Cougars play for county crown Sunday
By: Justin Feil
The day did not start well for the Montgomery High School boys’ lacrosse team, but their Somerset County Tournament semifinal game certainly did.
The Cougars held a 6-2 lead after the first quarter and never looked back on their way to a 16-4 win over Watchung Hills on Monday.
"We were pretty confident going in until we found out our main face-off guy came down with strep throat," said Greg Ives, who led MHS with four goals and two assists. "Chris Durik had a temperature of 103 today. I think that was our main worry. Face offs control the game. And they did beat Ridge. We lost to (Ridge) in overtime so we weren’t cocky or overly confident. We did feel strong coming in."
The second-seeded Cougars advance to earn a rematch at top-seeded Ridge 7 p.m. Sunday for the SCT title. MHS won it in 2005, but lost in the quarterfinals last year. MHS first must focus on beating Hun today, a win that would give it the Bianchi Division crown.
"Last year, we didn’t win any championships," Ives said. "We lost to Immaculata in the county and didn’t get the Bianchi either and lost to Ramapo in the finals for Group III. This year, our goals are to win counties, win conferences and win our Group. Winning counties is big. If we beat Hun, I think the Bianchi is under our belt. Coach said we had two championship games in row."
And a third waiting to go as the Group III state tournament begins next week with the Cougars seeded No. 1. If MHS can open like they did Monday, they will be hard to stop in any game.
"They really came out," said MHS head coach Tim Sullivan after his team improved to 12-3. "They played a great game today. They played all the facets. They’ve had problems with that. Today, they put it together. Last Monday, they didn’t come out well and I felt we got lucky. It’s the first time I’ve ever felt we got lucky to win a game.
"We really had a strong first quarter today and it made a big difference. I saw in the warm ups, the kids had a real step to them and they wanted to prove something. Five different kids scored the first five goals. Today it was everybody, from the goalies to the attack."
Rudy Butler and James Caruso each had five saves for MHS, while the attack had seven different goal scorers. Steve Watson had three goals and two assists. Mark Yetter had two goals and two assists. Kevin Watson had two goals and three assists.
"Our main problem throughout the season was coming out slow," said Ives, who scored twice in the first quarter and added another one before the half for an 8-2 MHS lead at the break. "We usually start off with a shaky start. Against Kinnelon, they jumped out on us early, and we lost. Typically, we don’t start playing our best and playing our game until the second quarter. Today, we came out strong in the first quarter which was main key to us winning.
"The county game did have something to do with (the start). Last year, we had beaten Immaculata during the season and then we played pretty poorly against them in the county game and didn’t want a repeat of that. We wanted to focus and make sure we came out strong and finished strong."
Ives is happy to be playing a bigger part in the MHS success this season. The sophomore midfielder has taken on a larger role in his second year of varsity and it is the Cougars that have benefited.
"He was a starter as a freshman," Sullivan said. "He wasn’t a main person. He was a great complementary person. All year, I’ve been pushing him, telling him, you have to become a go-to guy. The past couple games, he’s starting to build up his confidence. He’s come far and it’s great to see how far he can go if he pushes himself."
Added Ives: "This year, I’m happy I’m starting to shoot the ball more and getting more confidence in my shot and carrying the ball and my dodge. I’m still not happy with the level of play I’m at. My main problem is becoming more of a hard-nosed player and getting more ground balls and playing more defense. Today my shots seemed to go in and it seemed to come together. Hopefully that will translate over to the game against Hun and the game against Ridge."
Ives already has more than quadrupled his goals of a year ago, doubled his assists and has nearly doubled his ground ball total of a year ago. He is one of five MHS players with at least 20 goals. He also looks a little bit more like a player that belongs on varsity.
"Last year, my biggest weakness was my strength," he said. "This year, I got in the weight room and I put on 10 pounds in the weight room. As a team, we did speed training over the winter. Developing physically has helped. I was lucky enough to pay U-18 Tri-States. It was a great experience to play with some of the top players in the country. That’s what brought my game to the next level, just playing with such great players. This summer, I’m hoping to do that again."
But before he thinks about his summer, Ives is hoping the Cougars can come away with the championships that eluded them last year. ESPN has a Championship Week, and so could the Cougars.
"Anything can happen now," Sullivan said. "We’re at a point, if you slip at all, you can lose it all. We haven’t won anything yet. It’s time to find out what we’re capable of doing. It was a heartbreaker last year. It was difficult not to walk away with anything. This year, they’re close, but they’re not there yet. Hopefully we can put away two by this time next week. It takes a lot of effort and work to achieve that because everyone is gunning for you."