Boys' Lacrosse Team Falls To Summit In Union County Tournament Semifinals

The outcome was not completely unexpected. After all, the Summit Hilltoppers not only sit atop the state rankings as the No. 1 team, but they're also the 3^rd ranked lacrosse team in the entire country.

And while Summit got the best of this matchup in a 12-0 win against Cranford in their Union County Tournament semifinal, the Cougars came out with their pride intact, knowing they battled for every loose ball, every minute of the contest. And they feel they're better for the experience.

"Our guys grew up today," said Cranford's Hofstra-bound captain Stephen DiGiovanni. "We weren't going out there scared for the ground ball, waiting to get hit. We were the ones hitting. Everybody just wanted to go out there and give it our best shot."

"We battled hard," said Cranford head coach Al Reinoso. "I told them, if you can get anything out of this, even the smallest of victories, like a ground ball or a solid possession or working a good shot, even if you can't score on the kid, their first goalie's an All-American, that's what you have to aim for. I think we only allowed two goals in the second half, that's something that was decent. But the bottom line is, it was a blowout, and we got to tip our hats to their team, they're an excellent team, they're an odds-on favorite to repeat as group, state and Tournament of Champions winners."

Summit, which improved to 16-0 on the season, was paced by Nick Kilkowski's three goals and  John Scioscia's five assists. The Hilltoppers outshot the Cougars 31-13, while Summit had 26 ground balls won to Cranford's 22.

Summit came out on fire with six first quarter goals.

"I thought top to bottom, it was just a great effort by our guys," said Summit head coach Jim Davidson. "We had all 36 kids get in and they did a nice job today. Cranford's got a good club. I thought today our kids came out and played hard all the way through the game. I was really proud of their effort. We moved the ball pretty well and defensively I thought we did a nice job."

Summit, the defending state champion, knows there's a target on their backs every single time they pick up the sticks.

"At this point in the season, we know that it's do or die," said Summit senior John Scioscia, who is headed to play college lacrosse at Notre Dame. "We know if we lose we're going home. We know it's the post-season, and we know it's the big time now, and that people are coming after us. The way we keep our heads is to keep working hard in practice and just be confident in ourselves."

Cranford, meanwhile, knows that with the state tournament set to begin next week, they're not going to face a better team than who they faced Thursday afternoon.

"This is a hard-working team," DiGiovanni said. "We're going to try as hard as we can. We wanted to come out here, and like coach said, learn from them. We practice all the time to try and compete with these teams. We're taking steps no other Cranford team took before."

"We were trying to do our best early, but we couldn't hold the fort to keep the game close," said Reinoso. "They knew what they had to do. They came out and ran their offense tremendously and hit on excellent shots, so they got a big lead early and it takes all the wind out of the sails. It puts you up against it."

But now the Cougars sights are set for the next go-round.

"Hopefully, it will help us down the road," added Reinoso. "It's a game of attitude at this point. We had the right attitude going in, we had the right attitude during the game, and we have the right attitude right now. Hopefully, we'll be able to keep that attitude and win some games coming up.

Cranford (8-7), will look ahead to Friday's regular season matchup with Nutley on the road, and then to next Tuesday, when the state tournament begins with a home contest against an opponent yet to be determined.  

"I'm looking forward to the states, because the hardest team in the states won't be close to these guys, so states could be a good time for us," said DiGiovanni. "I think we can go to the semi's or the finals this year."

Summit, who received two goals each from Jake Hall, Marcel Godino and Tim Yager in the semifinals, will put their title on the line Friday night in the county championship game. They defeated Westfield earlier in the season by a 9-7 score and they know how difficult the rematch will be.

"The final has always been traditionally a good game," said Davidson. "We just have to keep going into the next game with the same level of play that we had today and just stay focused and go through. But when you get in the championship game in the county, everyone lifts their level of play. So it's tough. We have to make sure we can play at a high level."