Macrae scores his 100th goal, CBA beats Midd. South to take control of Class A North

MIDDLETOWN – Christian Brothers Academy has owned the Shore Conference’s Class A North boys lacrosse division since its inception. The deed will remain in Lincroft for another year.

Senior attackman Connor Macrae scored five times, including the 100^th goal of his career, while sophomore midfielder Kyle Aldridge tallied four goals and three assists to lead the Colts, ranked No. 2 in the Shore Sports Network Top 10, to a 13-3 win over No. 7 Middletown South on Friday evening at The Swamp.

Senior attackman Chris Romano notched two goals and two assists, Patrick Convery had one goal and one assist and defenseman Dillon Quinn scored once. Noah D'Andrea made four saves in goal to pick up the win.

CBA has not officially clinched the division title, but with just Colts Neck (2-4) and Long Branch (0-7) remaining on its schedule, the heaving lifting has been completed. The Colts defeated their main challengers – No. 5 Howell, No. 7 Middletown South and No. 9 Freehold Township – by a combined score of 44-11.

“We’re just taking it one game at a time,” Macrae said. “We know we have to take care of business in our division before we can take care of business in the Shore (Conference Tournament).”

“We have a target on our backs each season but it’s definitely evening out,” said CBA head coach Dave Santos. “South is getting better every year; they’re better than they were last year, and that trend will continue, but we pulled out a win today. It was a good clean win. We limited our turnovers and had some good offensive possessions.”

CBA (5-3, 5-0) opened a 3-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back. Middletown South (7-1, 3-1) closed the gap to 4-2 early in the second quarter, but CBA closed the first half on a five-goal run to take a commanding 9-2 halftime lead.

At the 8:16 mark of the second quarter, Macrae scored an unassisted goal to become the 10^th player in CBA history to reach 100 career goals.

“I’m really happy for him,” Santos said. “He’s a very talented kid and a great leader, and you saw today what a great finisher he is from all different spots – right, left hand, all over the field. He’s been that way for us for four years.”

“It’s a great milestone,” Macrae said. “I just want to thank my teammates for helping me.”

Chris Lucyk scored early in the third quarter for Middletown South to cut CBA’s lead to 9-3, but Macrae scored twice in the final 4:38 off assists from Romano and Patrick Convery, for an 11-3 lead heading to the fourth quarter. Aldridge scored twice in the fourth to provide the final scoring margin.

Box Score

No. 2 CBA 13, No. 7 Middletown South 3

GOALS – C: Connor Macrae 5, Kyle Aldridge 4, Chris Romano 2, Dillon Quinn, Patrick Convery; MS: Connor Ard, Jason Allen, Chris Lucyk.

ASSISTS – C: Kyle Aldridge 3, Chris Romano 2, Connor Macrae, Cooper Graham, Patrick Convery, Dan Martin; MS: Matt Tardy, Kenny McCarthy.

SAVES – C: Noah D’Andrea 4, C.J. Cummings 1; MS: Shane Murphy 4.

SHOTS: CBA, 36-24.

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.