By: Carolyn M, Hartko
METUCHEN – Never judge a book by its cover, or a lacrosse game from its first quarter.
The high school boys’ lacrosse game played at St. Joseph’s High School this past Tuesday sure looked like it was going to be a close one. The visiting South Brunswick Vikings were only up 3-1 at the end of the first period, and St. Joe’s opened the second with a J.P. Barton goal to cut the deficit in half.
But the Vikings roared back with five unanswered goals, putting the game out of reach for the Falcons. With the 13-3 final score, the Vikings improved to 4-1 on the season, while St. Joseph’s dropped to 1-3. For South Brunswick, this was pay-back for last year’s defeat at the hands of the Falcons in the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament.
"I wasn’t really worrying about St. Joe’s," Viking head coach Mark Ziminski said after the game. "I’m worrying about how well we played. I think this is step number one for us to get back some respectability after last year. Step number two is how much as a team we improve."
Sophomore attackman Kory Kelly had his biggest game of the season, scoring five unassisted goals in the first half. Senior Dan Niemczyk, the team’s highest scorer, was relatively quiet in the first half, only picking up two. But he owned the third quarter, knocking in four more. Ian Muchanic had a goal and an assist, and Pete Saragnese added two assists. Freshman attacker Zach Zenda notched his first varsity goal, and he and classmate Shane Foley had an assist apiece.
"We have a lot of our younger players really stepping up and starting to contribute, which is what we need for us to be successful," Ziminski said. "It’s nice to see the younger guys, who are working very hard and have a great attitude reap some success in a game."
South Brunswick’s defense also seems to be finding its rhythm, allowing just two goals in the first half. St. Joe’s final goal was a temporary lapse taken advantage of by Falcon Al Carpetto late in the third quarter. Senior Matt Rubel, who’s looking more confident in goal as the season goes on, made 15 saves. Sophomore Phil L’Amoreaux was unscored upon in the final eight minutes of the game, making one save.
"Matt’s been working hard in goal," Ziminski said. "He’s been pretty focused, and he gets a lot of shots from coach (Nick) Schmitt, so he doesn’t have a choice but to work hard. He played very well, and I think our overall defense was excellent as well. I think our close defense, starting with Matt, Kyle McKendrick, Ben Kim and Andrew Fellouris played excellent. And also our other defensive group with Chris Smoke, Kevin McDonald and Chris Ciabattone are doing an excellent job."
The Vikings have an interesting game coming up tomorrow (Friday) when they host North Brunswick. The Raiders program is newer than South Brunswick’s, but this looks like it could be the turn-around year for the neophytes. They have a winning record, and have looked strong offensively in their first few outings.
"It’s going to be a real battle," Ziminski said. "It’s a nice rivalry that we have. Right now we’re tied for first in our division, so (this game) could be potentially for a division championship. We’re well aware of that, and we’re prepared, so we’re excited about the game."
The Vikings have two road games on tap for next week. They will be at Rutgers Prep on Tuesday, and at Freehold Township the following Saturday.
NOTES: Kim had an assist in Tuesday’s game . . . fans who can’t get enough of SBHS lax can log on to the new Viking lacrosse website at www.leaguelineup.com/sbvlax.
