BURLINGTON – The end
of the Berlin High boys lacrosse season came like that final day of vacation.
The Redcoats know
a long winter awaits with the constant reminder that they were unable to
qualify for the Class M tournament, but the sweet smell of a late May victory
will serve as a refreshing finish as well as a building block for campaigns ahead.
The program continues
to surge forward under the guidance of coach Scott Rossi, who has worked hard
for a decade to gain Berlin a foothold among the growing number of lacrosse
towns in central Connecticut.
He envisions a
positive future after the Redcoats concluded their campaign with a
scintillating 13-12 victory over tournament-bound Lewis Mills at Malerbo Field
that ended with a hard swallow and a wipe of the brow.
“We’re taking steps
in the right direction,” Rossi said. “I think now what we really need to do is
improve these kids’ lacrosse IQ and that it’s not an individual game with just a
lot of dodging and good stickwork. To win at the varsity level it has to be a
complete team effort.”
The seniors went
out on a high note, led by jitterbugging attackman Nick Mangiafico, who tallied
five goals and assisted on another.
Greg Buck, headed
for a college career at Albertus Magnus, notched a goal and an assist. Long-stick
midfielder Tyler Bouchard made some key defensive plays. Wojtek Zak, Jordan
Kinney, Mason Paul and Jey Soucy also finished out their scholastic careers.
Replacing the
scoring punch that the lightning-and-thunder combination of Mangiafico and Buck
provided will be the primary concern as the program advances. Juniors Jordan Kradas
(3 goals, 3 assists), goalie Matt Cote (8 saves), attackman Ben Tomascak (3
goals, assist), midfielder Luc Bolduc and defenders Anthony Duong and Sean Pollack
will form the core for 2014.
“We’re definitely
looking for some guys who can step up and finish for us,” Rossi said. “We have
some guys on this team who have the potential. They just lack the confidence
and experience right now.”
Bolduc is expected
to be among the leaders.
“We’ve taken a
good step forward,” Bolduc said, after the win over Mills. “This is only our
second year. We had four wins last year. Now we have six (6-10). We have a lot
of juniors coming back and I think we’re going to do good.”
WHEW! The Redcoats rode a dominating third
quarter to gain the necessary edge against Lewis Mills, which cruised through
the Western Connecticut Lacrosse League unscathed in 10 games but went 1-5
against outside challenges.
Trailing by two at
the half, Berlin used three goals by Mangiafico and two by Kradas to take a
10-8 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
“[Kradas has] really
developed,” Rossi said. “He came on late to the varsity program last year. He’s
been a starter all season. He’s still developing as an aggressive attacker and
goal-scorer, but there’s no one better as a set-up man for us.”
Buck’s goal with
8:30 remaining gave the Redcoats an 11-8 lead but the Spartans, in need of a
win to gain a home-field advantage in the first round of the Class S
tournament, knotted the game at 12 with 2:16 to go.
Bouchard nimbly
picked up a ball at midfield to ignite the game-winning attack. A centering
pass from Kradas to Tomascak restored the one-goal lead with 1:23 left.
With 10 seconds
left, Mills was in a desperate way. Possessing behind their own goal, the
Spartans elected to go over the top with long-stick midfielder Patrick Keegan
supplying the shot. The ball one-hopped Cote and he deflected it safely away
like a catcher blocking a pitch in the dirt. The ball kicked to the corner as
time ran out.
“The saves Matt
comes up with are absolutely huge,” Rossi said. “Matt’ll make those save right
on the crease, one-on-one. He never falls asleep on you and never gets caught
out of position. This is a very steady goaltender.”
David Borovsky was
the primary source of offense for the Spartans with three goals and four
assists. Griffin Hayes had three goals.
“This game wraps up our season pretty good,”
Bolduc said. “It’s a team we beat last year but they definitely improved. We
improved, too, though. I think it’s a good win to end the season on and we
should be proud of that.”BOYS LACROSSE
Berlin 13, Lewis Mills 12
(May 20, At Malerbo Field, Burlington)
Berlin 3 1 6 3 – 13
Lewis Mills 4 2 2 4 – 12
Goals – Berlin: Nick Mangiafico 5; Jordan Kradas 3; Ben Tomascak 3; Greg Buck; Cam Criniti. Lewis Mills: Dave Borovsky 3; Griffin Hayes 3; Connor Hall 2; Matthew Borovy; Cameron Fletcher, Trevor Watts.
Assists – Berlin: Kradas 3; Buck; Criniti; Mangiafico, Tomascak, Sean Pollock.
Saves – Berlin, Matt Cote 8; Lewis Mills, Jack Reitz 10.
Shots – Berlin, 38-27.
Records – Berlin 6-10; Lewis Mills 11-5.
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