Lacrosse stars of future and present gather Thursday at Howell
The top senior boys lacrosse players in the Shore Conference, as well as some of the best eighth-graders in the area, will compete in the Shore Conference Lacrosse Coaches Association Senior and Youth All-Star games on Thursday at Howell High School.
At 5:30 p.m., the future stars of the Shore will square off and give fans a glimpse of what to expect in the years to come. The main event will feature some of the best seniors in the Shore as the North All-Stars meet the South All-Stars at 7 p.m.
The North squad will be led by seven first-team All-Shore players: CBA attackman Mike Carroll, Shore attackman Ryan Morris, CBA midfielder Luke Valentino, Rumson-Fair Haven defenseman Stephen Edler, Ocean defenseman Richie Bianchi, CBA goalie Chris Downey and CBA face-off specialist Nick Robertson.
CBA has five players in total playing in the game with attackman Robbie Hermansen joining Carroll, Valentino, Downey and Robertson. Together they helped the Colts go 19-2, win another Class A North division title, each the Shore Conference Tournament championship game and advance to the Non-Public A state semifinals. Carroll scored 37 goals and added 24 assists while Hermansen had 19 goals and 22 assists and Valentino tallied 36 goals and 13 assists. Downey was outstanding with 137 saves and 5.16 goals against average to lead a defense that allowed just 4.38 goals per game. Robertson won 70 percent of draws against Shore Conference opponents.
South Jersey Group 2 champion Rumson-Fair Haven will be represented by Edler along with attackman Wyatt Feinberg and midfielder Billy Garavente. Edler is a shut-down pole who returned from an injury late in the season to help key the Bulldogs' championship run. Feinberg scored 27 goals and nine assists and Garavente played mostly defensive midfielder and finished with eight goals, four assists and 37 ground balls.
Holmdel and Howell also have three players representing their teams. The host Rebels feature defenseman Braedon Baldwin, long-stick midfielder Sean Mylod and goalie Nick Roberto. Attackman Justin Arredondo, midfielder Jack Kapcsos and defenseman Sean Dolan.
The South is led by four-man contingents from both Wall and Toms River East. Wall attackman Mike McIntyre, a first-team All-Shore selection, was third in New Jersey with 73 goals and sixth in points with 111 to help lead Wall to the SCT quarterfinals and the South Jersey Group 2 semifinals. Midfielder Will Forte scored 37 goals with 16 assists and 42 ground balls and midfielder Connor Prindiville had 26 goals and 14 assists with 37 ground balls. Face-off specialist Ryan Kellett won 74 percent of draws and picked up 140 ground balls.
Toms River East had its first winning season since 2012, led by the play of attackmen Sal Esposito and Matt Gannon, midfielder Evan Otten and defenseman Anthony Marinelli. Esposito had 36 goals and 13 assists, Gannon tallied 29 goals and 17 assists, Otten scored 27 goals with 13 assists and 94 ground balls and Marinelli picked up 109 ground balls.
Other standouts for the South include St. Rose midfielder Mike Kinsel, St. Rose attackman Shane Reilly, Brick Memorial attackman Joey Ferrara and Southern Regional FOGO Anthony Firmani. Kinsel had 30 goals, 20 assists, 203 ground balls and won 70 percent of face-offs. Reilly was top 10 in the state in scoring with 66 goals, which also set a new single-season program record. Ferrara was named the Class A South Player of the Year and set Brick Memorial records for goals and points in a season and goals and points in a career. Firmani had another outstanding year on face-offs, winning 75 percent of draws.
Below are the rosters for both the youth and senior all-star games.
YOUTH ALL-STARS
North (listed with HS they will be attending)
1-Mike Terry, Ocean
2-Jack Phillips, CBA
3-Luke Zenkert, RBC
4-Kyle Kapcsos, Holmdel
5-Anthony DiMaio, Holmdel
6-Carson Cooke, Shore
7-Anthony Muniz, RBC
8-Andrew Decker, Shore
9-Luke Rohrmann, CBA
10-Phil Passalaqua, Rumson
11-Jamie Mazzacca, Shore
12-Connor Flynn, CBA
13-Sean Masonius, Red Bank
14-Brian Gibbons, Ocean
15-John Lista, Rumson
16-Robbie Thomson, Rumson
17-Peter Thomas, Red Bank
18-Mason Shenk, St. John Vianney
19-Aidan Kessler, Wall
20-Nate Block, Middletown South
Coaches: Mitch Grayson (Ocean), Tom O'Brien (Shore)
South
1-Shane Toal, Toms River South
2-Jake Cornelius, Southern
3-Matt DeRose, Jackson Memorial
4-Henry Lindquist, Brick Memorial
5-Shay Hille, Southern
6-Richie Williams, Manalapan
7-C.J. Calafiore, Howell
8-Jake Washco, Brick
9-Zack Washco, Brick
10-Dax Kukan, Howell
11-Robert Pendergist, Manasquan
12-Brady Carter, Lacey
13-John Dodard, Lacey
14-Doug Mackenzie, Howell
15-Frankie D'Amore, St. John Vianney
16-Ryan Sininsky, Southern
17-James Casaine, Jackson Memorial
18-Michael Rauch, Jackson Memorial
19-Jaiden Buray, Donovan Catholic
20-Brock Lefkus, Southern
21-Ryan Bilello, Manasquan
22-Shane Hughes, Howell
23-Carter Grozinger, Manasquan
24-Tyler Sininsky, Southern
Coaches: Jeff Roberto (Howell); Matt Lindquist (Brick).
SENIOR ALL-STARS
North
1-Mike Carroll, CBA
2-Chris Novella, Freehold Township
3-Justin Arredondo, Holmdel
4-Wyatt Feinberg, Rumson
5-Ryan Morris, Shore
6-Seamus Cochrane, Red Bank
7-Robbie Hermansen, CBA
8-Dan Rossi, Middletown South
9-Luke Valentino, CBA
10-Billy Garavente, Rumson
11-Nick Peckyno, St. John Vianney
12-Jack Kapcsos, Holmdel
13-Zach Alagna, Colts Neck
14-Pat Brady, RBC
15-Braedon Baldwin, Howell
16-Stephen Edler, Rumson
17-Rich Bianchi, Ocean
18-Sean Dolan, Holmdel
19-John Salerno, Shore
20-Tyler Brookes, Middletown North
21-Chase Fairbanks, Neptune
22-Sean Mylod, Howell
23-Nick Robertson, CBA
24-Chris Downey, CBA
25-Nick Roberto, CBA
Coaches: Dave Santos (CBA), Anthony Bonjavanni (Howell).
South
1-Joey Ferrara, Brick Memorial
2-Sal Esposito, Toms River East
3-Matt Gannon, Toms River East
4-Max Matthies, Jackson Liberty
5-Mike McIntyre, Wall
6-Shane Reilly, St. Rose
7-Richie Cosgrove, Brick
8-Ryan McWhorter, Southern
9-Evan Otten, Toms River East
10-Declan Mullin, Toms River South
11-Nick D'Eufemia, Brick
12-Will Forte, Wall
13-Mike Kinsel, St. Rose
14-Connor Prindiville, Wall
15-Matt McKelvey, Jackson Liberty
16-Mike Ferrara, Brick Memorial
17-Luke Gerhardt, Southern
18-Anthony Marinelli, Toms River East
19-Connor Ryan, Toms River South
20-Robert Mahon, St. Rose
21-Jake Toner, Point Boro
22-Anthony Firmani, Southern
23-Ryan Kellett, Wall
24-Justin Covey, Lacey
Coaches: Chris Knight (Wall), Brent Middlemiss (Brick Memorial)
Managing editor Bob Badders can be reached at bob.badders@townsquaremedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Bob_Badders. Like Shore Sports Network on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel for all the latest video highlights.