Patriots showing dramatic im­provement in lacrosse

By tim morris
Staff Writer

Freehold Township’s lacrosse team is no longer just going along for the ride. The third-year program has advanced to the point that it is taking the action to the opposition on the field and not watching the game develop in front of it.

Coach Steve Gibb, who has been with the boys’ lacrosse team since it first went varsity two years ago, admits that the Patriots have progressed further than he had expected.

"I’m very pleased with our progress," he said. "We’re ahead of where I anticipated we’d be. If you had told me, after our first year, that we would be 2-0 in our third year, with the possibility of winning more than half our games, I wouldn’t have believed it."

Gibb credited his team’s dedication and off-season work ethic for the quick progress.

"The guys have jelled," he said. "They played in the winter league (Peddie School, Hightstown) and during the summer (Freehold Township Recreation)."

Those who play other sports at Township have found the time to maintain their stick skills. Gibb told his multisport athletes to, once a week, find a wall where they can practice throwing and catching with their sticks for an hour. It has paid off.

"Our stick skills are much better," Gibb said.

Stick skills translate into more offense and more offense leads to more goals. That has been very evident at the start of the season with the Patriots having deposited 23 goals in two games. They beat the Ranney School, 15-2, and Howell, 8-0. However, it has been more than just improved stick skills that has led to the Patriots’ promising start.

"We still spend time on the fundamentals, however, the guys have a much better understanding of the game. We now work on game situations.

"The guys are more adept at what will happen out there," he added. "Last year, they waited for things to happen. This year, there is more of an awareness; they are anticipating more and making plays."

Midfielders Adam Miller and Kevin Wagner have been the team’s spark plugs, controlling the field and setting up scoring opportunities for their teammates. Attackers Jim O’Brien (a tri-captain), Dennis Novello and Justin Similo are finishers who have been capitalizing on their opportunities.

While the offense is certainly welcomed, lacrosse, like any other sport, requires defense, and the Patriots have been nothing short of sensational, permitting just two goals in two games. Stephen Horsch and Vinny DeGulis (the other tri-captains) have been the cornerstones of the highly effective Patriot defense. Goalie Justin Raiten, a three-year starter, has also been solid.

"He’s been our goalie since day one," said Gibb. "He has a great awareness of the game. He’s our defensive quarterback. Justin has a huge responsibility, changing defense and telling everyone what to look out for and, on top of that, having to stop a 90 mph shot.

"He’s a guy we can’t do without," the Pats’ coach added.

Jason Weinberger (midfield), Dan Griepenburg (midfield), Frank Heslin (defender), Matt Tulla (attack), Mike Jones (midfield) and Chris Jones (attack) are the other returning veterans who have stepped up their play.

The Pats went 3-12 in their second year of varsity play, but with two wins in two starts, they are well on their way toward shattering that win figure.

Now that the Patriots are a team that understands the nuances of the game and has reached the skill-level where they can put the knowledge to use, the next step is to compete with more established pro­grams.

"Now it’s a matter of experience at this level," Gibb said.

Another sure sign of the Patriots’ progress is numbers. The sport is on the upswing; so much so that Gibb was forced to make cuts this year.

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Derek Reichenbecher, a former football star for the Howell Rebels, is coaching the lacrosse team this spring. Howell went with an underclass team in its first season and will now field a team with a mix of upper and underclassmen.

Midfielder Dan Irvin (midfield) is the senior captain, and the two assistant cap­tains are also seniors: Steve Moody (defense) and John Hoyt (attack). Up front at attack, the Rebels have Eric Simard, John Schaffer, Anthony Bonjavanni, Joe Tedeschi, Dan Murphy, Larry Balchune and Ryan Marlborough. Midfielders are John Kelly, Mike Martorelli, Matt Cherry, Sean King Rob Smith and Sean Nelson.

On defense, the Rebels are looking to Kyle Kavinsky, Alex Ortiz, John Canatta, James Ennis and Malay Das. The goalies are John Minenna and Cody Turner.

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The girls’ lacrosse programs have been going through the same growing pains as the boys. This is the third year for the Freehold Township program and the sec­ond for Howell.

Shawna Block is in her first year as the head coach of Township and has a veteran team to build around. A season opening 10-8 win over Manchester was a sign that the program is ready to make a big jump from last year’s 1-15-1 season. The dou­ble-figure goal-scoring is what was miss­ing last year.

Brittany Scott scored five goals for the Pats in the opener. Cheryl Syminik had three goals and Christa McDonough, two. Caitlyn Boyd came up with nine big saves for the winners.

Scott (midfield), Syminik (midfield) and McDonough (attack) are all returning veterans, while newcomer Boyd made a big impression in her debut.

Other returners for the Pats include Kaitlin Giveny (midfield), Caitlyn Carroll (defense), Andrea Cooney (attack), Kristen English (defense), Jessica Cooper (attack) and Nadine Pfeifer (attack). Other newcomers besides Boyd are Leah Peticolas (goal), Ebony Wilson (defense), Sarah Walsh (midfield) and Jennifer Pellerito (midfield).

Howell, winless in its debut varsity season in 2002 (0-8-1), opened the season by registering the school’s first-ever win, 15-10 over Pinelands. Julie Hoebee fielded a predominately sophomore team last spring and the signs of improvement were evident the first time out when the Rebels were able to put up 15 goals.

Janet Levine, a forward, is the lone re­turning senior starter. The returners are ju­niors Catherine Cerbone (forward), Jenna Grough (midfield), Tara Gray (midfield), Denise Hall (midfield), Kim Reed (defense), Jaclyn Ritter (defense), Lynn Marlborough (midfield), Lynsey Treadwell (midfield) and sophomore Allisen Garaffa.

The goalies are Bryane Godfrey and Christina Rourke, both sophomores. Newcomers include Sarah Bernot (forward), Courtney Krol (midfield), Courtney Mason (forward), Sara Bergstrom (midfield) and Catherine Dzubaty (attack).

Gray tallied four goals in Howell’s win over Pinelands.