Schmid brothers face off in boys’ lacrosse match

By: Sean Moylan
   To the casual observer, the Robbinsville High boys’ varsity lacrosse team’s 13-6 decision over Lawrence was just a typical, straight-forward, smooth victory.
   But bubbling just under the surface, the game featured a dramatic mental, physical and spiritual battle between the Schmid brothers. On the Lawrence side there was Ryan Schmid, a mature, senior defensive middie, confident (yet without a hint of arrogance) in his game and himself. And on the Robbinsville side there was E.J. Schmid, a talented energetic freshman, reveling in the excitement of discovering his own untapped natural abilities on the field of play.
   "The night before the game I was at a fundraiser and then I came home and my mom (Olga Schmid) had made pasta . E.J. was there all pumped up and juiced saying ‘Lawrence is going down!,’" said R. Schmid, who is also one of the area’s better swimmers and a football player as well.
   "My mother wasn’t home so there was a lot of tension the night before the game and the morning after," added the intense, but extremely likeable, younger Schmid brother.
   Lawrence is known for its physical play on defense. And early in the game, Ryan introduced his little brother first hand to Lawrence’s aggressive style.
   "I tried to shove him around a little and I told him not to try anything," R. Schmid added. "It was fun. We came up short in the end but we both really got into it (the competition)."
   It was a competition the Schmid brothers had secretly desired for years. Although they’ve had countless lacrosse catches and pick-up games with one another over the years, the slight age difference between the two brothers had kept them from ever playing team sports with or against each other. Moreover, since Robbinsville decided against having a senior class until its fourth year as a high school, Ryan found himself having to stay at Lawrence, which he liked, to finish off his high school career.
   "I was happy playing over at Lawrence. It’s a far ride but it’s a diverse place. This is my second year playing lacrosse in high school," noted R. Schmid.
   Olga Schmid, the boys’ mother, is a bit of a saint, spending hours each day driving her boys to school and various events. And if Ryan gets a Lawrence shirt she knows that E.J. will need a Robbinsville shirt to match. But she was there at Robbinsville last Friday, along with the rest of the Schmid family, who travelled a long way just to see the battle of the brothers, rooting on both of her boys.
   Everyone was looking for a defining moment. That moment came midway through the contest when E.J. received the ball at the top corner, faked out a Lawrence defender and moved to the front of the net where he fired in a shot. Although he did not score off of Ryan, E.J. made sure his older brother heard all about his goal in case he didn’t see it.
   "When he scored his goal it was a pretty good shot. I was really mad. And then he got in my face and said ‘where were you number five?’ "added Ryan.
   Yet despite his undying intensity, it’s important that people do not get the wrong idea about E.J.. He’s a stand-up guy. He’s quick to credit his older brother for getting him started in lacrosse, and as the pre-season began, E.J. offered to play anywhere Robbinsville head coach Chris Penna wanted him to play.
   "He (Penna) flat out told me that he needed a middie. So I’m a middie. It’s a lot of fun," said E.J., who is a very team-oriented player, who also played basketball this past winter. "Against Lawrence we jumped on a lot of early opportunities to set the tone. My goal was good. But it was better to win because I really wanted to beat him (Ryan)."
   The Ravens, however, were able to win because they had more firepower than Lawrence. In fact, if the game had been played against any other opponent, it would have been Tyler Fasanella, who tallied five goals and had one assist, who would have been the big story. He was simply awesome. John Eckstein (two goals and three assists) also had a terrific game and Mike Andersen, Tim Giarra and Jeffrey Ivey each contributed a goal and an assist to the win. Justin Carruba and Joe Ferraro were Robbinsville’s other scorers. Robbinsville took 26 shots on goal. Joe Borzio made eight saves to earn the win.
   The day after the game things were back to normal at the Schmid house as the brothers attended a spring football game at Rutgers together.
   "I’d love to play against him again. He’ showed me the ropes and he’s my role model," said E.J, who considers lacrosse to be his favorite sport. "I wish the best for my brother. He’s a real classy guy."
   Ryan, on the other hand, sees his younger brother as having great potential as a lacrosse player.
   "As of right now I’d say we’re about even. But I’m 6′ 3" and 215 pounds and he’s about 5′ 10" and weighs 160. I have a lot more physical ability. But in a couple of years he’ll be blowing the doors off of me," said Ryan, who really is a classy guy like his brother says.
   So different on the surface, the Schmid brothers are so alike in so many ways. But most of all they share a love of competition.
   It was a very busy week for Robbinsville, however, as it creamed Monroe 15-1 in a road game played last Tuesday. It was the first varsity win in team history.
   Eckstein was incredible in that contest as he scored six goals and assisted on two others. Fasanella had three goals and four assists while Schmid assisted on three of the Ravens’ goals. Carruba (two goals), Alex Rentschler (goal), Ivey (a goal and an assist), Giarra (goal), Ferrarro (goal) and Andersen (assist) all got in on the action too. The stat of the game was Robbinsville took a whopping 45 shots on goal. Meanwhile Borzio made 10 saves and didn’t give up a goal until the fourth quarter to earn the win.
   Robbinsville’s modest two- game winning streak ended with a 13-2 loss at West Windsor-Plainsboro North on Monday. Giarra and Randall Collins had Robbinsville’s only goals while Fasanella had an assist.
   Robbinsville is scheduled to play at Hightstown on Friday and at Allentown next Wednesday.