in the entire game.

Tommy Lodge-Yanez, a senior midfielder who is more renown for his excellence as a short stick defender, scored three unassisted goals. His dodged his man consistently, went to the goal with much determination, and was able to get his hat trick. Well done, Tommy.

The team needed a game like this to learn more about themselves, and there is no question many good lessons were learned by everyone. The 2012 Cougar lacrosse team has been a hard working group, and that was evident in abundance once again today.

The next game is on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. on Cougar Field against Oxford Area. Hopefully we can continue playing well and can get back on the winning track.

Directions to George School

• Highlights

Led by Charlie Palmiotti and Tucker Bentley with six and five goals respectively, the Cougars defeated Oxford Area High School 16-3. Ramzi Lodge-Yanez, James Langeler, Sean Potter, and John Arth also scored. The defense was solid throughout, and goalie Brett Heffelfinger had four saves.

Overall it was a good week for the team with good performances in both our games, and continued improvement in all the skill areas and conditioning.

The Friends League season got underway this week, but George School has until April 22 before our initial League encounter. Our next game is at Devon Prep and then the FSL games begin. We hope to continue playing well and to improve daily.

Directions to Devon Preparatory School

• Highlights
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The Cougars ended the non-league portion of their schedule with an 11-2 win on the turf at Devon Prep. Tucker Bentley and Charlie Palmiotti led the scoring with multiple goals, while Sean Potter, John Arth, and Eli Bresler also scored. It was a hard fought, cleanly played game with only one penalty.

The team got off to somewhat of a slow start, but once they settled in and worked on playing in the manner of which they are capable, all facets of the game picked up. George School’s clearing was much improved from recent games, and Brett Heffelfinger threw a number of excellent outlet passes in addition to making seven saves. Our fast break offense was very good, but we will need to be better on fast break defense as we enter the final weeks of the season.

With our record now five wins and one loss, we begin the Friends League part of the schedule this week with games against Moorestown Friends on Tuesday at home and Academy of the New Church away on Friday. The ANC game will be followed by a home non-league contest against Lawrence High School. The Cougars have continued to work hard in practice, to improve day by day, and we are looking forward to Tuesday and the beginning of League play. Hopefully we can continue our good play.

"George School Handles Devon Prep"
Bucks County Courier Times, April 20, 2012

Directions to George School

• Highlights

George School opened its Friend League season against a very athletic Moorestown Friends team, and came up on the short end of the score, 8-7. The Cougars led 2-1 after the first quarter, but MFS tallied five times in the second to lead at the half 6-5. Trailing 8-5 after three quarters, the Cougars staged a furious fourth quarter rally. We peppered their fine goalie with countless shots, and likewise did a great job of riding and pressuring their attack, thereby getting the ball back many times. We scored two goals, the second with a little over a minute left in the game, but MFS hung on for their second win in Friends League competition.

Midfielder Sean Potter led the scoring with three goals, while attackmen Tucker Bentley, James Langeler, and Charlie Palmiotti each got one. Freshman midfielder Jake Seiler scored the first goal of his varsity career. James Langeler got one of his two assists on that play, while John Arth and Bentley each had one assist. The Cougar defense was tested all afternoon by a high paced Moorestown Friends offense, and all in all did a great job. Goalie Brett Heffelfinger made nine saves and his clearing continues to improve game by game.

Of special note today was the fighting spirit and never say die attitude the team displayed. We were trailing much of the time, but battled the entire way and came close to tieing the game. The coaches were very proud of the team, and they felt good about themselves despite coming up just a bit short on the scoreboard. The team showed a lot of growth during the contest, as their confidence grew by leaps and bounds as the game progressed. That was terrific to see.

George School’s next game is at the Academy of the New Church on Friday. ANC is traditionally one of the top Friends League squads, and we hope to continue getting better game by game.

Directions to Academy of the New Church

• Highlights

George School traveled this afternoon to face a long standing, traditional Friends League lacrosse opponent, the Academy of the New Church. The Cougars played an excellent first half, and trailed by a 4-3 count at the intermission. It was, in fact, the best single half of lacrosse played by George School against ANC in several years. In the second half, however, the home team scored seven goals, five in the third quarter alone, to gradually pull away from the battling, game Cougars, who could only respond with a single goal, making the final tally 11-4.

Tucker Bentley had two goals, while Sean Potter and Ramzi Lodge-Yanez had one each. James Langeler led in the assists category with two, while John Arth and Jake Seiler each had one. Our defense of Kevin Chen, Jake Kaplan, and Jess Lax did well against a dangerous ANC attack, while goalie Brett Heffelfinger had 15 saves, many of them on shots from point blank range. The midfielders—Sean Potter, John Arth, Eli Bresler, Tommy Lodge-Yanez, Jake Seiler, and Ramzi Lodge-Yanez—did a good job of working hard between the restraining lines and created many scoring chances for themselves and for our attackmen.

It was a wonderfully competitive, hard working effort by the Cougars, and once again they did themselves proud. They competed the entire four quarters, and left the field disappointed in the final score but with their heads held high.

George School next plays a non-League game against Lawrence (NJ) High School, and resume their Friends League schedule next Tuesday with a home game against Friends Central.

Directions to George School

• Highlights

George School rebounded from a tough loss on Friday to defeat Lawrence (NJ) High School 7-4 today. The game was the second of a double header on Cougar Field featuring the girls and boys varsity lacrosse teams.

The Cougars got off to a slow start, no doubt due to two factors—the physical nature of the game the previous day and a Lawrence High team which pressed us all over the field. The Cougars were ahead after the first 24 minutes 3-2, but the first half had not seen them at their best. Coming out with new energy and focus in the second half, the team got three goals in the third quarter and one in the fourth to record their sixth win of the season. Much of the improvement in the second half can be attributed to good senior leadership on the team.  

Tucker Bentley led the scoring with three goals and three assists, James Langeler had two goals and one assist, Sean Potter recorded one goal and two assists, while Eli Bresler accounted for the other goal. Lawrence High had a chance to get back into the game in the fourth quarter when George School had an unreleasable penalty called against them, but the man down unit did a great job of not allowing a goal in a pressure situation to help the Cougars preserve the win. Goalie Brett Heffelfinger made 10 saves and had another fine game.  

George School will host Friends Central in the next game on Tuesday, and as always it promises to be a hard fought Friends League game. Central beat us last year and hopefully we can reverse that result in 2012.

Directions to George School

• Highlights
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George School won its first Friends League contest since 2010 with a hard fought 8-6 victory over Friends Central on a very hot afternoon. In the final regular season home game of the season, the Cougars did a great job controlling the first half, and led 4-1 at the intermission. Friends Central made a spirited comeback in the third quarter, outscoring the host team 4-3. With the Phoenix putting on a lot of pressure, the Cougar defense was called upon to make several long stands in the final 12 minutes. They responded extremely well, and with 2:14 left in the game, Sean Potter got his third goal of the afternoon to give George School a two goal lead which they would hold onto.

One of George School’s main objectives in the contest was to slow down Central’s excellent attacking player, Jason Clough. Sophomore defenseman Jesse Lax was assigned the task of guarding Clough, and he along with a lot of help from his defensive mates did a great job of limiting Clough to a single goal. Kevin Chen and Jake Kaplan likewise did a good job on the enemy attackmen, while our short stick middies were also very instrumental in our overall defensive effort. Brett Heffelfinger continued his fine play as our goalie, and had 15 saves.  

Sean Potter had three goals, while Tucker Bentley had two. James Langeler, Charlie Palmiotti and Tommy Lodge-Yanez each had one. Ramzi Lodge-Yanez picked up two assists on the afternoon. Langeler, Tommy Lodge-Yanez and freshman Freesoul El Shabazz-Thompson each did a good job of facing off. It was a wonderful win for the team.

The Cougars next face defending Friends League champion Shipley School on Friday, and that game will be followed by two more contests next week. Hopefully we can keep it going the remaining days of the 2012 season.

"Varsity Boys’ Lacrosse Defeats Friends’ Central"
The Philadelphia Inquirer, May 2, 2012

Directions to Shipley School

• Highlights

Defending Friends League champion Shipley School completed its 2012 regular season League schedule with a home 15-2 win over George School on a blazing hot day on the host team’s artificial turf. Shipley now has five wins, no losses in League play, and will be the number one seed in the Friends League playoffs. George School now have seven wins, four losses and are one and three in League play.

The Cougars battled valiantly but could not match Shipley’s speed and size this afternoon. Tucker Bentley and James Langeler had one goal apiece with James adding a single assist. The defense battled hard against a fine offense, and two goalies saw action. Brett Heffelfinger played the first half and had six saves, while Peter Cho saw his first varsity action of the season, coming up with four saves in the second 24 minutes. One of our brightest spots on the day were our three faceoff men. James Langeler, Tommy Lodge-Yanez, and Freesoul El-Shabazz Thompson all fared well in that important department.

George School travels to Westtown on Tuesday to face our oldest rival in an important League game. If the Cougars win, they will be in the Friends League post-season, but if Westtown wins, it is they who will be in the playoffs.

Directions to Westtown School

• Highlights

George School defeated old rival Westtown School today 11-10 on a Tucker Bentley goal in the third overtime. James Langeler won the faceoff in that period, passed the ball to Charlie Palmiotti who moved it to Tucker whose fifth goal of the day was the game winner. The entire play took 10 seconds.  

Played on a rainy day and wet field at Westtown, it was a game of ebbs and flows with both teams competing in a hard but fair way. Only four penalties were called during the entire contest. The Cougars were down 6-2 at the intermission, but rallied in the second half, outscoring the Moose 8-4 to send the contest to extra time. In lacrosse, overtime periods are four minutes long and are sudden death. In other words, they can be quite tense. Both teams had good scoring chances in the first and second O.T. periods, but neither could grab the winner.  

In addition to Tucker Bentley’s goals, Sean Potter had three, James Langeler had two, while Tommy Lodge-Yanez had one. John Arth chipped in with two assists. Westtown has some excellent attacking players, and despite conceding 10 goals, the defense played well when it was important to do so. Long stick defenders Jesse Lax, Kevin Chen, and Jake Kaplan played the entire game, while sophomore goalie Brett Heffelfinger continued his good play in the nets with 14 saves.

George School, Westtown, and Moorestown Friends all have Friends League records of two wins and three loses at the regular season’s conclusion. Before the actual playoffs begin, there will be a drawing and a play-in game to determine how the three teams fit into the overall playoff picture. This will be determined in the next day or so with a draw by the Friends League lacrosse commissioner.  

The Cougars now have eight wins and four losses, and finish the regular portion of the schedule tomorrow in a game against Perkiomen School, again on the road. Hopefully we can continue playing well and with heart.

Directions to Perkiomen School

• Highlights

George School concluded its regular season schedule today with a hard fought 8-7 win at Perkiomen School. The muddy field had a major impact on the game, and at times slowed both squads.  

The Cougars were a bit sore from the previous day’s rugged contest, and got off to a slow start, trailing 4-1 after one quarter and 5-4 at the half. The team played a much better second half, outscoring the opposition 4-2 for a final of 8-7. Charlie Palmiotti’s second goal of the day with 2:52 left in the fourth quarter was the winning tally. The Cougars’ man down defense had to kill off a Perkiomen extra man in the final two minutes, and did a nice job of doing just that to hold on for the win.

As mentioned, it was a hard fought contest in less than ideal conditions, and the Cougars showed a lot of determination, battling hard through the mud and a fine Perkiomen team.

In addition to Charlie Palmiotti’s two scores, Tucker Bentley, Eli Bresler and John Arth also contributed goals. A distinct highlight was Taiwo Ellis getting his first varsity point. Taiwo is a senior playing on the varsity for the first time, and he sent a great pass to Tucker Bentley for his first varsity assist. Everyone was excited for Taiwo, and his hard work and wonderful team spirit was justly rewarded. Midfielder Freesoul El Shabazz-Thompson and defenseman Jake Kaplan also had their first assist. The defense did a good job against a mobile Perkiomen attack, and sophomore goalie Brett Heffelfinger had a dozen saves.

The Cougars final regular season record is nine wins and four losses. During the course of the spring, George School defeated five teams who had beaten us in 2011. It was a wonderful regular season for the team, and on Friday they have a Friends League Play-In game to see who will be the third seeded team in the Friends League Playoffs. The game is at a neutral site, Shipley School, and is against Moorestown Friends, a team who edged George School 8-7 earlier in the season. The winner will play the Academy of the New Church, while Westtown will play the #1 seeded team, Shipley.

The team hopes to have everyone healthy and to continue playing well.

George School traveled to Shipley School to play a Friends League Play In game against Moorestown Friends today. Since it was a Play In game involving two teams who had already played each other during the regular season, it was held at a neutral site as per the Friends League Constitution.

The Cougars got off to an extremely fast start, scoring the first five goals of the game, all in the first seven and one-half minutes. The scorers included Tucker Bentley, Charlie Palmiotti, James Langeler, and Sean Potter, all seniors. We knew Moorestown Friends would battle back, and they rallied  by scoring the next three goals of the game, and only trailed by two, 5-3, at halftime.

Tucker Bentley, Sean Potter, and Ramzi Lodge-Yanez all scored in the second half while Moorestown Friends could only get one past Brett Heffelfinger to make the final score 8-4. All three Cougar second half goals came at opportune times, and really helped power the team to the win.  

Moorestown possessed the ball for long periods of time in the second half, and the Cougar defense did a great job of holding them to a single goal during that time. Brett Heffelfinger made nine saves on the day, and continues to play well in the goal.

It was a terrific week for the team in that we had three very hard games in four days, all an hour or more away from our campus, and in each contest the players showed a great deal of determination and sticktoittiveness. Very well done!  

With this win, the team moves to ten wins and four losses overall and three wins and three losses in League competition. Today we earned the #3 seed in the Friends League Playoffs. On Tuesday, May 15, we travel to the Academy of the New Church to play the #2 seed, while in the other semi-final #1 seed Shipley hosts #4 seed Westtown. Faceoff for both games is at 4:00 p.m. Before that match up, however, is a game with our Alumni tomorrow, and as always it will be great to see some of the former Cougar lacrosse players.

ANC is always a difficult opponent, and we hope to be able to continue playing well.

Directions to George School

• Highlights

Today’s Alumni Game between graduates of George School and the present varsity was, as it always is, a wonderful occasion. The alumni team had a good turn out, but none of the returning players happened to be a goalie. After asking numerous players if they would like to volunteer to play the position, and receiving only negative responses, John Stevens ’02, volunteered for the job. He ran back to the locker room, got the goalie equipment from the junior varsity goalie’s locker, and stepped into the nets. In a word, he was outstanding. John, who is one of the junior varsity coaches, allowed only three goals and led the alumni to a 6-3 win over the varsity. John was an excellent long stick midfielder when he played at George School, and it was wonderful of him to step into the nets today. He made a number of fine saves, and several of them were spectacular. Well done, John.

The Alumni team had many excellent players, and were worthy winners over the varsity. Although the varsity had the edge in fitness, the experience of the Alumni, many of whom continue to play well after their years at George School, was telling. It is always great to see these gentlemen return and to see them demonstrate their continued love for George School and for lacrosse by playing in this game. Thanks to all the Alumni who played today, and we hope to see you again next year.

The varsity next play in the Friends League semi-final game at the Academy of the New Church on Tuesday, May 15, with the face off at 4:00 p.m. Playing ANC is always a real challenge, and we hope to continue our good play.

Directions to Academy of the New Church

• Highlights

The George School lacrosse season ended today in the semi-finals of the Friends League Playoffs with a 12-1 defeat at the hands of the Academy of the New Church. Playing in its first Friends League Playoffs since 2006, the Cougars got off to a slow start and found themselves trailing 2-0 in just over four minutes. It was a start from which the Cougars would not recover.

Whether it was a case of ANC being a half step quicker or the Cougars being a half step slow, or both, ANC controlled the first half, and led 7-0 at the break. Their small, quick attackmen and lanky, long striding midfielders were difficult to contain, and despite a number of good defensive stands, including 11 saves by tenth grader Brett Heffelfinger during the game, George School could not close the gap. Battling hard throughout, the Cougars produced a number of very good shots, but ANC’s fine goalie, Collin Rogers, made a number of excellent saves to keep the Cougars from creeping back into contention. Midfielder Eli Bresler got our only goal from the crease in the third quarter on a nice assist from John Arth. It was to be our only score, as ANC ran out worthy winners. They will now play Shipley, who defeated Westtown in the other semi-final, on Friday, May 18, in the Friends League Championship game.

George School’s 2012 season was indeed a terrific one. Our overall record of 10 wins and 5 losses was the first winning season since 2004, and in the course of this spring, we defeated six teams whom we lost to in 2011. It was a wonderful turn around from a group of hard working young men who represented themselves and George School very well throughout the season. They showed a great deal of perseverance and heart, and it was a fun group with which to work. A very well done to each of them.

The following seniors were playing their final game in a George School lacrosse uniform: Taiwo Ellis, midfielder in his first year on the team; James Langeler, attackman and faceoff specialist in his third year on the team; Tucker Bentley, attackman and leading scorer with 44 goals in his fourth year on the team; Tommy Lodge-Yanez, midfielder and face off specialist in his fourth year on the team; Charlie Palmiotti, attackman in his fourth year on the team; and Sean Potter, midfield in his fourth year on the team. Langeler, Palmiotti, and Potter were two year captains and along with the other seniors provided fine leadership.

Despite losing the above six players, the Cougars return a large number of players for next season, and we hope to build on 2012 as we go forward.