Summit Defeats Boys Lacrosse in County Final

On Friday night at A.L. Johnson High School in Clark, the Westfield boys lacrosse team fell to the undefeated Summit Hilltoppers, 7-2, in the Union County Tournament championship.

With 7:36 remaining in the UCT final, referees delayed the game and later cancelled it due to lightning in the area. Although the game could not be completed, the Hilltoppers gave credit to a talented Westfield team that gave them two tough tests this season.

"Westfield always gives us a tough game," Summit head coach Jim Davidson said. "(Westfield coach) Marc (Silbergeld) does a great job there. They always play hard and come prepared."

Summit senior Danny Feeney won the game's opening face off and scored a blistering sidearm shot with just 1:11 off the clock. Feeney won the following face off and the Hilltoppers later earned a man-up opportunity, but Westfield goalie Jeff LaForge made a great save to hold Summit's lead to 1-0.

"Their goalie was outstanding tonight," Davidson said. "He might have been the difference in us pulling away a little bit."

Westfield's man-down defense couldn't hold off the No. 1 team in the state for long, though, and with 9:24 remaining in the first quarter, Nolan Prinzen assisted Marcel Godino for the goal to make the score 2-0, Summit.

Westfield gained momentum and maintained possession for the next several minutes, and with 5:17 remaining in the first quarter, Ryan Bohrod received a perfect skip pass from Sean Scrudato and fired a quick shot in the back of the net to cut Summit's lead to 2-1.

Summit had more offensive opportunities, including another man-up advantage, but the Hilltoppers were unable to sneak another goal past LaForge, and the first quarter ended with Summit ahead 2-1.

Westfield controlled possession more in the second quarter and fired three shots on goal, but Summit's All-American goalie, Brian Feeney, was there to corral the saves. Westfield defenders Andrew Arnold, Jeff Pearson, Evan Rosenburgh, and Alexander Maslow played hard and helped to prevent another Summit goal for over six minutes.

With 5:29 remaining until halftime, however, senior Johnny Scioscia made a pass to sophomore Nick Kilkowski, who stealthily slipped behind Westfield's defense for the score. Summit now led 3-1.

Summit won the following face off, but Westfield's LaForge made two consecutive saves. With one minute on the clock, Westfield defender Pat Sabatino made a strong takeaway check to give his team possession. Although Zach Helfand got off a shot with 20 seconds remaining in the game, Summit's Feeney made the clutch save.

Following the save, Feeney made a long clear down the field, hoping that one of his teammates would pick up the ground ball and score a miracle goal before halftime. An opportunistic Michael Ford was at the right place at the right time and found the back of the net with .02 on the clock to give Summit a 4-1 halftime lead and some added momentum going into the locker room.

"Going into halftime having just scored a goal like that was huge," Summit defender Bobby Lawrence said. "It definitely gave us the momentum we needed going into the second half."

Westfield attackers put Summit on their heels early in the third quarter, but Hilltoppers Ryan Troy, Jules Godino, and Bobby Lawrence played aggressive defense and each picked up a ground ball to give their team possession. The Hilltoppers were able to score off of Lawrence's ground ball when Tim Yager fired a rocket shot off of one foot. With 7:40 remaining in the third, Summit had increased their lead to 5-1.

Four minutes later, Scioscia made his third assist of the game when he slipped a pass from behind the cage to a cutting Jake Hall for a man-up goal. Just 14 seconds later, Ford tallied his second goal of the game to give the Hilltoppers a 7-1 advantage.

Westfield continued to fight, and with 1:06 remaining in the quarter, Sam Rosenburgh ducked past a Summit defender and scored on a low bouncing shot. Summit had a 7-2 lead entering the final quarter of play.

Midway through the fourth quarter, the lightning struck and there seemed to be no end in sight. After a 20-minute stoppage in play, Westfield graciously conceded defeat and the UCT trophy was awarded to the Summit Hilltoppers.

No. 8 Westfield hosts No. 25 Mainland on Saturday at 11 a.m. in the NJSIAA first round.