SBHS balancing act a hit

By: Lance Manion
   The No. 1 goal Mark Ziminski set for his South Brunswick boys lacrosse team wasn’t a championship of any sort. It was simple.
   "Basically the main goal we wanted to accomplish was balanced scoring," the Vikings’ eighth-year coach said. "I’d prefer to have six or seven guys score 20 goals rather than two or three guys scoring 30 because it’s far more difficult for opposing teams to focus on one player."
   Through three games, the Vikings have accomplished their mission. South Brunswick have outscored its foes by the count of 35-10 in getting off to a 3-0 start, but more importantly, 11 different Vikings have hit the back of the cage.
   "Really we’ve had a mixture of six different guys contributing on offense," Ziminski said. "That was part of our emphasis in the preseason, getting the point across that you can’t have just one guy taking all the shots. A lot of times, the formula for successful teams is a healthy mix of guys contributing and that’s the kind of team concept we’re aiming for."
   The Vikings got the season started on a positive note, rolling by rival East Brunswick, 13-8, last Saturday. While Theo Smyk scored five times, Anthony Osbourne, Shane Foley and Kevin Lalley drilled two goals apiece and Brian Presti struck once in the victory.
   South Brunswick was at it again two days later, routing Northern Burlington, 15-2, as seven different players scored. Chris Laurita led the way with six goals, Lally scored twice, and Zach Zenda, Smyk, Foley, Osbourne and Presti each contributed one goal in the non-conference victory.
   The Vikings’ offensive explosion continued on Tuesday in a 17-0 win over J.P. Stevens, as Laurita had a hat trick, Smyk, McHugh, Foley and Zenda had two goals each, and Sallouris, Adam Kinder, Presti, Lally and Osbourne had one each. Ziminski couldn’t have asked for anything better than a 3-0 start, especially for a team that had to replace 10 seniors from last year’s 13-4 squad.
   "I said before the season that this has a chance to be one of our more interesting teams," said Ziminski, whose program has played in the past five Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament championship games, including a runner-up finish last spring. "We have a core group of kids who have started playing lacrosse year-round and that’s starting to show in our level of play."
   No player has benefited more from that year-round philosophy better than Kory Kelly, a 6-foot-4 junior midfielder who’s being recruited by several NCAA Division I programs, including perennial power Johns Hopkins and Rutgers. Kelly is expected to be the Vikings top offensive threat after scoring 52 goals a year ago.
   Defensively, the Vikings also have the makings to be better than last year’s team which yielded an average of 5.1 goals per game. Fellouris, Chris Ciabattone and Jay Jackson provide a strong line of defense in front of Luke Zabel, who made 36 saves in the first three games.