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Sports

Lacrosse: Summit's Near-Perfect Play Outmatches Johnson

Crusaders run into reigning two-time champions as Hilltoppers roll to 15-0 advantage en route to 50th-straight victory.

The Records: On Monday, April 11, the Arthur L. Johnson Crusaders boys lacrosse team (1-3) battled the Summit Hilltoppers (4-0) at Arthur L. Johnson’s Nolan Field at 4 p.m. Summit is the reigning back-to-back NJSIAA State Champion and carried a 49-game winning streak into the contest. Last season, Summit defeated Johnson 16-2. The Crusaders have lost a game in each of the last five seasons to Summit.

The Final Score: 16-3, Summit. The game was scoreless through the opening four minutes as both teams had chances on their attacking end, but a pair of goals by Summit’s Tom Celmer started a string of 15-consecutive tallies for the Hilltoppers. Johnson’s defense was overmatched by the skilled Summit offense, who scored off of transition play and a patient offensive set.

Johnson needed to play a near-perfect game on both ends and was unable to match Summit’s near-flawless play. One missed pass was snatched up by Celmer who went end-to-end for his second goal. Even though it was only the fourth game of the season, Summit appeared to be in midseason form, maintaining possession as McKenna circulated the ball around the offense with minimal mistakes. A total of 12 different players scored for Summit, outshooting Johnson 28-16.

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The game might have been even more lopsided if not for the quick reflexes of Johnson goalie Kevin Eipel, who had nine saves. Summit rolled through the Johnson defense but Eipel appeared undaunted by the Hilltoppers’ heralded front core, posting five of his stops in the opening quarter. Johnson attackman Nick Mullery ended the shutout with a goal from the right side of the circle, taking a feed from attackman Devin Kanach as time expired in the third quarter. Midfielder Jo Jo Francisco also contributed a goal for the Crusaders.

 

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1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Final

Summit (5-0)

5

6

4

1

16

Arthur L. Johnson (1-4)

0

0

1

2

3

 

Key Players: Summit midfielder Terry McKenna’s four-goal performance paced the Hilltoppers, but the game ball could have been given to the entire squad with its outstanding play. Longstick Jules Godino highlighted the steady defensive play in the back for Summit.

The Quote: “Summit is just so disciplined, and there are no individuals on that team,” Johnson Coach Louis Van Bergen said. “They operate as a unit of 10 all the time. You try to get your kids to be as patient as they are. It’s good to see a team like that because that’s where we aspire to be.”

What’s Next: The Crusaders (1-4) will meet Millburn (3-1) at Millburn High School, Wednesday, April 13 at 4 p.m. The two teams, who compete in the Waterman Division, met April 9 of last year with Arthur L. Johnson capturing a 7-3 victory. Millburn has a new coach in Bill McCutcheon after former coach Brian Zusi left for a fledgling Rosemont College men’s program following eight seasons in Millburn.

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JOHNSON LACROSSE 2011 SEASON

April 1: vs. Westfield (Loss, 6-5)

April 5: vs. Cranford (Loss, 12-9)

April 6: at St. Peter’s Prep (Win, 8-7, OT)

April 9: vs. Clifton (Loss, 10-9)

April 11: vs. Summit (Loss, 16-3)

 

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