By Bob Badders - Senior Writer
TOMS RIVER -- The mindset of the two teams in the Shore Conference Boys Lacrosse Tournament final on Saturday could not have been more different. In just its fourth season as a varsity program, Red Bank Catholic knew it had done great things just to get to the championship game. Even without a win the Caseys had accomplished so much.
And then there is Christian Brothers Academy, the standard-bearer for the Shore Conference for some time now. The Colts expect to be in this position every year. Last year's loss in the semifinals was unacceptable. A loss here and there wasn't going to be any feeling of accomplishment.
With its sense of urgency ratcheted up a few notches, CBA let its talent and experience take over as the Colts exorcised their demons from last season with an 11-4 victory over the Caseys to once again be crowned as Shore Conference Tournament champions. Senior midfielder Derek Craig paced the offense with four goals and four assists while defensemen Tim McMenamin, Tim Cleary and Chris LaMattina led an awesome defensive effort in front of sophomore goalie Matt Deiner.
"It's unbelievable," McMenamin said. "Losing last year in the semis to RFH was absolutely crushing. A lot of people doubted us and said we wouldn't come back here so it's great to win it and bring it back where it belongs."
Saturday's conference title game at Toms River North was the perfect time for CBA to play its most complete game of the season. The offense was opportunistic and did what all great offenses need to do: score at important times. The Colts grabbed a 5-0 lead after the first quarter and answered every RBC goal from there on out. Defensively, the Colts limited a talented group of passers and finishers to just 16 shots and held them to their lowest goal total of the season. Sharpest of all, however, was the Colts' mental game.
"Definitely our last two games have been our most focused," said CBA head coach Dave Santos. "You could sense it, they wanted it more than anybody else. I didn't really have to say much in the locker room."
Just like in their semifinal rout of Red Bank, the Colts came out with plenty of intensity to grab a lead that would set the tone for the rest of the game. Red Bank Catholic actually held possession for most of the first two minutes of the first quarter but could not score thanks to CBA's defense, which eventually forced a turnover that led to Craig giving the Colts a 1-0 advantage at 2:22. The foot remained on the accelerator the rest of the opening 12 minutes as Craig would add another goal in front of goals by Robert Lee, Chris Cauda and Robby Napp.
"RBC has some offensive weaspons and we knew we had to try to get them on their heels," Craig said. "Our defense was great back there. Really, I think just watching them motivates the offense."
"We knew they had a couple kids that could score, but we just went out there and played like we have all year," McMenamin said. "The whole game they worked the ball around well but that's all they did. We got on their hands to create turnovers and turned it around to the offense."
The Caseys shook off any ill effects from the first quarter and got on the board when Brendan Callaghan fed Pete Guastella for a goal at 5:45 of the second quarter. The teams would go back and forth with Craig scoring his third, Guastella answering and then Brian Weil giving CBA a 7-2 lead with 56 seconds left in the half. However, Alex Taylor's unassisted goal with four seconds left cut the Colts' lead to 7-3 and gave the Caseys plenty of momentum knowing they had outplayed CBA for a quarter.
"We went down 5-0 but the kids kept fighting back and it was a 6-4 game the rest of the way," said Caseys head coach Ryan Eichner. "Unfortunately we got beat by a better team. They drop into that zone defense with some great players and if you make one mistake they capitalize on it."
Having allowed just three goals and 11 shots during the first two quarters, it didn't look like CBA's defense could play much better in the second half. The Colts did just that, however, by limiting RBC to only one shot on goal while firing in two goals of their own in the third quarter for a 9-3 lead.
Standing about 15 yards out on the right side, Craig drove down the middle before hitting a cutting Sean Nelson, who bounced a shot back across his body for an 8-3 lead at 8:12. Just over two minutes later, McMenamin scooped up a ground ball to start a quick passing play that gave CBA a 9-3 lead. The senior defenseman hit Chris Cauda on the other side of midfield and he passed forward to freshman attackman Joakie Ryan. Napp was streaking down the middle and Ryan hit him in stride to allow the senior to bounce a shot past Caseys goalie Matt Ryan inside the left post.
The Colts scored the first two goals of the fourth as Ryan and Craig both hit for an 11-3 lead. Guastella scored his third of the game at 8:44 but opportunities from then on were few and far between. The Colts gained possession with 2:36 to play and never relinquished the ball, holding on for an 11-4 win and the 2008 SCT title.
"There's absolutely a bit of relief," Napp said. "We wanted to bring the trophy home where it belongs. This year we stepped up."
In just its fourth season as a varsity program, Red Bank Catholic made huge strides to advance to the SCT final and now holds a 14-2 record. Its other loss was to Red Bank in the first game of the season, as the Caseys were riding a 14-game winning streak into Saturday. On Wednesday, RBC will host St. Peter's Prep in the first round of the NJSIAA Non-Public A Tournament for the first home playoff game in program history.
"Just to get to this point, I told the kids that 24 other teams in the Shore Conference wish they lost this game," Eichner said. "Our guys fought tough for 48 minutes against a very good team and for that I am very proud."
CBA gets Monsignor Donovan in the first round of the state tournament and has its eyes set on returning to the group final just like last season. The Colts certainly have the ability to do so.
"The offense is really clicking now," Craig said. "We're scoring more than we have before and our defense is just shutting down every offensive weapon we play against. That's a great feeling."
Box Score
(1) CBA 11, (2) Red Bank Catholic 4
RBC (14-2) 0 3 0 1 - 4
CBA (14-4) 5 2 2 2 - 11
Goals: (R) Pete Guastella 3, Alex Taylor;
(C) Derek Craig 4, Robby Napp 2, Joakie Ryan, Robert Lee, Chris Cauda, Sean Nelson, Brian Weil.
Assists (R) Brendan Callaghan 2, Mike Byrnes;
(C) Derek Craig 4, Robby Napp, Joakie Ryan.
Saves: (R) Matt Ryan 22;
(C) Matt Deiner 5.
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