Malvern Prep vs. Chaminade Standout

McCracken’s offensive role has significantly increased in the early going for Malvern, and the junior is showing a knack for scoring big goals. He also doesn’t have a single trace of fear in his game. While he’s not big, he plays huge, routinely putting his body on the line to get to the net. He capped a 4-0 Malvern run that helped offset a 7-2 Chaminade lead by dodging hard down the left wing, getting inside and crease diving one home. Earlier in the game, he showed great off-ball awareness by cutting to the middle of the defense and finish off a slick feed from standout sophomore Joey Murphy. It was McCracken that later tied the game at 10 with 2:18 to play in regulation with a nice off-ball cut to finish home a superb Tommy Onderdonk pass.

It was McCracken’s third hat trick of the season. Interestingly enough, he’s either going off for a hat trick or more – he had five in the season opener against Boys’ Latin – or nothing. If he can be a little more consistent, watch out.

“I think it’s the self-confidence that I’ve gained,” McCracken said of his increased offensive role. “This year, I’m feeling good, but it’s all about the system. All we do is move together and it’s not a one-man show. I think when we’re rolling, it’s impossible for us to be defended. We run a system and it’s all six guys working together. We’re deep. We’ve got the first guys, the second guys, everybody can do it, and we work as a team. I think that’s how it works.”