When it was over, Ridgewood junior Kyle Gibson stood on the sideline catching his breath. As the blood trickled from his nose, a wide smile crept across his face.
Ridgewood’s Ryan Mansbach, right, applying the pressure to Guy Talerico of Bergen Catholic on Wednesday.
It was that kind of a day for the Ridgewood boys lacrosse team. A hard-nosed, blue collar effort rewarded with a major dose of satisfaction.
Using a potent defense and an opportunistic offense, Ridgewood beat rival Bergen Catholic, 9-7, on Wednesday in Gibbs Division action.
"We were super-psyched coming in, this is a huge rivalry," Ridgewood’s Luke Cichocki said. "We really wanted this. And everyone played a huge game."
The win was especially sweet for Ridgewood, providing some revenge for the Maroons’ loss to the Crusaders in last season’s Bergen County title game.
"Obviously, it was motivation for us, having lost to them at the end," Ridgewood coach Mike Pounds said. "But we needed to get back to doing what we do best, playing good team defense and being patient on offense, and winning games in the fourth quarter. We can’t just be satisfied with being up [at halftime]. We’ve got to play the full 48 minutes."
Ridgewood (3-2), which couldn’t hold the lead in its previous game – an overtime loss to Hunterdon Central – put forth a complete effort against the Crusaders in the biggest game of the season so far.
Still, Bergen Catholic provided quite a test for the Maroons.
Ridgewood wasted no time taking command of the game and led 5-1 midway through the second quarter.
But things changed when Sean McGuire began to find a little room to operate.
Ridgewood focused intensely on McGuire, Bergen Catholic’s star attacker, the entire game. And it worked, for most of the game.
But late in the first half McGuire took over, weaving his way around the net for one goal, and scoring a spectacular, leaping goal less than 10 seconds before halftime.
At the break, Ridgewood’s seemingly comfortable lead had been slashed to 5-4.
But those would be the only two goals McGuire would score.
"He’s a great player … I’m just glad we could keep him at bay," Pounds said. "We focused a lot of attention on him and he still did a remarkable job."
Ridgewood took an 8-5 lead early in the fourth quarter, before the Crusaders stormed back again to make it 8-7 with about six minutes remaining. But Ridgewood’s Max Luing sealed it with a goal in the final two minutes.
"I was proud of my kids," Bergen Catholic coach Joe Haemmerle said. "I thought we played our most complete game of the season to date. And I think it’s definitely something to build on going forward."
BY ANDY VASQUEZ
Photo Credit: MICHAEL KARAS
Record
No comments:
Post a Comment