MULY’S LATE GOAL LIFTS UNBEATEN MANASQUAN TO THRILLING VICTORY OVER CBA

MANASQUAN — The atmosphere at Pat Barnaba Field was akin to a playoff game. Every ground ball, every save, and every possession carried extra weight. The stakes were high for 48 minutes between the two oldest boys lacrosse programs in the Shore Conference.

With 2:37 remaining in the fourth quarter, Manasquan senior goalie Nick Bounassi made his 11th save of the game to allow the Warriors to gain possession, call timeout, and set up a play they hoped would break the tie between them and rival Christian Brothers Academy. Manasquan's leading goal scorer, senior midfielder Brody Muly, had not found the net against CBA's stingy defense, but with the game on the line he found a way to lift his team to a victory.

With time ticking down, Muly created just enough room to get his hands free and fire a high, lefty shot that found twine and provided the go-ahead goal with 17.8 seconds left, propelling the Warriors to a thrilling 6-5 Shore Conference American Division victory over the Colts on Saturday morning.

"The last 45 seconds we were trying to get a pick play," Muly said. "It didn't really hit so I rolled back to my left and found a seam in the middle and just banged it home. They were playing great defense the whole game so for my first goal of the game to be the game-winner, it's unreal."

CBA had one final shot off the ensuing face-off. Standout freshman FOGO John Little won the clamp, flipped the ball to himself, and raced into the Manasquan zone. With Manasquan making sure to defend the pass and take away CBA's dangerous shooters, Little had a somewhat free path to the cage. He fired a shot that Bounassi got a piece of and steered wide, sealing the Warriors' heart-pounding victory that improved their record to 9-0.

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"It means everything," Bounassi said. "We've been looking forward to this game - this one and Rumson - since the beginning of the season. We've been working for this. We were really locked in at practice this week and we were really excited to get out here and defend this turf. Coming out here and playing in front of pretty much the whole town, it's a really great win for us."

"It's one of my favorite games to play, we have it marked on the calendar every year," Muly said. "Really nervous coming in. It was super competitive this year, back and forth the whole game."

Manasquan has now won seven straight games against CBA since a 6-4 regular-season loss in 2018.

Warriors junior attackman Ryan Aldi led all players with three goals while Muly had a goal and an assist and junior attackman Brandon Kunz and sophomore midfielder Jack O'Reilly each scored once. Bounassi finished with 12 saves.

CBA senior attackman Ryan Martin led the Colts with two goals and two assists while senior midfielder Cameron D'Alterio and junior midfielder Davis Campbell each scored once. Senior goalie Brandon Desena made eight saves and Little went 12-for-14 at the face-off X.

This was the type of matchup that required players to be at the top of their game, and multiple players rose to the occasion when their team needed a big play. The sat sheet tells the story for some, but beyond the box score is where the game was won for Manasquan. Their outstanding group of long poles comprised of seniors Kyle Capodanno and Connor Kelly and juniors Parker Harms, Chris Carhart, and James Cadott combined to slow down a dynamic CBA attack. They were also pivotal in Manasquan's transition game and on face-offs.

"The defense, against that team, they rose to the occasion," Manasquan head coach John Naslonski said. "Parker Harms covering their No. 22 (Ryan Martin), who's a great player, he did such a great job. That's why he's going to Villanova. Nick in goal obviously bails us out if there ever is a breakdown. The shot has to be surgical. Capodanno was all over the field. The guy has a motor and he is all over the place just shutting people down. Connor Kelly had a duty, especially on the man-up where their No. 26 (Quinn Kelly) stays out there with a pole and he's a threat, so we had to account for him. I could go from goalie all the way back to attack, face-off guys, LSMs, everything. They grind for 48 minutes, start to finish."

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CBA had the edge at the face-off X with Little, who had another outstanding game to raise his season winning percentage to 68%. He won the clamp on nearly every draw but Manasquan was able to neutralize that advantage just a bit with its work off the wings and on its ride.

"One our assistant coaches, Alex Mulholland, who played for team Scotland in the World Games, works with our face-off guys every day," Naslonski said. "He bought in 100 percent with tape and sending it to us and breaking it all down. He is lights out with that so I have to give him a ton of credit. That guy was good but we had alternate plans for different situations. Also, we ride very well and I have to give credit to Kerri Weigner for that."

That ride produced the game's first goal when a turnover led to Aldi giving Manasquan a 1-0 lead just 19 seconds into the game. The Warriors' lead grew to 2-0 when Aldi scored unassisted with 3:20 on the clock and to 3-0 when O'Reilly scored 31 seconds later. Manasquan had all the momentum, but that began to change on a wild goal by CBA junior defenseman Manolis Paragioudakis. With just under two seconds left in the first quarter, Paragioudakis launched a desperation heave high into the air from a few yards above goal line extended. Somehow, the ball dropped in past Bounassi to get the Colts on the board.

That began CBA's methodical rally to tie the game. Capodanno was flagged for a holding penalty at 9:38 of the second quarter and CBA took advantage when Campbell sent a pass to Martin and he blasted a shot from the wing to make it 3-2. With 3:02 left in the first half, Martin scored his second goal off a pass from sophomore midfielder Ben Breeden to knot the score 3-3 at halftime.

Aldi completed his hat trick with 5:36 remaining in the third quarter to put Manasquan back ahead, but CBA answered when Campbell scored off an assist from Martin two minutes later as the teams headed to the final 12 minutes deadlocked at four goals apiece.

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Manasquan struck first in the fourth quarter when a ground ball by Carhart near midfield answered a CBA takeaway and started a transition rush. The ball ended up on the stick of Muly to the right of the cage and he dealt it across to Kunz for a bouncer that beat Desena and put Manasquan back in front. Once again, CBA had an answer when D'Alterio scored off Martin's assist less than a minute later.

It all led up to the final, frenetic sequence that concluded with Muly's game-winning strike and Bounassi's game-clinching save.

"That was the longest fourth quarter of my life," Bounsassi said. "It felt like a year."

Both teams still have several impactful games remaining and this was a preview of what to expect in the Shore Conference Tournament and the NJSIAA Tournament. There's a good chance these two teams see each other again in the SCT, as well.

Manasquan has passed all of its tests so far but more are coming to close out the regular season with games against Rumson-Fair Haven, Moorestown, Ocean City, and Shawnee. The Warriors have been great, and they feel there's still another level they can get to.

"We have some hard games coming up so we have to prepare for that," Muly said. "We're getting better and better every game and playing more like a team."

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