Kunz sinks four goals, including goal-of-the-year candidate, as Manasquan snaps Rumson’s 45-game conference win streak
MANASQUAN — Since the start of the 2021 season, there has been no denying who is the best boys lacrosse team in the Shore Conference.
Rumson-Fair Haven entered this week with a 45-game winning streak versus Shore Conference opponents, and during that stretch the Bulldogs captured three consecutive Shore Conference Tournament titles and two NJSIAA state championships. Their rule over the Shore was unquestioned.
That changed on Friday afternoon.
Junior attackman Brandon Kunz scored four second-half goals, including a breathtaking behind-the-back goal off a bounce pass from junior attackman Ryan Aldi, while senior goalie Nick Bounassi made 10 saves to backstop a lockdown defensive effort as Manasquan scored six straight goals in the second half to take down Rumson, 7-4, for a massive victory on its home turf at Pat Barnaba Field.
Rumson led 2-1 at halftime on a tally by senior attackman Alastair Orr and a slick behind-the-back goal by senior midfielder Andy Croddick, and pushed its lead to 3-1 early in the third quarter on a goal by junior midfielder Britt Lumsden. Manasquan took over from there when Kunz scored four straight goals from the 9:25 mark of the third quarter to the 8:51 mark of the fourth quarter to put the Warriors ahead for good. Senior midfielder Brody Muly added a pair of goals in the fourth quarter before a late goal by Rumson’s Matteo Gangemi in the final seconds.
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Manasquan’s victory snapped Rumson’s four-season conference winning streak (there was no 2020 season) and clinched the inaugural Shore Conference American Division title. Rumson’s last loss to a Shore Conference team was a 14-4 win by Manasquan in the 2019 Shore Conference Tournament final. With the win, the Warriors should also be the No. 1 seed for the upcoming SCT, which will be seeded on Tuesday.
“Give it to our seniors,” Kunz said. “At halftime they had great speeches and got us motivated. We weren’t losing at home, that’s what it was pretty much about.”
“At the half, down a goal, they decided they were going to grind,” Manasquan head coach John Naslonski said. “I challenged them at halftime. This is going to be all heart for every second, every minute, every quarter. If you guys do that, we’ll come out good.”
Those motivational speeches and tactical adjustments hit the sweet spot. The Warriors reinforced their offensive gameplan and saw immediate results, starting with Kunz’s goal with 9:25 on the clock in the third quarter. He tied the game at 3:51 with a deft backhand shot as he was being swarmed by Rumson’s defense. He completed a hat trick by giving Manasquan a 4-3 lead with 1:35 left in the third quarter.
“We watched film and from that it was to work the pick game, and I think four of our goals were off picks,” said Kunz, who is committed to Lehigh University.
There was no pick play on Manasquan’s fifth goal. Only a brilliant pass and shot that nobody saw coming.
Working to the right of the Rumson cage near goal line extended, Aldi bounced a pass off the turf to a cutting Kunz, who secured the pass and quickly whipped a behind-the-back shot that sizzled past Rumson goalie Seamus Gorman and into the top-left corner of the net. The home crowd exploded with oohs and ahhhs as Manasquan took a 5-3 lead on a goal-of-the-year candidate.
“I practice that,” Kunz said. “I think it was our first tryout and coach said try doing a bounce pass, and we were confused, but it worked out like you saw. It was a great feeling.”
“For them to pull that out in a game when we had a one-goal lead…,” Naslonski said. “We do practice that. I didn’t call for it but they; I keep them on a loose leash, they know what they’re doing out there. They’ve been taught real well in the past and you can tell their fundamentals are great. I’m just steering the ship.”
While Kunz was dazzling at one end of the field, the standout group of long poles comprised of seniors Kyle Capodanno and Connor Kelly and juniors Parker Harms, Chris Carhart, and James Caddott, along with junior short-stick defensive midfielders Pat Frost and Kai Donohue, were locking down a talented Rumson offense. Any clean looks were evaporated by Bounassi, a High Point signee who had another huge game in both saves and presence between the pipes. The six days between Manasquan’s last game (a 6-5 win over Christian Brothers Academy) and Friday’s tilt with RFH allowed the defense to sink its teeth into Rumson’s offensive tendencies.
“It was a lot of film,” said Capodanno, who is signed to Bryant University. “We worked hard and talked about our gameplan, and when we weren’t practicing or watching film with our coaches we were in our defensive group chat. All that payed off, and it feels great to win this game.”
“Defensively, those guys are shut-down (players),” Naslonski said. “And we have to have one of the best goalies in the state, if not more. There’s a couple of good ones out there with Caden Kirst at Bernards but Nick, if not the best, is top three in the state. (Rumson’s) guys shoot the ball so well and he’s all over it like he’s playing catch with someone.”
“He’s an amazing player and the leader of our defense,” Capodanno said of Bounassi. “He’s very vocal and he tells us what to do and we do it. We trust him as our leader. He’s the best.”
The immaculate goal produced by Kunz and Aldi could have been merely a footnote if Manasquan didn’t keep its foot on the accelerator, however. It was still just a two-goal lead for the Warriors at that point, but just over two minutes later Muly was able to get his hands free and fire a shot that snuck inside the post on the short side to put Squan up 6-3. Muly, a Lehigh signee, added another goal with 59 seconds left when Rumson was double-teaming with Gorman out of the net.
Manasquan is now 10-0, a division champion, and the presumptive No. 1 seed for the Shore Conference Tournament. They are flying high, but the season is far from over. The hardware the Warriors seek are won in late May and early June.
“We live for games like this,” Capodanno said. “It’s the most fun part. You have fans here from both towns, it’s loud., it gives you motivation to make a play. We look at our calendars and mark these dates. It feels great now but we have to wake up with a new mentality. The job’s not finished yet.”
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