BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer
JEFF GRANIT staff Howell’s Margaux Pickell defends against RBC’s Kim Karpinski during a recent game in Colts Neck. Lacrosse continues to be the up-and-coming sport in the area, as well as the Shore Conference.
With Marlboro’s boys and girls joining the field, the Freehold Regional District now has four teams participating in the sport. The conference has enough teams for two divisions (A North and A South). With nine teams debuting this spring, the number will increase next year.
On the girls side, Manalapan and Marlboro have joined Howell, Freehold Township and Colts Neck on the lacrosse pitch. Lacrosse is bigger with the girls, with four divisions in the conference (A North and South and B North and South). Five new teams, counting Manalapan and Marlboro, are playing varsity for the first time.
Derek Reichenbecher’s Howell Rebels showed the way last spring, going 13-7 and qualifying for the state tournament. Howell is off to a nice 5-2 start that includes a solid 12-4 win over perennial power Manasquan.
“It was a huge win for our program,” he said of the win over the Big Blue.
The Rebels return five players from that 2005 team that set the school records for wins and put the team on the lacrosse map.
“The program is a work in progress,” said Reichenbecher.
This season, he added, is the program’s most important one because it will determine whether Howell lacrosse has arrived or if 2005 stands alone as a winning season. Certainly, the Rebels have the returning experience to continue the program’s upward climb. The 5-2 start would seem to suggest that it was the start of a winning tradition.
In Rob King, Brenden McCarthy and Mike Maccia, the Rebel offense is in good hands. King and McCarthy ranked among the top scorers in the Shore in ’05. King had 34 goals and 41 assists, and McCarthy was tops in goals scored with 38. Maccia deposited 28 goals.
“They have generated most of our scoring thus far,” said Reichenbecher. “All three were important parts of our offense last year and we expected them to help us this year.
“They have really stepped up thus far as seniors and helped us,” he added. “Most of what we do offensively goes through them.”
King has 23 goals and 17 assists already for the Rebels, and McCarthy a team-high 25 goals and 15 assists. Maccia has matched King with 17 assists and has three goals.
Howell is set in the midfield with the return of Steve Hering, Erik Jones, Rick Wood, Mike Krol and Eric Feehan. Krol and Feehan were more defensive players last year, but have improved their offensive skills.
Talented defender Bob Ennis anchors a unit that has seen first-year starters Ryan Loughlin and Keith Duffy emerge as quality players.
Ennis is a four-year starter and it is his defense.
“He [Ennis] continues to be a great one-one-on defender for us and has really begun to assume the defensive leadership role for us,” said Reichenbecher.
Long stick middy Hering has also drawn the praise of his coach. Reichenbecher said that he raises the level of the team’s intensity.
The Rebels platooned goalies Mike Rourke and Cody Turner effectively last spring, and will do the same this season. Their combined 60 percent save percentage was among best averages in the Shore.
Turner came up with 18 saves in Howell’s 9-8 win over Freehold Township Wednesday. Wood, King and Brian Mayer each netted two goals for the Rebels, and Feehan had four assists.
Rounding out the 2006 Rebels are: Sean Grimes (attack), Kyle Marlborough (midfield), Ryan Loughlin (defense), Aaron Braun (midfield), Andrew Tyma (attack), Joe Sabatello (defense), Brian Mayer (attack), Gabe Turiello (defense), Keith Duffy (defense), Chris Klauder (midfield), and Darshan Shastri (midfield).
Steve Gibb’s Freehold Township Patriots were the sport’s pioneers five years ago, and enjoyed early success that culminated in a division title two years ago. They slipped to 6-11 last year during a transition season and are anxious to return to their winning ways. Gibb has a very solid senior class poised to put ’05 behind them and a 3-2 start has them headed in the right direction.
If you are going to build a team, defender Tom Heslin and goalie Mike Gutkin, both seniors, are as good as you can get. They are experienced and talented, and make the team very strong in the back.
The other senior returners include Aaron Magnifico (midfield), Colin McCarthy (midfield), Ryan Messina (attack), Eric Phillips (midfield), Jon O’Keefe (midfield) and Tom Vaccaro (attack).
Zack Carroll (midfield), Frank Pascrell (midfield) and Mike Rosenblum (attack) are juniors who made an impact as sophomores, and should be able to cash in on their scoring chances more frequently.
Chris Buckner (attack), Dave Constantineau (defense), Ryan Curran (defense), Matt Doherty (midfield), Bob Hallacker (midfield), Chris Lach (midfield), Austin Payne (attack), Brian Piazza (midfield), John Rahacik (defense), Craig Sosnowski (defense) and Robbie Szymanski (attack) are among the underclassmen expected to make contributions this year.
Last year, Colts Neck was the new kid on the block. Coach Jeff Rosenberg went with a young team in ’05, looking to build toward this season and beyond. Returning for last spring’s 2-11 squad are seniors Nick Bibbo (defense) and Robert Manney (midfield). The are surrounded by a big junior class that cut its teeth as sophomores playing varsity for the fist time.
Among those are Eric Gasser (goalie), Sean Hocker (attack), Joe Scott (attack), Zachary Valdes (attack), Aaron Thugut (midfield), Mike Algor (defense) and Tom Steinberg (midfield). Sophomores Dominick Fiore and Drew Leisure, both midfielders, have been offensive catalysts for the Cougars, who are 1-3 after the first week of action.
It’s Marlboro’s turn to be the new kid; however, it didn’t take the Mustangs long to pick up that all important first win. The Mustangs tattooed another first-year program, Brick Township, 12-3, earlier in the season.
Dave Brumel (attack), Ryan Buttacavoli (midfield), Mike Halpern (attack), Kyle Lidenauer (attack), Ari Harrison (attack), Ryan Hilla (defense), Mike Rothenberg (midfield) and Justin Proetto (midfield) are the field players, and Jordan Klovsky is starting in goal.
Dave Ryden is coaching the Mustangs, who are 1-2.
In the win over Brick, Brumel, a senior, scored five goals and notched another three assists. Brick out-shot Marlboro, 34-30, but, Klovsky came up with 24 saves as the program got a shot in the arm with a victory in just its third game ever.
Marlboro, Manalapan girls
making debuts in ’06
On the girls side, Julie Hoebee’s Rebels will look to pick up where they left off last spring, moving upwards.
The Rebels were 7-10-1 and closed the gap on the more established programs in the Shore. They are 1-4 after the first week of the season.
Christine Flaherty, Eric Gusik, Brianna Scolaro (goal), Kate Tedesco and Kathleen Lykes are returning letter-winners Hoebee is building the ’06 Rebels around. Flaherty and Gusik are the heat and soul of the offense. In Howell’s 9-5 win over Long Branch, Flaherty scored five goals and Gusik, three. Newcomer Jessalyn Lambert has become a solid player and had two assists in that win over the Green Wave.
Freehold Township, like the boys, is the oldest program in the District. Coach Nikki Hastings has a experienced, veteran unit that should improve on last year’s 5-11 season.
Goalie Amy Winik leads a cast of seniors and juniors that are ready to turn things around. The other returners are Angela DeSanctis (defense), Angelica Gero (defense), Jennah Conti (midfield), Marissa Devine (attack), Alyssa Delguercio (attack), Jenna Impastato (attack) and Katie Weinberger (attack).
Delguercia and Devine have been the team’s leading goal producers.
Rounding out the squad at Eric Buchanan, Tara Contegiacomo, Ashlie Kneler, Lauren Leff, Kristin Moskal, Michelle Rumsey, Adj Tepedino and Mayra Zayas.
Maddy Comfort, a freshman, is the one newcomer to the squad and she has made her mark as a goal-scorer for the Patriots, who are 1-3.
Colts Neck begins its second season on the varsity level with most of its players returning from the ’05 debut. Cougar coach Shari Ritchkin should begin to see the benefits of going with youth last year.
Making up the 2006 Cougars are: Lauren Bilotti, Jenna Campfield, Kim Campfield, Whitney Weedmeyer, Jessica Garcia, Anastasia Gaszynski, Gabby Haden, Laura Joseph, Lauren Kapnick, Lindsay Mauser, Clarissa Mulligan, Lauren Orenzow, Aurelie Pluijmakers, Heather Settles, Sam Shaw and Holly Tubman.
Pluijmakers and Garcia have been making the plays up front and scoring goals for the Cougars, who are 1-2.
Marlboro had a rare opportunity to win its varsity debut. The Mustangs opened their season playing at Manalapan and won decisively, 14-2.
Chelsea Buttacavoli, Anisha Atluri, Kerissa Eineker and Nicole Cimmei made their debut ones to remember, scoring goals. Buttacavoli quickly established a single-game record with four goals. She had one assist for a five-point game. Atluri and Eineker each had the three-goal hat trick.
Goalie Genco had three saves.
Rounding out Marlboro’s first-ever varsity team, which is coached by William Daley, are Allie Bradie, Chrissy Gengo, Erika Yaroni, Gaby Epstein, Erica Langner, Sabrina Piotrowski, Jen Tebowl and Amanda Jaccard.
After a 9-9 tie with Lacey Thursday, the Mustangs are 1-1-1. Cimmei and (four) and Buttacavoli (two) scored multiple goals.
The Braves inaugural team is a mixture of seniors and a lot of underclassmen as Dave Milboer looks toward this season and the future. Lauren Beloff (point), Alyssa Cowit (forward), Taryn Mumolie (forward), Brielle Notaro (forward), Kerry Sandel (goalie), Carlee Wines (point) and Chelsey Wright (forward) are the seniors.
Sophomores Danielle Borniso (attack), Liz Duffy (forward), Courtney Faruggia (defense), Jenna Grander (defense) and Kellie Ross (defense), and juniors Nicole Bonacci (defense) and Michelle Christie (defense), are the underclassmen gaining experience this spring and building toward the future.