WEST ORANGE, NJ — Seton Hall Prep lacrosse — ranked second in the Star-Ledger Top 20 and ranked 23rd in the country by Inside Lacrosse Magazine — defeated Delbarton — ranked No. 1 in the Star-Ledger Top 20 and No. 10 in the country by Inside Lacrosse Magazine — on Wednesday, April 28, in convincing fashion, 12-5, at Cocoziello Field in Morris Township.
The Pirates produced seven different goal scorers in the first half and eight all told. Senior attackman Jack Dunleavy finished with a game high three goals and also had one assist, while juniors Matt Wrede and Kevin Agnew each contributed two goals and one assist.
“The focus is on playing more as a unit than as individuals,” Dunleavy said. “We play team ball. If we keep playing like that, we know it’s going to take us really far.”
Senior goalie Ryan DellaRocco faced only a handful of dangerous shots in the opening half, so did not make a save.
“This is huge,” said Seton Hall Prep second-year head coach Ross Turco on the significance of this result. “The crowd, the environment, how much these guys care about this game, on both sides. It is probably one of the biggest rivalries in the state, if not the country.”
The Prep led 3-1 after the first quarter on goals by Wrede, Agnew and Quinn Moore, then raised the advantage to 7-3 by the half with goals from senior Max Merklinger, Dunleavy, and juniors James Bailey and Quinn Spillett. The other goal scorer for the Pirates was junior defenseman Will Rose.
“Our wings and faceoff guys are willing to scrap for every opportunity,” Turco said. “They are very coachable in that regard. They rebound from things and communicate on a very high level.”
With this big win, SHP headed into its May 1 game against Summit, which scored with less than one minute left in the second overtime period and rallied to defeat the Pirates 8-7 in Summit. Dunleavy paced Seton Hall Prep with two goals and one assist while Wrede had a goal and three assists, and Bailey, Moore, Will Ferraro and Merklinger each added a goal.
Last Monday, the Pirates defeated Livingston 18-0 at Brendan P. Tevlin Memorial Field in West Orange. Dunleavy led the scoring with four goals while Wrede, Spillett, Agnew and Moore each scored two goals. Merklinger, Bailey, Ferraro, Hunter Sancetta, JP Meyo and Miles Nippes each scored one goal.
On Saturday, they traveled to Pennsylvania to take on one of the top teams in the country, Malvern Prep. The Pirates lost 10-5 to drop their record to 5-2 on the season. Wrede led the scoring with two goals while Dunleavy, Spillett and Bailey each scored on goal.
Seton Hall Prep lacrosse stuns Delbarton added by Jeff Goldberg on
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