Carlisle's steady play from its tenacious defenders and relentless long pole midfielders continues to serve it well in these District 3 postseason scraps.
As the Thundering Herd suffered through an offensive lull during the second quarter Thursday night, the defense continued to keep Penn Manor's offense at bay just enough to prevent them from mounting a rally.
Unsung contributors like David DeSario, Sid Ewell, Robert Lamont, Avery Morrow and Tim Roesler all helped keep the 10th-seeded Comets off the board in a pivotal third quarter.
The aforementioned defenders and midfielders provided the perfect cover for Carlisle's offense to regain its footing as the Herd produced an 11-6 win in Thursday's District 3 boys' lacrosse quarterfinal at Lower Dauphin Middle School's Falcon Field.
Carlisle (17-1), champions of the Mid-Penn Conference, advance to the District 3 semifinals for the second year in a row where it will face Wilson. Game time is slated for 7 p.m. Tuesday back at Lower Dauphin. The Herd also clinched a second straight PIAA playoff berth.
"I didn't feel like the game was out of our control throughout," Carlisle coach Steve Kidder said.
"But when they started to surge a little in the second quarter, I knew we had to start tightening up what we were doing."
The Comets (15-6) cut a 5-1 deficit to 5-3 on goals from Adam Hess and Wyatt Barnett, but a timely goal from Matt Quattrone with 4:26 left in the half pushed Carlisle's lead to 6-3 at the break.
Quattrone's intial scoring chance was stopped by Penn Manor goalie Nick Kirk, but Quattrone fought for the ground ball off the rebound and beat Kirk with a second shot.
After that, Penn Manor never threatened.
Max Breschi scored on a roll from left side early in the third quarter and Colin Wallace and Fowler put home two goals just over a minute apart late in the quarter to make it 9-3.
Fowler led the way with three goals and three assists, while Quattrone scored his own hat trick, Breschi added a pair and Hunter Scott chipped in three helpers.
"I think today we probably lacked a little bit of intensity, but I don't want to take anything away from Penn Manor. They played a heck of a game. Defensively, they were all over us," Kidder said.
"I think we were tired, emotionally, after three games this week."
Kidder's team, though, got off to a fast start and led 5-0 before Penn Manor could get settled. Jon Mundell, Breschi, Taylor McGrath, Fowler and Quattrone all netted goals in the opening quarter.
"That's exactly what we wanted to do against this team. They're really athletic," said Mundell, who also won 11 of 16 faceoffs.
"We wanted to come out and be aggressive and that's what we did. We faded a little in the second quarter, but the quick start is ultimately what won us the game."
Defensively, Ewell, DeSario, Quattrone and Morrow had six ground balls each, while DeSario, Ewell and Rob Lamont each caused a pair of turnovers and Hunter Barrick made seven saves.
Matt Hatch led Penn Manor with two goals and Brady Charles chipped in a goal and two assists.