Columbia senior Gabe O'Brien scored his 120th career goal in the win over Arthur L. Johnson on Monday, March 30.
MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — The Columbia High School boys lacrosse team posted its first win of the season, as the Cougars defeated Arthur L. Johnson Regional, of Clark, by a score of 13-12 on Monday, March 30, at Underhill Sports Complex’s Lynn V. Profeta Field.
The win was especially monumental for the Cougars. CHS senior Gabe O’Brien scored four goals, giving him 120 career goals. O’Brien is believed to have broken the record of 116 goals by legendary player Bob Bianchi, a 1979 CHS graduate.
With the win, the Cougars improved to 1-2.
O’Brien also added one assist in the win. Junior attacker Jayson Webber matched O’Brien with four goals and one assist, senior attacker Mason Wolpov had four goals and two assists, and senior midfielder Rob Santoro had one goal and two assists.
O’Brien posted 30 goals as a freshman, 39 goals as a sophomore and 41 goals last season. O’Brien so far has 10 goals and four assists on the season. He also has 36 assist for his career, upping his career points total to 156.
Bianchi, who was named the Star-Ledger boys lacrosse Player of the Century, had 104 goals in his senior season to set a state record that stood for 19 years. He also had 112 assists for 228 points, which ranked No. 8 all-time in the state at the time of his graduation.
A Navy lieutenant, Bianchi tragically was killed in March 1987 when the helicopter he was piloting crashed on a mission in the Philippines.
Photo Courtesy of Amanda Segilia
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