LIVINGSTON - Livingston boys lacrosse coach Patrick Crann will take the victory the team earned on Tuesday, even though he knows New Providence dominated the possession of the ball in Livingston.
"It was not pretty, but we'll take the win," said Crann. The team, for example, was outshot 14-7 in the first half.
What led to the Lancers' win, though, was that the team made the the most of their possessions in the Pioneers' territory, especially in the first and fourth quarters. With six goals from Andrew Lesser and good goalie play by Josh Stone, Livingston defeated New Providence 8-6.
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Crann felt that Stone, who made 26 saves, and the tight defense helped tremendously in the win, as they kept the Pioneers from finding the holes.
"He kept us in the game and he was our MVP today," said Crann about his senior netminder.
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But Lesser finding the net also helped. He capped the victory with his sixth goal of the game with only 55 seconds remaining in the contest.
"I just went out and played my game and found the openings," said Lesser.
Lesser added that the key for him was his ability to shoot near New Providence goalie Ben Carroll's feet.
"It was a tall goalie so I knew that I had to shoot low," said Lesser.
Livingston's win came even with the Lancers' limited roster; some players have been limited because they are just coming back from injuries.
Senior Mike D'Aloia returned after missing a couple of games because of a wrist injury; also, Marc Zolchonock was limited to defense while returning from an injury. D'Aloia is usually the team's faceoff expert, but is still not healthy enough to do that task. Without D'Aloia at the faceoff circle, New Providence took the advantage and won most of the face-offs.
Livingston was able to grab a 3-1 lead in the first quarter. Lesser opened the game scoring off an assist from Vincent D'Aloia, Mike's brother, and the senior scorer got an unassisted goal with 30 seconds left in the period to give Livingston the 3-1 lead. Mike D'Aloia also netted a goal in the first quarter.
After New Providence tied the game at four with three minutes remaining in the third quarter, the Lancers regained the lead with Lesser's fourth goal of the game off an assist from John Mandl. Livingston lead 5-4 at the end of the third.
The lead heading into the final period was preserved after Stone made a great save on a goal attempt from New Providence's Kevin Sunyak.
"I told them before the fourth quarter that it is a 0-0 game," said Crann. "We have to win this quarter if we are going to win the game."
In the first minute of the fourth period, Livingston showed a great offensive drive and great passing when Austin Liu fed Lesser and he shot it past Carroll for a 6-4 lead.
But New Providence came back with less than three minutes in the game with the help of Richard Nelson to put a shot by Stone. The Lancers' lead was very tenuous at one goal, 6-5.
Livingston, though, drove down the field and senior John Mandl fed Abe Choe in front of Carroll and caught the goalie off guard to give the Lancers a 7-5 lead and the two-goal cushion they needed.
New Providence then put on the offensive pressure, but the Lancers stole the ball and Lesser added his sixth goal with a help from Tyler DaSilva. The Pioneers then added a goal from Derek Singer, but Livingston still led at the end of the game.
The Lancers will look to add more wins to their total when they host Hanover Park on Wednesday and Edison on Saturday.
Livingston Boys Lacrosse Schedule
(Games at 4 p.m. unless noted)
April 14 Hanover Park
April 17 Edison, 11 a.m.
April 19 at Old Bridge
April 22 Newark Academy
April 23 at Mount Olive
April 28 Morris Knolls
April 30 at Roxbury
May 6 North Warren
May 7 North Brunswick
May 10 St. Peters Prep, 7 p.m.
May 11 at West Orange
