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HOLMDEL — The vision of Matt Adelfio and the finishing ability of Tom Hanson delivered St. John Vianney a dramatic victory on opening day.

After rallying to tie the score in the fourth quarter and force overtime, St. John Vianney got the major opportunity it was waiting for when Freehold Township was flagged for two penalties in a span of 19 seconds. Off a timeout, Adelfio threaded a pass down low to Hanson, and the junior rippled the back of the net to give the Lancers a thrilling 7-6 double-overtime victory over the Patriots in a Shore Conference nondivisional game on Wednesday night.

“Coach drew it up and we were trying to work the three guys in the box,” Adelfio said. “I just kept my head up and saw the defenders slide too much. Tom was open, and I thought it was a good pass to take.”

“We just wanted to go in with our heads and not drop any passes,” Hanson said. “We got the ball moving and got the defense moving. Matt made a great pass.”

Hanson’s goal completed a great comeback that saw the Lancers (1-0) rally from two goals down in the final 6:50 of regulation. Richie Mullarkey’s goal at 6:50 of the fourth quarter cut Freehold Township’s lead to 6-5 and Hanson tied the score with 2:31 to go. St. John Vianney out-shot Freehold Township 15-3 in the fourth quarter and both overtimes combined, coming on strong when it mattered most to start off the season with a bang.

“Our offense is kind of young and just getting used to playing together, but they were able to keep it under control and be well-poised in the fourth quarter and overtime,” said St. John Vianney head coach Mike Dowd. “We went over some things during the timeouts and they understood what was going on, but they took it upon themselves to make it happen.”

Tied 6-6 after regulation and the first overtime, the Lancers found themselves in a man-up situation after Patriots defenseman Mike DeBaere was flagged for slashing on the final play of the first overtime period. Then, just 19 seconds into double overtime, standout pole Mike O’Brien was also whistled for a slash. It was an opportunity the Lancers knew they couldn’t let slip away.

Dowd dialed up one of SJV’s regular man-up plays, but it broke down after a mad scramble for a ground ball off a blocked shot. As he did all game, Adelfio found one of his teammates cutting into open space. He hit Hanson with perfect pass so he was able to catch and shoot in one motion, leaving Freehold Township goalie Matt Schroepfer with little time to react.

“It broke down, but we got the open guy,” Dowd said. “Matt made a nice look and Tom finished."

Adelfio assisted on five of the Lancers’ seven goals while also scoring once. Hanson finished with three goals, including the game-tying and game-winning goals, along with one assist.

“His passes were right on the money tonight,” Dowd said of Adelfio, a senior midfielder. “He had a great game.”

Senior long-stick midfielder Kyle Boyle also had a standout effort in the season-opening win with a team-high nine ground balls, several of which led to transition opportunities. His biggest play came late in the first half when he won a ground ball on the other side of the midfield stripe off a face-off. There were under 10 seconds left, but instead of just sprinting forward and firing a desperation shot, he calmly drew defenders to him before hitting sophomore Ryan Gilfillan, who scored with one second left in the half to tie the score at four.

“I thought (Boyle) was awesome tonight,” Dowd said. “I would’ve been happy with him shooting it, but he found the guy and Ryan’s going to score on that shot every time.

“We talk about getting the ball off the ground and making the right play with it. It sinks in sometimes and tonight it sunk in, but Kyle’s just a really good player.”

Tino D’Amore also scored for the Lancers while junior goalie D.J. Soriano finished with five saves.

Freehold Township senior Billy Sasso led his squad with three goals and one assist, and was dominant in the face-off circle in winning 11-of-12 draws. Kevin Patten had a goal and two assists, Brandon Nunez had two assists and John Poole and Josh Nastarowicz also scored. Schroepfer finished with eight saves, including two in the first overtime period.

Poole opened the scoring off a feed from Patten just 1:38 into the game, but the Lancers answered on an unassisted goal, ironically, from Adelfio at 6:35. Patten scored 35 seconds later to put Freehold Township back up by one, but Hanson took a feed from Adelfio and scored with 1:26 left in the opening quarter to tie the score at two.

D’Amore’s goal at 5:11 of the second quarter gave the Lancers their first lead of the game before a wild final 1:45 of the half. Sasso set up Nastarowicz for a goal at 1:45 to tie the score, then scored unassisted with 19 seconds left to put the Patriots up 4-3. Off the ensuing face-off, Boyle was able to find the loose ball before starting the rush that led to Gilfillan’s last-second tying goal.

Rain began to fall in the third quarter, and the game slowed down a bit as the teams took extra care of the ball. Sasso scored the only goal of the third, ripping a shot past Soriano with 1:35 left. Sasso then scored his third goal off a pass from Nunez 29 seconds into the fourth quarter. It was the first two-goal lead for either team, and the way things were going it looked like it was going to be enough for the Patriots.

The Lancers had other ideas, however. They came up with big defensive stops to keep the Patriots from running chunks of time off the clock, and peppered Schroepfer with shots until they netted the equalizer. Against a balanced Freehold Township team that figures to be among the Shore’s best, it was an encouraging win for a Lancers team trying to find its identity.

“We wanted to work together as a group,” Hanson said. “We knew they were a good defensive team coming in, so ball movement was one of the main objectives. And the fast breaks definitely helped us because they had a good set defense. (The win) definitely gives us a good mindset and something to work off of.”

“It’s early but when you get that first win against a good team, with the young offense we have, it’s a big confidence builder,” Dowd said. “We want to build on this and work our way one game at a time and see where we end up.”

 

Box Score

St. John Vianney 7,  Freehold Township 6 (2OT)

Freehold Township (0-1) 2 2 1 1 0 0 — 6

St. John Vianney (1-0)    2 2 0 2 0 1 — 7

GOALS - FT: Billy Sasso 3, Kevin Patten, John Poole, Josh Nastarowicz; SJV: Tom Hanson 3, Matt Adelfio, Ryan Gilfillan, Tino D’Amore, Richie Mullarkey.

ASSISTS - FT: Kevin Patten 2, Brandon Nunez 2, Billy Sasso; SJV: Matt Adelfio 5, Kyle Boyle.

SAVES - FT: Matt Schroepfer 8; SJV: D.J. Soriano 5.

SHOTS - St. John Vianney 31, Freehold Township 19.

GROUND BALLS - Freehold Township 32, St. John Vianney 23

MAN-UP - Freehold Township 0-2; St. John Vianney 2-2.

FACE-OFFS - FT: Billy Sasso 11-for-12; SJV: Ryan Gilfillan 1-for-11, Matt Adelfio 0-for-1.

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