Chatham High School (N.J.) Boy’s lacrosse head coach Christian Scarpello said the team played a lackluster first half, leading by just a goal.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!But things changed for the Cougars–who were led by senior Kyle Gibney’s seven goals–in the second half, as they came out swinging, outscoring Bergen Catholic High School, 11-1, en route to a 17-6 victory Tuesday night at home.
Still looking to get better and play a complete game from bell-to-bell, Scarpello said the Cougars’ second half performance was gratifying and promising. But the team is not quite there just yet.
“We thought a lot about putting four quarters together, but we haven’t been able to do that,” Scarpello said. “So, we’re still looking to improve. Obviously, it’s a great result against a great team–divisional opponent, big, athletic, and well-coached. We’re proud of the response in the second half, but we got to come out of the gates a little bit better.”
The Crusaders got on the scoreboard first early in the first period.
Senior Shep Boyd, one of the best players in New Jersey, responded with a marker of his own to even the score at one all with 6:44 remaining in the first quarter.
But Bergen Catholic pulled ahead, 2-1, a few minutes later.
Again, Chatham answered with another tally, this time from Gibney that knotted the game at 2-2 with 2:46 to go in the first period.
Next, junior Quin Grosso gave the Cougars a 3-2 advantage a little over a minute later.
The Crusaders tied the game again, only to have Boyd find the back of the net for a 4-3 Chatham lead near the end of the first quarter.
On a man advantage, Bergen Catholic scored again to even up the tilt at 4-4 early in the second period.
But Gibney afforded the Cougars a one-goal advantage before the Crusaders retied the game at 5-5 with 6:05 remaining in the in the first half.
Fortunately for Chatham, junior Charlie Dunn put the Cougars ahead (6-5) for good with a marker near the end of the second quarter.
Senior Hunter Bingham, who is committed to Fordham for football, put Chatham up by two with 6:54 to go in the third period. Then, Gibney fired a vicious shot that had evil intentions written all over it, which found its way into the back of the net as he fell to the turf for an 8-5 lead with 4:53 left in the third quarter.
Goals by junior Nicholas Lagunowich, senior Lochlan Mahoney (2), Boyd, Gibney (4), and Dunn capped the game’s scoring.
Kyle Gibney agreed with his coach and teammates that they started off slow. But he praised the squad’s second half performance and Lagunowich for getting him the ball for scoring opportunities.
“Like Nick said, we were definitely slow coming out of it (the game),” Gibney said. “But in the second half, we really came together. He (Nick) was just finding me for my shot.”
Lagunowich added four assists, while Boyd contributed two helpers in the lopsided win.
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