Boys Lacrosse: Summit shuts down Rumson-Fair Haven in marquee matchup of NJ top-10 teams
SUMMIT — There are schools ranked higher in New Jersey at the moment, but if you’re a team struggling to find offensive consistency, the last team squad you probably want to face is Summit.
The Hilltoppers vaunted defense was impenetrable on Wednesday afternoon at Tatlock Park, holding Rumson-Fair Haven scoreless through the first three quarters and setting the tone for a 7-2 victory that handed the Bulldogs their first in-state loss of the season. Rumson entered the game ranked No. 3 in the NJ.com Top 20 with Summit ranked No. 10.
Rumson senior face-off specialist Luke Marascio had a great game by going 10-for-13, but his success at the X didn’t translate into a possession advantage for the Bulldogs thanks to a combination of relentless defensive pressure from Summit and some uncommon miscues by RFH. Once in Rumson’s defensive end, Summit put together long, deliberate possessions that drained the clock and methodically zapped the energy from a Rumson defense that played an exceptional game. Summit’s ride also produced several turnovers that extended possessions.
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“We were terrible, frankly, on offense,” Rumson head coach Marc Moreau said. “Our best guys turned the ball over and didn’t play well. We certainly wasted an unbelievable defensive effort. The final score is what it is, they (Rumson’s defense) just ran out of gas.”
Senior midfielder Sean McCeney led Summit with three goals and sophomore goalie Robbie Kievit made 14 saves to play the role of demoralizer. Rumson had few quality looks at the cage, but when the Bulldogs did, Kievit turned them aside and spun the ball the other way. McCeney gave Summit a 1-0 lead at 7:26 of the first quarter and sophomore midfielder Jack Freeman converted a pass from senior attackman Daniel Flaim with 1:21 on the clock to give the Hilltoppers (9-2) a 2-0 lead which they would hold through halftime.
“That was huge getting some turnovers and getting the ball to our offense,” Kievit said. “The defense played really great. We got on their hands and got a few takeaways. The biggest thing was matching their energy. We had to come out strong and play physical.”
Despite its offensive woes, Rumson was still very much in the game until Summit began to pull away in the third quarter. McCeney scored his second off an assist from Flaim midway through the period and senior midfielder Luke Harris made it 4-0 with 2:42 on the clock. Through three quarters Rumson had just 10 shots and just five on goal.
“That’s how Summit plays offense, they grind out long possessions,” Moreau said. “We would stop them and then turn it over and we’re back playing defense literally 10 seconds later. You’re not going to beat this team - or any team, really - when you do that, but especially this team because you’re playing defense for three or four minutes again. We probably had four possessions in the first half and we should have had about eight, which still isn’t a lot. We showed a little bit in the fourth quarter, offensively, but they should have been doing that in the first quarter.”
Sophomore attackman Luke Lydon finally got Rumson (10-2) on the board when he took a pass from senior attackman Alastair Orr and scored with 8:57 left in the game. Summit answered, however, taking a 5-1 lead just over two minutes later on a goal by junior midfielder Tyler Sebastian. McCeney completed his hat trick 68 seconds later for a 6-1 lead that effectively ended the game. Rumson closed to within 6-2 when senior midfielder Andy Croddick blasted a shot past Kievit off a pass from senior midfielder Leo Passalaqua with 4:17 left, but that was the last gasp for the Bulldogs. Sophomore attackman James Grainger scored with 35 seconds remaining to put the finishing touches on Summit’s sixth straight victory since an 8-0 loss to rival Delbarton on April 11.
“We’re feeling amazing,” Kievit said. “We have the UCT (Union County Tournament) next week and we have a pretty good feeling about that.”
Rumson will have to regroup quickly for a massive Shore Conference American Division game on Friday afternoon when it travels to Pat Barnaba Field to take on Manasquan in a game that will decide the division championship. Rumson has won 45 straight games against Shore Conference teams. Manasquan is 9-0 and ranked No. 8 in the state, and is coming off a dramatic 6-5 win over Christian Brothers Academy last Saturday.
“Inconsistency has plagued us this year and certainly it did today,” Moreau said. “If we come out like this on Friday it’s not going to end well for us. I’m really not worried about the defensive side of the field or at the face-off X, I think we’re going to be pretty good. Is the offense going to help us out? Because they didn’t today. We’ll find out on Friday, that’s for sure.”
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