For three straight seasons the Parkland boys lacrosse team reached the District 11 title game only to settle for silver medals.

This season the Trojans refused to be denied gold.

They met league champ Easton in last week’s title game and handed the Red Rovers their second loss of the season and first to a team from the Lehigh Valley with a 10-6 win last Friday at Lehigh University.

“It was just straight dedication and team work,” said senior goalie Owen Fehnel. “We all put in the work during the past two weeks practicing. We were getting ready for them all week. It all came together and we did exactly what we talked about doing.”

Fehnel made 17 saves in the game and seemed to get stronger as the game wore on, denying the Rovers on several second-half attempts as they played from behind the final two quarters.

“This is the best game I’ve played all season,” said Fehnel, who is in his first year as the starting goalie. “It was because of the defense behind me and the offense played a fantastic game.

“As the saves come they just keep coming. Nothing slows down. One goal going in doesn’t mean anything, just keep playing through it.”

Easton scored the game’s first two goals, but it didn’t phase the Trojans. They knew just how to handle it.

“We noticed their big scorers were really good in the first four minutes of every quarter,” said first-year Parkland head coach Scott Ketchum. “Then they kind of wear down a little bit.”

With over three minutes left in the first quarter, Parkland got on the board on an unassisted Isaiah Fisher goal. Fisher scored score the Trojans’ first three goals.

The sophomore’s second goal, assisted by Matthew Scott, came with 2:22 left in the first quarter and tied the game 2-2.

Fisher got his team the lead for good when he scored on an assist from Colton Arezzi with 1:51 left in the first. A Rob Gerdes goal with under 20 seconds left in the quarter gave Parkland a 4-2 lead.

Easton scored two goals in the second quarter, sandwiched around a Parkland goal from John Gerancher, assisted by Danny Tapia, to make the score 5-4 at halftime.

Arezzi and Tapia scored goals early in the third quarter to give their team a 7-4 lead. Easton responded with a goal to make it 7-5 with one quarter left to play.

The Rovers got a goal in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 7-6, but Easton didn’t score again over the final 10:14 of the game.

Parkland added goals from Tapia (assisted by Arezzi), Scott and Fisher (assisted by Gerancher) to produce the final score.

Gerancher, a three-year starter, is one of several seniors who have been with the program all four years of high school. He credited Ketchum for bringing the team together this season after coaching changes in each of the past three seasons.

Gerancher also wanted to win a gold medal for assistant coach Cory Andrews, who was the team’s head coach last season.

“It’s been a grind through four different coaches,” said Gerancher. “Coach Ketchum came in and he loved us from day one. That was a big thing. We showed love through the run through the playoffs. He would lay down his life for us and it showed tonight.

“It felt amazing. I wanted to win this one for coach Andrews. We’ve been at it for four years now and we’ve been three straight silvers. I wanted to win this one for him.”

The seniors were also proud of their classmate who earned his way onto the field as the starting goal keeper this season and had his best game when it mattered most.

“Owen Fehnel is my best friend on and off the field,” said Gerancher, who had three assists in the title game. “We owe this all to him. He was a stone wall in the cage today. I’ve been playing with him since I picked up a stick and he’s been the best ever since.”

Fisher also had a huge game, scoring a team-high four goals. With Easton dedicating extra attention to the Trojans’ leading scorer, Arezzi, Fisher took advantage.

“Credit to Colton Arezzi, who does everything all the time for us,” said Ketchum. “They were keying on him so much that it gave Isaiah the room to finish on the back side and he was awesome tonight.”

Parkland used a few lines of defenders to contain Easton’s powerful scorers.

“Our depth really helped us out tonight,” said Ketchum. “While they have four really good players, we had 10 to play against them.”

Ketchum took over the team not long after stepping down as the head coach at Emmaus and his players accepted him wholeheartedly from the start.

“These kids had no reason to buy in with all these coaching changes,” said Ketchum. “But they did. They bought in in September. They had a plan. I think they were tired of being that second fiddle and tonight was the night they put it all together.”

Parkland was the No. 2 seed in districts and reached the title game with a first-round win over No. 3 Delaware Valley, a District 2 team that plays in a subregion with District 11.

Arezzi scored six goals and assisted on three in the 17-3 win over the Warriors on Tuesday, Sept. 19. Gerancher and Fisher each had three goals and an assist in the win. Tapia scored two goals and assisted on one in the semifinal, while Brecken Serratore had two goals.

The Trojans advance to the state playoffs to face the fourth-place team from District 1 either Downingtown West or Ridley, on Tuesday, June 2.