Current Recovery & Performance Lacrosse Sectional Finals Scores

NJSIAA TOURNAMENT

PUBLIC SECTIONAL FINALS

SOUTH GROUP 1

1-Manasquan 10, 2-Glen Ridge 2

Freshman midfielder Robert Pendergist led the offense with three goals and two assists and senior goalie Mike LaPoint made 10 saves to backstop another suffocating defensive effort as the top-seeded and undefeated Warriors (21-0) rolled past the Ridgers to secure their third state sectional title in the last four seasons.

Sophomore attackman Casey Mulligan added three goals and one assist, senior attackman Canyon Birch scored twice and senior attackman Ryan Anderson tallied one goal and one assist. Senior LSM Mike Page continued to get involved offensively by scoring his 10th goal of the season and senior midfielder James Pendergist dished out two assists.

Manasquan wasted no time jumping out to a lead as Pendergist dodged and scored for the game's first goal. Birch scored shortly thereafter to make it 2-0 and a furious ride by Page led to Birch's second goal and a 3-0 Warriors' advantage. Mulligan then scored off an assist from Robert Pendergist to give Manasquan a 4-0 lead after the first quarter.

The Warriors were off and running from there and built a 7-1 halftime lead thanks to second-quarter goals by Pendergist, Mulligan and Anderson. The lead grew to 9-1 through three quarters with Page scoring off an assist from James Penderigst and Robert Pendergist scoring his third of the game. Glen Ridge scored to make it 9-2 but Mulligan got it right back with his third of the afternoon.

Manasquan will play Mountain Lakes for the NJSIAA Group 1 title on Wednesday at a neutral site (Livingston, Hopewell Valley or Shore Regional) to be determined by the NJSIAA on Saturday night/Sunday morning.

SOUTH GROUP 2

2-Somerville 8, 1-Rumson-Fair Haven 3

An incredible game in the cage by Duke-bound junior goalie Evan Barr led a great defensive effort that helped the Pioneers knock off the two-time defending champion Bulldogs.

Barr made 16, including several spectacular stops, to send Somerville to the Group 2 final where it will take on Summit on Wednesday. Barr had a huge save in the closing seconds of the first quarter to keep Somerville on top, 1-0. The Pioneers would have been even larger if not for the strong play of Rumson goalie Ryan Croddick, who made six saves in the opening quarter.

Julian Varona, who scored Somerville's first goal, gave the Pioneers a 2-0 lead with 4:08 left in the first half with a great individual effort. Varona had his stick checked out of his hand near the top of the box but was able to recover his crosse, find the ground ball and whistle a shot into the back of the net. With 1:40 left in the half, Steven Dupras buried a feed from Ryan Pierson for an extra-man opportunity goal that put the Pioneers up 3-0 at halftime.

Somerville had a clutch penalty kill in the second quarter, as well, when the Pioneers did not allow a goal during a two-minute, non-releasable EMO for Rumson.

Rumson got on the board five minutes into the third quarter when Sam Mannino converted a pass from Drew Shaw, but Somerville responded just 26 seconds later when Michael Rosen scored to make it 4-1. Somerville killed the two-minute penalty in the second quarter and had another clutch kill to begin the second quarter, but Rumson was able to cash in on its third EMO when Patrick Jamin fed Shaw on the wing and he blasted it past Barr just inside the right post, cutting the Bulldogs' deficit to 4-2 with 3:26 left in the third quarter. Somerville answered again, however, when Rosen cut in front out of the right corner for a 5-2 lead heading to the fourth quarter.

Rumson appeared to have cut Somerville's lead to 5-3 when Kiel Forlenza snagged a rebound out of the air and scored, but an official waved the goal off on the account Forlenza was in the crease. With 4:09 to play, Pierson scored to give Somerville a 6-2 lead, and 36 seconds later, Varona completed his hat trick for a 7-2 advantage. Dupras scored his second to make it 8-2 before Forlenza scored off a pass from Jamin with 21 seconds left.

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