Without Oldendorp, Boys Lax Falls to Summit

When two of the state's top boys lacrosse teams meet, you expect a close, physical game. While Saturday's matchup between Summit and Madison was physical, it wasn't close as the Hilltoppers defeated the Dodgers 12-3. Madison was without their leading scorer, Charlie Oldendorp, who suffered an injury in the team's previous game against Kinnelon.

"This one was ugly, everything went badly," Madison head coach Mark Sweeney said. "Summit is a good team and one of our top players was out, so that doesn't help."

Summit's Marcel Godino and Tim Yager started things off by scoring similar goals early in the game. Both players ran down the right wing and fired a shot in the upper far corner of the goal for the score. Later in the quarter, Summit's Johnny Scioscia teamed up with a cutting Godino for a man-up goal to give the Hilltoppers a 3-0 lead.

Madison's Austen Lein helped his team get on the board with 1:17 remaining in the quarter with a nice feed to teammate Colin McLinden for the score. After the first quarter, Summit led 3-1.

Both teams played well in the second quarter. Summit won the opening face off, but a quick Hilltopper penalty resulted in a Madison man-up goal when McLinden assisted Will Stuhler just 14 seconds into the quarter. Less than a minute later, however, Summit struck again when Nick Kilkowski assisted a cutting Michael Ford for the 4-2 lead.

Madison won the following face off, but Summit's Ryan Troy made a great check to win his team possession. Summit then controlled the ball for several minutes, but Madison players Spencer Waresk, Martin Horn, Christian Mazzocchi, Billy Nadeau, and Mike Staneart did an excellent job defending their goal.

After almost five minutes of Hilltopper possession, Madison drew two penalties and was forced to play two men down for one minute. Summit capitalized on the double man-up opportunity with another Scioscia assist to Godino.

Madison kept fighting, however, and just nine seconds later, the Dodgers struck net again. After winning the face off, Lein assisted a sprinting Chad Smith to make the score 5-3 with 3:53 remaining in the half.

Summit's Feeney won the next two face offs, and both resulted in a Hilltopper goal. Feeney scored the first from the left wing, and with just seven seconds remaining in the half, a patient Scioscia once again found Godino for the score. It was the third Scioscia-Godino combination of the game. At the half, Summit led 7-3.

"Johnny has unbelievable vision," Summit's Marcel Godino said. "He is able to see everyone on the field and can anticipate where we'll be. I was happy to be on the receiving end of a few of them today."

Both teams looked fatigued in the third quarter and made careless passes and fouls. The Dodgers' second half goalie, Brett Anton, was immediately tested but came up with a terrific save just one minute into the half. On the other end of the field, Summit's Brian Feeney answered with a great, low save of his own.

Madison's excellent third quarter defense allowed just one Hilltopper goal in 12 minutes. In the fourth quarter, however, the Dodgers became frustrated, and play got a little chippy. Summit had several man-up opportunities and converted four goals in the final quarter to win by a score of 12-3.

"We let it get away from us today," Sweeney said. "We were too emotional, and a good team is going to take advantage of that. Our attitude–not our play–was embarrassing. I let our kids know that you can't be a team if you play as individuals and not give a team effort. We've got to get back to work on Monday and prepare for Chatham."

Madison travels to Chatham on Tuesday for a 4:30 p.m game.