Offense Propels Boys' Lax to Victory in Home Opener

Senior captain Rich Nelson and freshman Jonathan Ebert scored four goals apiece to lead the boys' lacrosse team to a 15-9 win over Newark Academy in the home opener at Lieder Field Tuesday evening.

"We played together as a team, and worked the ball around to get efficient shots right in front of the net," head coach Vinny Carangelo said. "I don’t care who you are, you’re not going to save those goals."

The Pioneers (2-0) began the game with three unanswered goals. Nelson scored two of them, and Ebert had the other.

"Richard [Nelson] is fantastic and he’s been doing this a lot of years," Carangelo said. "We’ve been looking for that first real explosion game for him, and I think this was it. Ebert as a freshman had an awesome game. We put him behind the cage at the ‘X’ position for the first time, which is kind of like the quarterback of the offense, and he was able to do that."

Newark Academy junior Brandon Rothman ended New Providence’s run and put his team on the board with three minutes, 58 seconds left in the first quarter. Rothman ended the night tied with a team-high two goals.

New Providence responded to Rothman’s goal quickly, though. Sophomore Derek Singer found the back of the net 23 seconds later, making it 4-1 Pioneers. It was Singer’s only goal, but he also contributed with three assists.

"Derek has an opportunity to be an absolutely stellar lacrosse player," Carangelo said. "I’d rather get assists from him right now than see goals, because the goals are going to come."

The Minutemen made it a two goal deficit when senior Jake Gillman scored with 11:34 remaining in the first half. Gillman went on to notch another goal and record a pair of assists.

After the Pioneers committed a turnover on the next possession, Carangelo called a timeout for his players to regroup. The result was an onslaught of five consecutive goals over a span of more than six minutes.

In that time, Nelson scored a third goal, Ebert tallied his second, and junior captain notched his first. The run made it 9-2 New Providence.

Newark Academy senior T.J. Redmond scored the last goal of the first half at 1:05, but the Pioneers entered the break with a comfortable 9-3 lead.

Although Ebert completed a hat trick to make it 10-3 New Providence early in the third, a majority of the quarter belonged to the Minutemen. They scored the next four goals, including one with seven seconds left.

The game also became much more physical in the third. Several penalties were called on both sides, but most notable was a five minute penalty against sophomore Erik Wehner for unsportsmanlike conduct. After Nelson was hit hard by a Newark Academy defender, Wehner knocked the defenseman down from behind in retaliation. One of the Minutemen goals was during the man advantage following that penalty.

"Sometimes kids get a little fired up, and they feel they need to get revenge," Carangelo said. "It makes them feel good for a minute, but it punishes the rest of the team. They need to learn that."

The Minutemen entered the fourth quarter down just three goals, but New Providence outscored them 5-2 the rest of the way. Barletta scored twice from the 5:56 mark to 2:16 to earn a hat trick.

Meanwhile, sophomore goalie and captain Brian Valerio put the finishing touches on a magnificent game in which he made 18 saves.

"Brian was a brick wall," Carangelo said. "Eighteen saves makes me feel good and should make him feel good, but I expect him to be able to do that because he’s an excellent goalie. He is very important for us."

The Pioneers look to continue their winning streak today at Glen Ridge High School, beginning at 4 p.m.