Raider laxmen off to fast start

Team matches last year’s win total early

By: John E. Powers
   
   The Hillsborough High School boys’ lacrosse team suffered through an injury-riddled 3-16 season last spring, losing the final six games. But the Raiders are showing significant improvement in the early going this year. In fact, the Raiders have already won as many games as they did all of last year.
   Hillsborough won a wild 12-8 decision over St. Joseph of Metuchen Saturday to raise its record to 3-4. The Raiders thumped first-year program Somerville 16-2 Wednesday.
   "I think the fact that we have had some of the less-established teams (Mount Olive, Somerville) has something to do with our record, but I think we’re better than we were," Hillsborough head coach Vin Coviello said.
   At the end of last year, Hillsborough ranked 57th out of 111 teams in the state, according to Laxpower.com. This year, the Raiders are ranked 46th out of 134.
   "Offensively we’re doing a pretty good job, we’re scoring, but our problems are that we can’t seem to stop the other teams," Coviello said. "It’s just being a little young and inexperienced back there."
   Senior goalie Alex Crow played a very strong game against St. Joseph, making 26 saves. Senior midfielder Jared Briggs and junior attack Brian Yepez scored three goals apiece in the win against St. Joseph. Briggs, who is leading the team with 13 goals, also had two assists. Senior Dale Nunn and sophomore Gary Politi had two goals apiece.
   "Our offense is opening up, last year we didn’t score in double figures at all," Coviello said.
   The Raiders scored seven goals twice last year. That’s as good as it got. The last time Hillsborough scored in double figures was two years ago. They beat Freehold Township 10-2 in the season’s 11th game.
   The Raiders have already scored in double figures three times this year – a 12-0 win against Mount Olive, the 16-2 rout of Somerville and Saturday’s victory.
   "We’re just playing a lot better," Crow said. "We’re playing more like a team instead of going out as individuals. We’re contending with everybody, but we’ve had our moments. We’ve made some simple mistakes. I was happy with the way I played. I was able to stop a couple of one-on-ones."
   Coviello said he thought Crow played his best game of the season.
   "He kept us in the game," Coviello said.
   Yepez and senior Mike Bakaletz had three goals apiece in the win against Somerville. The Raiders did what they were supposed to – dominate a fledgling team.
   "We have to be more consistent than we’ve been in the past," Briggs said. "Last year we would have too many lapses in the second half of our games. We’ve started out strong and we’ve come to play."
   The Raiders were scheduled to play Voorhees Monday, but that game was postponed.
   Hillsborough knocked off Voorhees 5-4 last year. They were scheduled to play at Moorestown Wednesday and at Mount Olive Friday.
   "There’s really no reason why we can’t compete in every game," Briggs said. "I want to have a winning season this year."