Devon Bush exploded for nine goals to lead Pleasant Valley to an 18-9 victory over Upper Dublin on Tuesday in the opening round of the PIAA Class 3A state lacrosse playoffs.

Pleasant Valley wasted little time in taking control as Bush scored two goals in the first minute and 15 seconds and the Bears never let up in defeating the Cardinals, who qualified as the District 1 fifth-place team.

“I went into this game not knowing what was going to happen,” Bush, a junior forward, said. “We didn’t have much knowledge on this team. We had one game of film to watch, and they looked like a very big and skilled team. Coming in and scoring a few goals right off of the bat - just like we did in the District championship game - was big.

“Getting ahead early lets you feel more comfortable, but we still knew there was a long way to go. Overall, it was a really good game to play.”

Sophomore Rylee Rath added five goals as the 1-2 punch of Pleasant Valley underclassmen combined for 14 of Pleasant Valley’s 18 goals. Olivia Iandoil and Alivia Rath chipped in two goals each as the Bears finished with four multi-goal scorers.

“Upper Dublin’s a really good team, and they’re really fast,” Rath said. “We saw film on them, and they have a couple of girls who were impressive shooters.

“It was a really fast-paced game. They play in District 1, and it’s an insanely fast-pace style in that area. In some games, you can slow down with the ball a little bit more, but we knew we couldn’t do that today.”

The victory keeps the Bears undefeated as they improve to 24-0 and advance to the state quarterfinals.

“Our defense was struggling a little bit in the beginning,’ said Pleasant Valley head coach Toni Bush. “But this was a good offense we were facing. We knew we had to move well off of the ball. We had to adjust to the cutters, so we popped into a different defense and again they played well against us.

“They really made the team work. In the end, our defense held strong like they always do. We have a solid unit and were able to hold them off.”

INSANITY

... “It’s insane,” Rath said about the fact that the Bears continued their perfect season and moved another step closer to the ultimate prize of a State Championship.

MINIMAL ADJUSTMENTS

... Coach Bush said the Bears made some small in-game adjustments. “We had to make some subtle adjustments offensively and defensively,” she said. We try to prepare offensively for multiple types of defenses. But we had to go over a few things at halftime. Offensively, we went over some of our plays (to make sure we were on the same page).”

SCORING DUO

... ”They’re both just extremely passionate players, and super competitive,” coach Bush said about the dynamic duo of her daughter, Devon Bush, and Rath. “They’re not ready to be done yet. I think they both went in with the mindset that they would probably be double face-guarded, and they were by the second quarter. But they work so well off of each other that it didn’t matter. Plus, the rest of the team works so well with those two. It makes it tough on defenses.”

BIG TEST ... Pleasant Valley’s next test will undoubtedly be its biggest of the season when it takes on District 1 champ Radnor on Saturday at a site and time to be announced. Radnor, which defeated Garnet Valley 12-7 in the opening round, enters the game with an impressive 21-2 record.