Boys Lacrosse Repeats as State Champions

LIVINGSTON–Solid defense and a tireless offense propelled the Summit boys lacrosse team on Wednesday night in a 10-4 victory over Madison to win the Group I State Championship. Last season, the Hilltoppers won the Group II Finals and went on to become New Jersey's top team by defeating Delbarton in the Tournament of Champions (TOC).

Senior attacker Johnny Scioscia, who had two goals and two assists in Wednesday night's victory, commented on how it felt to win back-to-back group titles, and the chance to repeat as TOC champions.

"It feels amazing," Scioscia said. "Not many people get to win (a group title) once. For me and a lot of my teammates, we've won two in a row. But we know we're not done yet. We're not satisfied, and we're not going to take anything for granted from here on out. We'll be ready to go."

Summit is now 21-0 and riding a 43-game winning streak. The New Jersey state record is 44 consecutive wins, held by Ridgewood during the 1990-1992 seasons. If the Hilltoppers could win the state title without suffering a loss on the season, they would be the first high school boys lacrosse team to do so since 1998.

But before the Hilltoppers could lift their second consecutive Group Championship trophy, they had to defeat a talented 17-4 Madison squad. The stadium was packed and intensity was high on Wednesday night, and it was clear early on that both defenses had come to play.

After a two-minute Madison possession early in the first quarter, Summit defender Ryan Troy made a strong takeaway check to give his team possession. Thirty seconds later, the defensive play resulted in a goal when junior Tim Yager blasted a shot into the far corner of the net to give Summit a 1-0 lead at the 8:51 mark.

"We knew we had to come out and play hard today," Summit head coach Jim Davidson said. "We knew offensively they were a very, very strong team. Charlie (Oldendorp) is a great player. We just tried to remain aggressive and create some turnovers, and we did."

"Our defense definitely had to focus a little more on (Charlie Oldendorp), and keep our eyes open when he had the ball" Summit defender Ryan Troy said. "But in general, we just kept rotating and sliding, and stuck with our usual game plan."

The Hilltoppers were unable to score another first quarter goal, thanks in part to quality goalkeeping by Madison's Ryan Colwell, who had four saves in the final 4:20 of the first quarter. Whenever Madison controlled possession, Summit defenders Troy, Bobby Lawrence, Jules Godino, and Joe Jaskolski swarmed their opponent, forcing numerous turnovers.

At the end of the first quarter, Summit led 1-0.

While the first quarter was short on goals, the second quarter was anything but. Summit's Danny Feeney won the opening face off for his team and, just 37 seconds into the quarter, Marcel Godino beat his defender and laced a shot into the back of the net to give Summit a 2-0 lead. Less than two minutes later, Scioscia assisted a cutting Terry McKenna for a man-up goal and a 3-0 advantage.

Just when it looked as though Summit had hit their stride, Madison struck back, scoring two goals in the next 39 seconds of play. Following McKenna's goal for Summit, Madison won the face off and Charlie Oldendorp quickly scored to make the score 3-1. Madison won the following face off and 23 seconds later, Oldendorp scored an impressive behind-the-back goal to cut the Hilltoppers' lead to 3-2.

"In a game like this, you know (Madison's) going to make a push," Scioscia said. "Coach told us to be ready for it and to respond."

And respond they did. Summit's Ryan Troy continued to make his presence known on the defensive end, and just when Summit desperately needed a stop, the senior defender provided it.

At the five minute mark, Troy fought for and won a ground ball, sprinted several yards, and made a crisp pass to Scioscia who shot low for the goal. Scioscia scored again one minute later off of a lead pass from senior Jake Hall. Summit had now extended their lead to 5-2.

Although Madison won the following face off, Troy anticipated a Dodger pass and intercepted the ball to give his team possession. Seconds later, the Hilltoppers took advantage of the offensive opportunity once again when Scioscia assisted sophomore Nick Kilkowski for the transition goal.

At the half, Summit led 6-2.

The Hilltoppers came out firing in the third quarter, and junior Michael Ford scored a nicely-placed shot just 55 seconds into the half.

Two more Hilltopper goals, courtesy of Danny Feeney and David Kalin, put Summit ahead 9-2 with 4:47 remaining in the third quarter. Madison's Will Stuhler scored off of a nice spin move two minutes later to make the score 9-3 entering the game's final quarter.

Summit controlled possession for much of the fourth quarter, and you could tell that the constant pressure was beginning to wear down the Dodgers' defense. At the 7:06 mark, Summit's Hall gave his team a 10-3 lead by netting a goal after running around his defender.

Although the Hilltoppers had three man-up opportunities in the final quarter of play, it was Madison that capitalized on their one man-up opportunity when Colin McLinden assisted a cutting Oldendorp for the game's final goal. In the end, Summit defeated Madison in the Group I Final by a score of 10-4.

A true team effort propelled the Hilltoppers to victory on Wednesday night. The team scored 10 goals courtesy of nine different goal scorers.

"We were able to find the open guy tonight," Davidson said. "We've been able to do that all year and it's been successful for us."

Summit (21-0) will receive a bye in the NJSIAA Tournament of Champions quarterfinals. The Hilltoppers will play in the TOC semifinals next Wednesday at Kean University. Summit will face the winner of the Ridge/Immaculata game at 7 p.m. Stay tuned to Patch for updates.

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