Ridgewood’s Kevin Molihan has 11 goals for the undefeated Maroons, who are coming off a 13-8 win over Mountain Lakes on Wednesday — a win that has propelled them to the top spot in this week’s North Jersey Top 10.
Despite a pair of thrilling overtime wins from Ramapo (triple overtime) and Ramsey on Wednesday, it was Ridgewood which came away with the day’s most impactful victory, as the Maroons knocked off previously-unbeaten Mountain Lakes on the road to improve to 5-0. With the win, Ridgewood moves into the top spot in this week’s Top 10 poll.
NORTH JERSEY BOYS LACROSSE TOP 10
Through games played on April 8
1. Ridgewood (5-0)
By virtue of the Maroons’ impressive 13-8 win over Mountain Lakes on Wednesday — a team now-No. 2 Bergen Catholic lost to, 13-12, in overtime — Ridgewood is now the team to beat in North Jersey after the first two weeks of the season. The Maroons trailed the Lakers, 5-3, at halftime before outscoring them, 10-3, in the second half. Matt LoParo continues to shine for Ridgewood and struck for five goals on Wednesday, while Cooper Telesco added two goals and two assists, Matt Donovan provided two and one and Andrew Mularz struck twice. LoParo is the team’s leading scorer with 15 goals and five assists, while Telesco has added nine and four and Kevin Molihan has scored 11 goals for the undefeated Maroons. While it’s still over two weeks away, Ridgewood and Bergen Catholic will meet on April 25 in a potential Bergen County tournament final preview.
2. Bergen Catholic (1-2)
After two tough one-goal losses to Mountain Lakes and Colorado’s Cherry Creek, the Crusaders got in the win column on Wednesday with their 15-3 win over Northern Highlands. Mike Reilly provided four goals and an assist, Brendan Mackie struck for a hat trick and Matt Haemmerle added two goals and three assists. BC led 9-0 at halftime. Through three games, Reilly leads Bergen Catholic with 15 points (9 goals, 6 assists), while Haemmerle has provided 12 (7 G, 5 A) and Mackie has added eight scores to go along with his team-best 24 ground balls.
3. Ramapo (5-0)
In the game of the day on Wednesday, the Raiders remained unbeaten with a thrilling 9-8 triple-overtime win over Glen Ridge, getting the game-winning goal from Matt Del Duca. Andrew Robbins and Joey Morath each struck for hat tricks in the win, Josh Haubenstock and Mike Kowal also each scored once and goalie Liam Turpan made 14 saves. The game was tied 3-3 at half, 6-6 after the third and 9-9 after regulation. Through just two weeks, the Raiders have built up a rather impressive resúmè with wins over Northern Highlands, Don Bosco and now Glen Ridge. Wednesday’s overtime hero, Del Duca, leads Ramapo with 24 points (8 G, 16 A), while Haubenstock has supplied 13 goals and four assists and Robbins has provided nine goals and five helpers. In their next four games, Ramapo will get DePaul, Montclair, Wayne Hills and Bergen Catholic on April 21.
4. Don Bosco (1-4)
The Ironmen might be 1-4, but they just beat Montclair on Wednesday, 9-8, a team which beat the next team on our list — Northern Highlands — by a score of 8-3. Dominic Branda led Don Bosco to its first win of the year with five goals, while Russel Masci, Andrew Kim, Riley O’Sullivan and Tom Joyce all scored once in the win over Montclair. O’Sullivan, bound for Syracuse next year, leads Don Bosco in scoring with 13 goals, while Branda now has 12 on the year after his five-goal performance on Wednesday.
5. Northern Highlands (2-3)
The Highlanders are 2-3 with wins over Kinnelon, 7-1, and DePaul, 10-5, and losses to Ramapo, Montclair and, most recently, Bergen Catholic on Wednesday. After an upcoming game against Indian Hills (0-5) on Saturday, Northern Highlands will face two big tests against Mountain Lakes and Ridgewood next week.
6. St. Joseph (4-0)
For now, the Green Knights are our sixth-ranked team, but they’ll have an opportunity to rise on Saturday when they host No. 4 Don Bosco. St. Joseph improved to 4-0 on Wednesday with a 10-8 win over West Milford, outscoring the Highlanders, 3-1, in the fourth quarter, in a game that was tied at 7 after three. Jack Walsh led the way again with a pair of goals and four assists, while Pat Fay, Matt Hinkley and Mike Donaghy all added two goals each. Goalie Tom Tornetto made 16 saves in the win. Walsh leads SJR in scoring with 19 goals and eight assists, while Steve Dinallo and Huestin Herman have each posted 13 points through four games.
7. DePaul (4-2)
After Northern Highlands snapped the Spartans’ three-game win streak to start the year, DePaul bounced back with a 13-9 win over Somerset on Monday, getting hat tricks from Kyle Dodds, Devin Schuster and Jason Sedell and two goals each from Bradley Paterson and Robbie Williams. Paterson added four assists and Schuster and Williams both dished out two helpers. Paterson, already DePaul’s all-time leading scorer, currently leads the Spartans with 27 points (14 goals, 13 assists).
8. Kinnelon (0-4)
Don’t let the record fool you, the Colts have fallen to Mountain Lakes, Ridgewood, Northern Highlands and Morristown-Beard in their first four games this year. Kinnelon has some better measuring-stick games coming up when they take on Glen Rock on Saturday and Don Bosco on Monday.
9. River Dell (5-1)
With the Golden Hawks’ 11-5 win over Old Tappan on Wednesday (which we did not get a box score from), River Dell improved to 5-1, with that lone loss coming against No. 6 St. Joseph. The Hawks have a strong attack that is averaging 12.3 goals per game, getting contributions from Matt Coppola, Mike DeBenedetto, Grant Kuchar and Connor Belthoff.
10. Glen Rock (4-2)
Glen Rock has now beaten Wayne Valley, Wayne Hills, Waldwick and, most recently, Mahwah on Wednesday, 4-3 and played DePaul tough earlier in the year before falling, 12-9. Rock’s only other loss came again Roxbury, who is 4-1 and currently the fourth-ranked team in North Group 3 by laxpower.com. In Wednesday’s win over Mahwah, the Panthers received two goals apiece from Corey Hillman and Eric Spada and 13 saves from goalie Michael Gallo. Hillman is Glen Rock’s leading scorer with 11 goals and 13 assists.
On the bubble…
Waldwick (3-1) — Only their 9-8 loss to Glen Rock is keeping the Warriors on the outside looking in. Need a signature win first, which they’ll have a chance to get on April 22 at River Dell. Jeremy Zaukas, a talented football player, has led the way thus far with 14 goals and 9 assists.
Pequannock (1-3) — The talent is certainly there, but the Panthers have yet to make the most of it through the first two weeks of the year. The record is a little deceiving, however, with their three losses — to New Providence, Caldwell and Randolph — coming by a combined four goals. They’re a few big fourth-quarter plays away from being 4-0.
West Milford (3-3) — Really interesting team here, as the Highlanders have played both No. 7 DePaul and No. 6 St. Joseph tough (lost to DePaul, 13-9, and Joes, 10-8, on Wednesday). Charlie Cole is the player to watch, already with 21 goals and four assists in six games, and goalie Kyle Little already has 94 saves.
Ramsey (3-0) — Can the Rams, in their first year as a varsity program, eventually crack the Top 10 this season? They just defeated Paramus, 10-9, in overtime on Wednesday, getting the game-winner from sophomore Rob Sciubba, assisted by Alex Whelan. Both players had one goal and three assists in the win, while Tyler Harmon struck for two goals and assisted on three others. They’ve got older hockey players, football players and soccer players all giving lacrosse a shot this year mixed with younger and truer lax players, so they’re only going to get better with more experience together.
Keeping an eye on…
Pascack Valley (3-1), Mahwah (2-2), Paramus (4-2)