By: Carolyn M. Hartko
Going into the 2005 spring season, the South Brunswick High boys’ lacrosse team had some major holes to plug. The Vikings had graduated eight seniors from a squad that went 15-4, including the two top scorers, the starting goalie, and two starting defenders.
It was a big test for a relatively young program to show that it had matured to the point where regardless of what was lost, the reconstituted varsity could maintain respect.
The Vikings passed the test with an overall record of 13-4, a 4-1 mark in the Greater Middlesex Conference and a 7-1 ledger in the state’s Curcio Division. A national ranking system, laxpower.com, put South Brunswick ninth in New Jersey’s Group IV.
"Our first goal was to make sure we could fill the gaps and compete, and I think we were very successful in doing that," coach Mark Ziminski said. "The fact that we got to the county finals and played a very exciting and intense game, even though we lost, was a sign of our consistency as a program. We were second place in two divisions, so we were one overtime goal away from winning a divisional championship as well.
"So, the fact that we are consistently competing for championships is an important part of our program, The fact that our guys were able to do that again this year was a sign of their success."
The Vikings continued their track record in the state, qualifying for the state tournament and winning a first-round game. They carried a nine-game winning streak that extended into the post-season. They made it to the finals of the GMC Tournament for the fifth straight year, losing to North Brunswick, the team that also took the regular season GMC title. Another highlight was the fact that this is the first year that South has been able to beat St. Joseph’s twice in the same season.
Much of this year’s success can be attributed to the 10 seniors on the squad, including three team captains. One of those captains, Ian Muchanic is headed to Richard Stockton College where he will major in business.
The three-year starting midfielder notched 17 goals and seven assists in his final campaign as a Viking. He has been named to the all-GMC team, all-Curcio first team, and the second team in the C Division on the state level. Muchanic was one of two Scholar-Athletes from SBHS this spring, and also represented the Vikings in the recent Gil Gibb’s Senior All-Star Game.
Muchanic will take memories of teamwork, friendships, and the hard work in practices to Stockton.
"I thought team unity was good this year," Muchanic said. "We did a lot of out-of-practice events, like going to the NCAA Tournament (in Philadelphia). And personally, I felt my effort was good this year."
Team captain Pete Saragnese led the Vikings in assists with 21, and he knocked in four goals of his own. He was a 4-year varsity lacrosse and ice hockey player for SBHS, and will pursue both sports at Virginia Military Institute next year. He intends to major in Civil Engineering.
"This year, we had a lot of depth on our team," Saragnese said. "There were a lot of people on the team who had a lot of responsibilities, and just did their job really well. I like that I got to be captain. It was a good experience for me to be able to lead the team and be someone that the younger kids looked up to."
The third captain was starting midfielder Nick Gazzale. He often took face-offs for the Vikings, and he came up with five goals and four assists this year. He received an honorable mention to the Curcio all-division team and earned two varsity letters apiece in lacrosse and soccer, but he is hanging up his cleats.
Gazzale is planning on majoring in Criminal Justice at West Chester University next year, and will stick to intramural sports. Although he had a lot of fun with sports in high school, his one lasting memory will probably be the loss to North Brunswick in the county final under the lights. He had some advice for the underclassmen coming back next spring if they want to avoid a similar disappointment.
"Leave everything out on the field," Gazzale said. "And do all the off-season training, because once it’s over, it’s over, and you can’t get back the season."
Once again, the Vikings are losing their top scorer. Dan Niemczyk scored 56 goals and dished out seven assists. He is the team’s MVP, and the GMC Offensive Player of the Year. He is a first team all-Curcio pick, and made the C Division 2nd team.
The Vikings will have to replace the entire starting defense next year. They are losing goalkeeper Matt Rubel (146 saves), and defenders Ben Kim, Kevin McDonald, Kyle McKendrick and Chris Smoke, and first middie Mike Bell.
"They were truly an outstanding group of young men," Ziminski said of his 10 seniors. "They were very dedicated and committed. The commitment and integrity they brought to the program was really outstanding."
The Vikings will look to two sophomores to lead the offense in 2006. Kory Kelly had 52 goals and eight assists this year, and Chris Laurita had 13 goals and 14 assists. Junior Andrew Fellouris and sophomore Chris Ciabattone will be the experienced defenders. Junior Anthony Osborne will be back in the midfield, and sophomores Theo Smyk (5 goals, 4 assists) and Kevin Lally (2g, 7a) saw time on attack. Sophomore Phil L’Amoreaux (15 saves) was the back-up goalie.
"I’m very confident of our underclassmen’s ability to step in, and then to do the job and to be successful in place of our seniors who are moving on," Ziminski said. "That’s something that we demonstrated this year that we were able to do, and I’m sure we’ll be fine with it next year, too. We have some good kids coming up from JV that will make up the difference."
The Viking JV squad finished 9-4 this spring, and the freshmen went 10-2, making the overall record for the program 32-10.
EXTRA-MAN: McKendrick and Kelly were both named to the all-GMC team, the 1st team all-Curcio, and the 2nd team, C Division . . . nominees for the second-team, all-Curcio were Laurita, Rubel and Saragnese . . . Rubel was named MVP for the South team at the Gil Gibb’s Senior All-Star game . . . Kelly was the Viking’s "Best Offensive Player," McKendrick was named "Best Defensive Player," and Muchanic got the Viking award.
