Hillsborough's Fourth-Quarter Comeback Falls Short

Fueled by a four-goal third quarter, the Bridgewater-Raritan boys lacrosse team upended 12-10 Saturday in the Group 4 semifinals at Basilone Field. The Panthers had also taken control in the third quarter of the teams' regular-season encounter, an 8-3 Bridgewater win on April 27.

IN SHORT

Both Bridgewater-Raritan and Hillsborough went back and forth in the first half with no team having more than a two-goal lead. Tyler Konen scored less than three seconds left in the first half to give the Panthers a 6-5 lead.

But Hillsborough received goals from Sean Curran and John Von Nessen to start the third quarter to garner a 7-6 lead. But Bridgewater won the crucial draws, resulting in five unanswered goals for an 11-7 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

Hillsborough did make a comeback in the fourth quarter. The Raiders got back-to-back goals from James Stavrakis and Cody Lefevre to cut the deficit to 12-10 with just over three minutes remaining in the game.But Panthers goalie Zach Jones and the defense didn't let the Raiders get closer.

RAIDER OF THE GAME

John Von Nessen—Two goals, one assist and one ground ball. One of Von Nessen's two goals came in the fourth quarter as Hillsborough tried a comeback. His other goal came in the third quarter and gave the Raiders a short-lived 7-6 lead.

OTHER KEY PERFORMANCES

James Stavrakis—Two goals

Logan Panaccione—One goal, one assist and one ground ball.

John Jenkins—One goal and three ground balls.

Matt Speciale—One goal and two ground balls.

Conor Fitzgerald—One goal and one ground ball.

Sean Curran—One goal and one ground ball

COACH'S TAKE—"This is the best senior class that we have had. We have several players going to college and we have a lot of quality people."—Hillsborough Head Coach Mark Wilson.

UP NEXT—Season over