BOYS LAX - EARNING RESPECT: RBC 12, MSGR. DONOVAN 10

By Bob Badders - Senior Staff Writer

    TOMS RIVER -- Hearing Red Bank Catholic head coach Ryan Eichner deliver a passionate pre-game speech just before the Caseys took on Monsignor Donovan on Saturday morning made you wonder why such onus was being placed on a Shore Conference nondivisional game. The look in the eyes of the Griffins players gave the answer.
    "We beat them pretty good in a scrimmage so we knew they would be fired up, and if we weren't ready they were going to get us," Eichner said. "We got off the bus and the music was playing and you could see it in their eyes they wanted to get back at us."
    Early on the Griffins looked like they were on their way to exacting some revenge. They jumped out to a four-goal lead in the second quarter and were outplaying the Caseys all over the field. But the RBC steadied itself to cut the lead to two and continued to rally in the second half before finally overtaking Donovan and holding on for a 12-10 victory at the Whitty Road Fields. Junior midfielder Mike Byrnes scored the go-ahead goal late in the fourth quarter during man-up situation off a feed from Tristan Pillari after the teams had gone back and forth with the lead in the final 12 minutes. Sophomore middie Kevin Whitlock led the way offensively with four goals and an assist and sophomore attackman Pete Guastella added three goals and one assist.
    "We believe we should be ranked higher than where we're at," Whitlock said. "We feel we're better than that and we knew if we came out and won today it would be a statement."
    Aside from wanting to earn a little respect, the Caseys wanted to avoid a mental letdown after earning a big win over Notre Dame recently.
    "This was a typical trap game for us," Eichner said. "We had a big win over Notre Dame, which beat us last year in the state playoffs, and the kids were very up for that game. We couldn't have a letdown today because we knew (Monsignor Donovan) was going to bring it."
    Early on the Caseys were not crisp, and the Griffins took full advantage. The scored was tied at three after the first 12 minutes, but in the second quarter the Griffins got consecutive goals by Brendan McMahon, Jon Sorrentino, Michael Duddy and Conner Yatauro to take a 7-3 lead. The Caseys' passing was off and by trying to force the ball they committed turnovers that led to Monsignor Donovan goals.
    "We took them lightly a little, bit but falling behind woke us up," Guastella said.
    With about four minutes left in the second quarter, Eichner called a timeout that settled the Caseys down and allowed them to get back in the game with two straight goals before the break. Whitlock made it 7-4 with a power move from behind the net, ducking under the check of a defender to free himself up for an uncontested shot just above the crease. Washington College-bound senior Brendan Callaghan cut the Griffins' lead to 7-5 shortly thereafter by blasting a jump shot past goalie Mike Santos from about 15 yards out.
    "We just had to get our composure back," Whitlock said. "As soon as we did we got on a roll. We weren't frustrated anymore and we started to score."
    "Those two goals, that's the game right there," Eichner said. "A four-goal lead in the second half is a lot to come back from but to score two before the half made it a game."
    The momentum the Caseys built in the closing minutes of the first half carried over to the third quarter. Guastella and Whitlock tallied to tie the game at seven before Guastella gave the Casey their first lead since the first quarter with a great individual effort. As Santos attempted to clear the ball, Guastella did a great job riding him and was able to knock the ball free and score into the open net for an 8-7 lead.
    "We always talk about doing the little things right; the ground balls, the rides," Eichner said. "Riding is such a crucial part of lacrosse and people don't pay too much attention to it. Right there that's a kid playing with heart and making a great play."
    Sorrentino tied the game with a goal off a nice strong-side feed from Chris Galler and it remained knotted at eight after 48 minutes. The teams traded goals again to tie the score at 10 before Byrnes put the Caseys ahead for good. With RBC on a man-advantage, the man-up group worked the ball around until Pillari got it on the right side. He was looking to pass inside to Guastella, but he was being watching diligently by three Griffins defenders. With Guastella drawing extra attention, Byrnes was able to slip behind the defense and allow Pillari to drop a pass over the defenders. Byrnes had to jump to bring in the pass, but was able to come down with it and whip it past Santos for an 11-10 lead. Guastella added an insurance goal a couple minutes later and the Caseys were able to hold on for a come-from-behind win.
    "In the fourth quarter we knew we had to win this game," said sophomore attackman Tucker Hawley. "We struggled early but we were able to come back. This was an important win for us."
   

Box Score

Red Bank Catholic 12, Monsignor Donovan 10

Red Bank Catholic (3-1)    3 2 3 4 - 12
Monsignor Donovan (3-2) 3 4 1 2 - 10

Goals - (R) Kevin Whitlock 4, Pete Guastella 3, Tucker Hawley 2, Mike Byrnes, Brendan Callaghan; (M) Jon Sorrentino 3, Conner Yatauro 3, Brendan McMahon, Michael Duddy, Chris Galler.
Assists - (R) Alex Taylor 3, Tucker Hawley 2, Tristan Pillari, Mike Byrnes, Pete Guastella, Kevin Whitmore; (M) Chris Galler 4, Michael Duddy 3, Jon Curtin 2, Conner Yatauro.
Saves - (R) Matt Ryan 18; (M) Chris Santos 22.
Shots: Red Bank Catholic 35-32.


E-mail: badders@digitalsports.com