With season at a crossroads, Jackson Memorial upends Toms River East to snap three-game slide
TOMS RIVER — Wednesday afternoon's Shore Conference Colonial Division game between Jackson Memorial and Toms River East pitted two teams moving in opposite directions. The host Raiders were off to a blazing start with their only loss coming to American Division standout Shore Regional. Conversely, the Jaguars solid beginning to the season had been wiped out by a three-game losing streak.
"They came in leading the division and we've had a rough past three games, so we just came here desperate for a win," said senior goalie Russell Cender. "It felt like our season was kind of on the line."
Faced with the prospect of falling below .500 and completely out of the division race, the Jaguars responded with a massive victory that halted their skid and upended the division hierarchy. Senior attackman Drew Barocas delivered three goals and two assists, senior FOGO Zach O'Connell won 22 of 25 face-offs, and Cender made 21 saves as Jackson started strong and held on for a thrilling 11-10 Colonial Division victory over Toms River East.
Sophomore Joe Muzzillo added three goals and one assist, junior David Walter had two goals and one assist, senior midfielder Elias Craig tallied a goal and an assist, and freshman Dominik Bylecki scored once. Sophomore LSM Elijah Coffman had another strong game with nine ground balls.
Toms River East was led by sophomore attackman Nicholas Caruso with four goals and junior midfielder Nate Cummings with three goals and one assist. Freshman attackman Gerard Uzzolino had a goal and an assist, senior attackman Patrick Hinkson and junior midfielder Ethan Kelly each scored once, and freshman goalie Ryan Caruso made eight saves.
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Wednesday's result tightened the Colonial Division standings to the point where six teams have a shot at earning at least a piece of the division title. Manalapan is the lone team with an unblemished division record while Toms River East and Red Bvenk Catholic had one division loss and Middletown South, Point Boro, and Jackson Memorial have two division losses.
Jackson netted the first two goals of the game on strikes by Barocas and Walter, and although the Raiders battled back to tie the score 4-4 and 6-6 in the first half, the Jaguars never relinquished their advantage. Muzzillo's third goal came with 4:25 left in regulation and gave the Jags an 11-9 lead. Toms River East cut the deficit to 11-10 on a goal by freshman Gerard Uzzolino with 2:25 left but Jackson was able to kill off a one-minute, man-down situation and run out the clock to preserve a critical victory.
"This game was clearly our biggest of the season because we put ourselves in that position," said Jackson head coach Pat Conti. "These last three losses in a row, these guys could have been frustrated and put their head in the sand, but they didn't. The individual effort from every single player on the field today was exactly what we ask of them every day. Finally, we didn't take any time off."
The Jaguars (5-4, 3-2) needed to play a complete game to take down the Raiders (6-2, 3-1), who had seized control of the division thanks to one-goal victories over Red Bank Catholic and Middletown South, the latter of which came in overtime. The new boys lacrosse divisions based on strength were designed to create a more competitive landscape, and they have certainly delivered in that regard. Every division game has been realistically winnable for the Jaguars, but they have learned that a certain degree of execution is required.
"Every team is good and can play. We have to fight for these wins," Conti said. "I grew up in Freehold Township and we were competitive with Jackson in just about everything. We might win but we'd leave beat up, tired, and bruised. That's what Jackson is, we're a bruising squad and I'm finally glad to see that translate to the field. This was our first complete game of the season."
"It was about coming in and being disciplined and knowing we can run with anybody in this (division)," Barocas said.
The Jaguars cleaned up their fundamentals to win the ground ball battle while also getting huge performances from their specialists. O'Connell's 88% face-off day included a goal on the first possession of the fourth quarter that gave Jackson a 9-7 lead. Cender made clutch saves throughout the game, including a key stop late to preserve a one-goal lead.
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"Having Zach, he's a great face-off guy who I personally think is one of the best in the Shore," Barocas said. "Being able to get possessions has been massive for us, and getting out early and being able to score like that showed that even though they have a great defense and great players, we can run with them."
After Jackson jumped to a 2-0 lead, Cummings scored at 6:58 of the first quarter to get Toms River East on the board. The teams then traded goals with Barocas scoring his second for a 3-1 lead and Caruso taking a feed from Uzzolino and burying it to pull the Raiders within 3-2. Barocas completed his hat trick with a goal at 1:54 but East responded on a goal by Kelly less than a minute later.
The pace and scoring slowed a bit to begin the second quarter until Hinkson struck for an extra-man goal that knotted the score 4-4 with 6:25 to play until halftime. Given how each had been playing recently, this is where it would figure the Raiders would began to assert themselves and pull ahead. Instead, the Jaguars punched back on two goals by Muzzillo in a span of 30 seconds to give Jackson a two-goal lead. East answered on goals by Caruso and Cummings - also 30 seconds apart late in the half - but O'Connell won the ensuing face-off and Walter scored off a nifty pass from Barocas with 25 seconds on the clock to give Jackson a 7-6 halftime edge.
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Each team sank an extra-man goal in the third quarter with Craig giving Jackson an 8-6 lead two minutes into the second half and Caruso scoring off an assist from Cummings at 7:55.
The teams traded goals again in the fourth quarter. O'Connell's goal off the fourth-quarter face-off was followed by Craig setting up Bylecki for a 10-7 Jackson lead, its largest of the game, with 9:09 to play. Toms River East rallied to cut its deficit to one as Cummings ripped home a shot unassisted for an extra-man goal at 6:42 and Caruso delivered his fourth goal of the game at 4:53. Muzzillo gave Jackson back its two-goal cushion less than a minute later, which allowed the Jags to absorb Uzzolino's goal with 2:25 on the clock.
Over the final two minutes, Jackson killed off a penalty, received a timely save from Cender, a clutch ground ball from Coffman, and heady play in the offensive end by Barocas to run out the clock and complete the victory.
"Overall, that was just a great team effort, having grit," Barocas said. "It's definitely a big turning point for us. It gives us confidence we can play the best teams in the (division) and win."
"It was so important for them to see the difference between a winning effort and a losing effort," Conti said. "We've been in these games, but that's not enough. I think teenagers in general just think things are going to work out, but thy need to make them work out. And today they did."
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