Shore Sports Network Boys Lacrosse Top 10 for April 27

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As we play through the fourth week of the Shore Conference boys lacrosse season, the Brielle Orthopedics Top 10 remains stable in some areas and highly competitive in others. A handful of games last week stood out and shaped the latest set of our rankings.

Red Bank was the biggest winner of the past seven days with a pair of top-10 victories. Southern Regional also scored a redemptive victory in a top-five battle.

Three of the four divisions are firmly in hand with Rumson-Fair Haven in Cass B North, Southern in Class A South, and Manasquan in Class B South all well on their way to a banner. The interesting race is in Class A North where CBA and Howell are set to clash next week with the division title on the line.

The Shore Conference Tournament cutoff is this coming Tuesday so several teams will be battling it out over the next week for either a better seed or to get to a .500 record in order to qualify.

Brielle Orthopedics Shore Conference Boys Lacrosse Top 10, April 27

1. Rumson-Fair Haven (9-3). Last week: No. 1

The Bulldogs took care of business within the Shore with lopsided victories over Neptune (16-0) and St. John Vianney (19-2) and also took on two nationally-ranked opponents. The Bulldogs suffered a 10-5 loss to No. 16 New Canaan (Conn.) and then took No. 17 IMG National (Fla.) to overtime before falling, 7-6. Barring something completely unforeseen, Rumson will be the No. 1 seed in the SCT. Next seven days: 4/29 vs. Holmdel; 4/30 vs. Ocean City; 5/2 vs. NJ No. 9 St. Augustine.

2. Manasquan (8-1). Last week: No. 2

The Warriors' only game during the week was a 13-6 win over defending South Group 3 sectional champion Ocean City. Junior attackman James Farinacci is having a breakout season with a team-leading 26 goals and 39 total points. Manasquan has to finish out its division schedule over the next week but also has two high-level nonconference games against state-ranked opponents. Next seven days: 4/27 vs. Point Boro; 4/28 vs. Donovan Catholic; 4/30 at NJ No. 5 Seton Hall Prep; 5/3 at NJ No. 13 Pingry.

3. Wall (11-1). Last week: No. 3

With Michael Hoarle doing great work at the face-off X and Matt Dollive dominating games, the Crimson Knights have shown no signs of slowing down. Wall worked wins over Donovan Catholic (19-3), No. 7 Howell (16-5), and Cherokee (11-5) to run their winning streak to nine straight games. Wall should be sitting comfortably in line to earn the No. 3 seed in the SCT. They have a major chance to improve their statewide ranking with two huge nonconference games coming up. Next seven days: 4/28 vs. NJ No. 13 Pingry; 4/29 @ Lacey; 5/2 at NJ No. 12 Westfield.

4. Southern (9-1). Last week: No. 4

The Rams picked up a big win with a 9-7 victory over No. 5 Shore, led by Jack Kolbe's five goals and two assists. Southern also defeated Brick and Toms River South to stretch their Class A South winning streak to 61 games. Southern has two games left before the SCT cutoff and they appear to be locked into the No. 4 seed. Next seven days: 5/3 vs. Toms River East; 5/5 at Toms River North.

5. Shore Regional (5-2). Last week: No. 5

The Blue Devils survived an upset bid at the hands of Holmdel with an 11-10 victory and then dropped a 9-7 game to No. 4 Southern. There still isn't a ton of data to go off of for Shore as it has played just seven games, but the schedule ramps up this week with five games in the next eight days. Next seven days: 4/27 vs. Ocean; 4/29 vs. Princeton; 4/30 at St. John Vianney; 5/2 at Jackson Memorial.

6. Christian Brothers Academy (5-6). Last week: No. 6

The Colts went out of conference, and then out of state, to play three of the best teams in the country and suffered three defeats to drop their record to 5-6. Those losses came to No. 7 Lawrenceville (24-2), No. 15 Georgetown Prep, and No. 1 St. John's College High (D.C.) so we're not going to drop the Colts based on that. They return to the Shore this week with four straight division games, including a showdown with Howell next Tuesday that will likely decide the Class A North champion. Next seven days: 4/27 vs. Freehold Township; 4/28 at Marlboro; 5/2 at Manalapan; 5/3 vs. No. 7 Howell.

7. Howell (9-3). Last week: No. 7

The Rebels hold their spot at No. 7 after a week in which they picked up wins over Middletown North (10-4), West Windsor-Plainsboro North (16-3). and Robbinsville (20-10), and suffered a 16-5 loss to No. 3 Wall. Junior attackman Nate Lorenzo reached 100 career points during the win over Robbinsville and owns a team-leading 31 goals and 53 points. Next seven days: 4/27 vs. Colts Neck; 5/1 vs. Old Bridge; 5/3 at No. 6 CBA.

8. Red Bank (5-4). Last week: No. 10

The Bucs had dropped one spot in each of the last two rankings but are back up to their original ranking after a week in which they defeated both Red Bank Catholic (13-9) and Middletown South (11-10) with a 10-6 loss to Monroe sandwiched between. Those were big wins for the Bucs in terms of qualifying for the SCT. Next seven days: 4/28 vs. Holmdel; 5/2 vs. St. John Vianney; 5/3 at Princeton.

9. Middletown South (6-4). Last week: No. 8

The Eagles drop one spot because of their loss to Red Bank. Middletown South also defeated St. Joseph (Metuchen) by a score of 11-6 and dropped a 15-7 game to state No. 20 Bergen Catholic. Next seven days: 4/30 vs. Middletown North; 5/2 vs. Long Branch.

10. Red Bank Catholic (8-4). Last week: No. 9

The Caseys drop to No. 10 since they lost to Red Bank last week and also have a loss to Middletown South this season. RBC picked up wins over South Brunswick and Donovan Catholic to bounce back from the RBR defeat. Next seven days: 4/27 vs. Neptune; 4/30 at Ocean; 5/2 vs. Marlboro.

Keep an eye on:

Holmdel (7-4): The Hornets haven't been able to break through as they own close losses to No. 5 Shore (11-10), No. 7 Howell (9-8). and No. 10 Red Bank Catholic (12-10). Their next chance comes on Thursday with a road game vs. No. 8 Red Bank.