Penfield was eager for the rematch. So much so that starting goalie Mason Schembri’s phone wallpaper was a photo of last year’s Class A section tournament bracket.
In it was a sobering result: A loss for the Patriots to eventual state champion McQuaid. Afforded another opportunity on Tuesday, Penfield returned the favor in an 11-9 win over the Knights.
The win secures Penfield’s first Section V title since 2018 and seventh overall.
Championship hopes seemed unrealistic in early April after Penfield dropped its first handful of games to start the season. And to make matters worse, top flight defender AJ Theodorakakos was lost for a stretch of games due to injury.
A difficult, but not unheard of, situation. Penfield coach John Schembri referenced his 2013 team that also lost five straight to open the season. That group later won the section title and reached the state semifinals.
“It’s kind of weird how it mirrored itself,” Schembri said.
Entering the year, Penfield expected to be a defensive-minded group, with returners like the goalie Schembri and Theodorakakos. Brodie Joyce, a junior, was one of the few returners on offense. Injuries and the team’s slow start forced the Patriots to shift gears midseason.
Now Penfield has scored in double digits in five straight games.
“Credit to my offensive coordinator Cory Holbrough and all the hard work he put in, in getting that young offense up to speed,” coach Schembri said. “We’re a very different team from our first game until now. When we lost a kid like (Theodorakakos) who we depend on and others look to, it can make it difficult. But it provided opportunities for other kids to step up. It strengthened our team as a whole, and when he came back, it made us that much better.”
Penfield led from almost start to finish
That offense was needed against a McQuaid team that, while not as explosive as last year, is more than capable of putting the ball in the cage.
Thanks to Joyce’s goal only a minute into the contest, the Knights were tasked with an uphill climb from the get-go. Penfield’s lead grew as large as four goals when Tyler Pavone’s lone goal of the night put the Patriots in front 7-3 with 8:17 left in the third quarter.
McQuaid trimmed the Patriots’ advantage to a single goal on two occasions, the latter with under three minutes remaining on Domenic Giangreco’s tally. But Penfield delivered the dagger with a minute to go when Jake Maurer found Joyce for his sixth and final goal of the night.
Joyce, who is committed to Providence, tied a career-high with six goals.
“He’s been tremendous in mentoring the young players and helping them get up to speed in a short amount of time,” coach Schembri said. “He leads with a quiet calm and the kids really respond to him. He has so many tools. He can score, he can feed, and he can even play defense. He’s somebody that has all the pieces.”
All-tournament team: Brodie Joyce, Penfield (MVP); Griffin Banister, Penfield; Ronan Boyle, Penfield; John Burrows, McQuaid; Andrew Coleman, Rush-Henrietta; Domenic Giangreco, McQuaid; Jake Maurer, Penfield; Mitchell Monte, Fairport; AJ Quagrello, McQuaid; Jack Rawleigh, McQuaid; Mason Schembri, Penfield
By the numbers
89 — Points for Penfield junior Brodie Joyce this season. That’s the most among large school players in Section V.
13 — Section final appearances for Penfield. The Patriots have won seven of those appearances.
0 — Amount of weeks Penfield was included in the New York state rankings so far this season. The Patriots have been among the honorable mentions for the last few weeks, but haven’t cracked the top 20. That should change next week.
46:31 — Time that Penfield played with the lead, out of 48 minutes. The Patriots opened the scoring 1:04 into the contest and remained ahead for the rest of the first. McQuaid evened the score 13 seconds into the second quarter, but that tie lasted less than a minute thanks to Griffin Banister’s first goal of the night. Penfield led the rest of the way.
18 — Players that McQuaid loses to graduation. Among them is leading scorer AJ Quagrello and starting goalie Jack Rawleigh.
Up next
Penfield faces Orchard Park-VI in the NYSPHSAA Class A regionals 11 a.m. Saturday, June 7. The Quakers own a 15-2 record this spring, which includes three wins against Section V opponents. That includes a victory over Penfield on March 29, in the Patriots’ season opener. In that 14-12 loss, faceoff specialist Colin Miller finished 21-for-27 at the X with 10 ground balls.
The Patriots have faced Orchard Park in five of their six appearances in the state quarterfinal play. Penfield is 3-2 in those meetings.
Schembri has been around his fair share of sectional champions, as both a coach and player. Some reach this point and additional games are gravy, others have a greater goal in mind. He counts his 2025 among the latter.
“I’ve been part of teams where you felt the guys were content. But after (Tuesday night), I don’t get that feeling,” Schembri said. “Having that stamina and wanting to keep coming to practice and keep moving forward is a big part of it. There’s a lot of tough competition out there, and when you get to this stage you have to pretty much play flawless, and the cream rises to the top.”
Here is how the game unfolded:
McQuaid vs Penfield: Game start
The Class A title game is underway.
McQuaid 1, Penfield 1: End of the first quarter
Penfield took an early lead, but McQuaid managed a tie after 12 minutes.
Penfield 5, McQuaid 2: Halftime
Patriots exit the first half with a three goal lead. Their five goals already exceeds the total from last year’s section final.
Penfield 8, McQuaid 6: End of the third quarter
Patriots led by four at one point, but the knights have cut that deficit in half with 12 minutes to go.
Penfield 11, McQuaid 9: Final
Penfield’s Brodie Joyce scored with 1:17 left in the fourth for some necessary insurance, after the Knights cut the deficit to one. This is Penfield’s first championship since 2018.
This article originally appeared on MPNnow: Penfield holds on to beat McQuaid, claim Section V boys lacrosse title
Reporting by Justin Ritzel, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / MPNnow
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
