Shore Sports Network Boys Lacrosse Top 10 for Wednesday, April 28
Great care is taken when ranking Shore Conference boys lacrosse teams for the Shore Sports Network Top 10 and decisions are not made lightly when moving teams up or down. That is especially true when it comes to the team at the top.
The No. 1 ranking is, after all, the most coveted position since it represents the best team in the Shore at the moment. Typically, the top-ranked team isn't going to lose its spot unless a conference team defeats them. Unless, of course, the team at No. 2 blows you away with their performance over a given week.
That is exactly the case in our Week 2 Top 10.
Rumson-Fair Haven is the new No. 1 team in the SSN power rankings after a fantastic first seven days in which the Bulldogs beat not one, not two, but three teams ranked in NJ.com's state top 20
So for now, the Bulldogs overtake Manasquan as the No. 1 team in the Shore. Both are ranked in the top-10 in NJ and there's a good chance they meet somewhere down the line to settle things.
Shore Sports Network Boys Lacrosse Top 10
1. Rumson-Fair Haven (4-0). Last week: No. 2
The Bulldogs stormed out of the gates to go from unranked in New Jersey to a top-10 in less than a week. Now that's a statement. RFH opened the season with a 9-4 win over No. 15 Chatham and followed that up with a 13-6 win over No. 10 Bergen Catholic. After rolling to a 17-3 win over Howell in their Shore Conference opener to give head coach Marc Moreau his 200th career win, the Bulldogs went on the road again and took down No. 7 St. Augustine, 11-7, on Monday. Four players are already over 10 points with senior middie Patrick Jamin (10g, 8a), junior attackman Christian Bockelmann (11g, 2a), sophomore attackman Cole Cashion (9g, 4a) and senior attackman Luke Devlin (6g, 6a) pacing the offense. Senior goalie Ryan Croddick sports a sparkling 69 percent save percentage backstopping a stingy defense. This week: Wednesday at Moorestown; Saturday at Red Bank Catholic.
2. Manasquan (2-1). Last week: No. 1
The Warriors drop one spot to No. 2 but through no fault of their own. Rumson's opening week was impossible to ignore and/or not reward. 'Squan opened the season with an 18-1 rout of No. 9 Red Bank Catholic before falling to state No. 2 Seton Hall Prep, 11-4. They bounced back with a 15-5 road win over a solid Monroe team. The Warriors are still not at full strength in the midfield so the increased depth when whole will certainly pay dividends. This week: Saturday at No. 4 Wall; Monday vs. Moorestown.
3. Christian Brothers Academy (3-1). Last week: No. 3
The Colts opened the season with a strong showing in an 11-6 loss to prep power Lawrenceville and responded with three straight wins. Sophomore Nick Blalock delivered the game-winning goal in an 8-7 double-overtime victory over Pope John before CBA cruised to wins over Old Bridge (14-2) and Shawnee (15-5). Senior Villanova commit Dan Martin recorded his 100th point during the week, as well, and leads the team with 14 points (5g, 9a). This week: Wednesday vs. Long Branch; Saturday at Bergen Catholic.
4. Wall (3-0). Last week: No. 4
The Crimson Knights opened the season with an offensive showcase in a 16-6 win over No. 5 Southern. Its defense did the talking in the next two games, a 7-4 win over Monroe and a 10-4 win over No. 7 Howell. Senior midfielder and Rutgers commit Logan Peters has expectedly led the way with 10 goals and seven assists and the Knights have received a great start from sophomore attackman John McCurry (11g, 5a). A huge rivalry game awaits this weekend. This week: Thursday at St. Joseph (Metuchen); Saturday vs. No. 2 Manasquan.
5. Southern (2-1). Last week: No. 5
The Rams suffered a 16-6 loss to No. 4 Wall in their season opener but have rebounded with two blowout wins to run their Class A South winning streak to 51 games. Southern defeated Toms River South, 16-3, before shutting out Toms River North, 14-0. Junior midfielder and NJIT commit Ryan Sininsky has paced the offense with nine goals and seven assists while sophomore attackman Joey DeYoung has provided a spark with eight goals and four assists. Junior FOGO Kurt Falk has won 71 percent of his face-offs. This week: Thursday vs. Jackson Liberty; Saturday at Central; Monday vs. Holmdel.
6. Middletown South (3-0). Last week: No. 7
The Eagles move up one spot after a 3-0 week under new head coach Sal Guastella. Middletown South won 10-7 over Red Bank and 15-3 vs. St. John Vianney before a 10-5 victory over No, 10 Shore Regional. Offensive balance has been a theme for the Eagles with 12 different goal scorers through the first three games. Seniors Jason Allen (7g, 2a) and Ryan Paulsen (8g, 1a) are tied for the team lead with nine points. This week: Saturday vs. Colts Neck.
7. Jackson Memorial (3-0). Last week: No. 8
A 3-0 start to the season has the Jaguars on the move up one spot from last week. The Jags opened the season with a 12-3 win over St. John Vianney, followed with a 9-3 victory over Manalapan and closed out the week with a 13-1 win over Jackson Liberty. Senior midfielder Drew Walenty (9g, 5a), junior middie Charlie Harrison (8g, 11a), junior attackman Matt DeRosa (2g, 8a) and freshman attackman Drew Barocas (7g) are off to strong starts. This week: Thursday vs. Freehold Township; Saturday at Toms River South; Monday vs. No. 9 Red Bank Catholic.
8. Howell (1-3). Last week: No. 6
The Rebels drop two spots after running a tough gauntlet in Week 1 and coming out with a 1-3 record. After an 18-0 blowout win over Toms River South, Howell fell to Scotch Plains-Fanwood, 16-7, before suffering a 17-3 loss to No. 1 Rumson and falling to No. 4 Wall, 10-4. They have a chance to go on a run in their next four games before a crucial Class A North meeting with No. 3 CBA on May 7. Sophomore attackman Nate Lorenzo has started strong with seven goals and four assists. This week: Wednesday vs. Manalapan; Saturday at Freehold Township; Monday at St. John Vianney.
9. Red Bank Catholic (1-1). Last week: No. 9
Not a big sample size to judge the Caseys so far so we'll leave them be at No. 9. After an 18-1 loss to Manasquan to start the season, RBC built a lead and held off a late rally to win 11-10 over Ocean. Sophomore midfielder Torin Harmon has led the offense with four goals and three assists. This week: Thursday vs. Donovan Catholic; Saturday vs. No. 1 Rumson-Fair Haven; Monday at No. 7 Jackson Memorial.
10. Shore (2-1). Last week: No. 10
The Blue Devils went 2-1 in the opening week with the loss coming to No. 6 Middletown South, 10-5, so they hold on to the final spot in the rankings. Shore began the season with a 10-3 win over Brick and followed the loss to Middletown South with a 17-1 wipeout of Toms River East. Freshman Sam Madalone is the leading scorer so far with seven goals and five assists while Carson Cooke is right behind him with six goals and five assists. Junior midfielder Jamie Mazzacco has been a two-way presence and senior Sean O'Brien has won 77 percent of his face-offs. This week: Wednesday vs. Middletown North; Saturday at Red Bank.
Teams to Watch
St. Rose (4-0)
Red Bank (2-1)
Manalapan (2-1)
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