Vikings win inaugural GMC Lacrosse Tournament

Reed’s hat trick, Rodner’s goaltending sparks 4-3 victory

By: Carolyn M. Hartko
   In years to come, whenever a list of Greater Middlesex Conference boys’ lacrosse champions is printed, the school at the top of that list will always be South Brunswick High School.
   The top-seeded Vikings earned that honor by edging second-seeded St. Joseph’s of Metuchen, 4-3, in the final of the inaugural GMC Tournament Wednesday night in the SBHS stadium. It was a hard fought, fast-paced nail-biter, highlighted by Taylor Reed’s hat trick.
   "It was a tremendous inaugural game," Viking head coach Mark Ziminski said. "It was an excellent effort by both teams. We played extremely hard, and we deserved to win, based on our efforts. It’s a great tribute to our guys, playing as hard as they can, and coming up on top."
   Junior attackman Taylor Reed gave South Brunswick (13-5) a 1-0 lead when he completed a break-away with 3:50 left in the first quarter. Defender Steve Farago started the play with a clearing pass out of the back. Eight minutes into the second quarter, Falcon Ryan Deverin evened the score with a shot from the left of the crease that went over several defenders and down into the opposite corner.
   A minute into the second half, Reed took a pass from Mike Valentino, but found his path around the back of the net blocked. So he spun around to the front left corner and shot into the net instead. Once again, the Falcons pulled even, this time on an extra-man goal by Jeff Flynn with five minutes left in the third quarter. Reed completed his hat trick with less than two minutes left in that period, putting South back on top 3-2. Mike Dougherty and Ian Schwartz had been passing the ball around the crease with Reed when he saw an opportunity to slip one below the radar.
   The Falcons (11-7) renewed their pressure in the fourth quarter, but with two St. Joe’s players in the penalty box, Josh Trpisovsky seized the opportunity to net an insurance goal off a pass from Mike Earl. For the last time, St. Joe’s answered quickly when Joe Walsh completed a break-away with six minutes left on the clock.
   The Falcons kept possession for most of the remainder of the game, but couldn’t break the South Brunswick defense. The Viking efforts to clear the ball in the closing minutes of the game got stopped at the midfield line. Throughout the game, Viking goalie Don Rodner came up big, deflecting high shots and smothering the grounders.
   "I’ve got to give credit to St. Joe’s for an excellent game," Rodner said. "St. Joe’s had a great offense. They were pressuring us really hard. Our defense just played excellent. Blake (Sframeli), Brian (Davis) and Steve (Farago) played their hearts out. These guys are seniors, and it couldn’t finish up any better for them, with a GMC championship. I knew that they could come up big, and all I had to do was come up big for them. We just got it up to the attack, and the attack pulled it off. It was a great game for us."
   Ziminski praised his defenders for forcing St. Joe’s to take outside shots, giving Rodner time and space to make the big saves. But when the perimeter collapsed, it fell to the Viking junior to keep his team in the game.
   "Donnie absolutely saved his best game for last," Ziminski said. "And he was absolutely phenomenal. We wouldn’t have won the game without his performance. There’s no doubt about it."