Plum boys lacrosse team taking big strides; program's future looking bright

Plum players were on the field a lot through the rest of the fall and into the winter months to get ready for the season.

The Mustangs started with a 7-1 win over Allderdice and were victorious in four of their first five contests.

Attacker James Beall and defensemen Otis Wolfe and Connor Burgess were celebrated on senior night against Baldwin on April 15. Despite a 5-3 loss, Beall said he was able to pause and reflect on his career and the careers of his senior teammates while seeing the steps forward the young team had taken this season.

"This team has a stronger bond this season compared to previous years," he said. "We've gotten closer on and off the field, and that has allowed us to play well together and get some nice wins."

The Mustangs stayed strong together to win four games by two goals or fewer, including a 10-9 triumph in double overtime against Seton LaSalle, a 13-12 victory over Knoch and a 7-5 win over Avonworth.

The signature victory was a 9-8 home win in overtime April 13 against rival Franklin Regional, which put Plum at 7-4 overall.

Majcher scored four goals, including the winner with about one minute left in overtime. Amen, who tallied a hat trick, scored with 30 seconds left in regulation to tie the score.

Beall and junior attacker Scott Pushic also scored in the win.

"That was one of the best feelings, honestly, I've had playing lacrosse," Amen said. "It was such a well-played game. We were able to keep playing hard under pressure and ended up making some big plays."

Plum will make a move back to Class 2A next season.

"That is where we fit in the best and where we can compete," sophomore midfielder Kevin DiMatteo said.

Right on the border between Class 2A and Class 3A, the Mustangs have played bigger and much deeper Class 3A blue bloods in section the past two years.

Though the Mustangs are a combined 0-11 in section in 2025 and this spring against the likes of Mt. Lebanon, Upper St. Clair, Norwin and Canon-McMillan, Majcher said there are positives many of the players have taken away from going up against those strong Class 3A teams.

"We did play some giant schools, but even though we haven't gotten a win against them, the games have been great experiences," Majcher said. "A lot of the times, we matched up skill-wise against a number of players from those teams."

Added Amen,"Those games have been good tests to see where we're at and see what we can work on to be better players and a better team overall."

Plum caps its section slate and its season overall next Tuesday against Hempfield.

"We are losing three great seniors, but we have so much talent coming back ready to take that next step and battle for the playoffs," Majcher said.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.