Seton Hall Prep lacrosse team defeats Westfield

WEST ORANGE, NJ — The Seton Hall Prep lacrosse team went 1-1 last week to drop their record to 4-2 on the season. On Thursday, April 14, the Pirates traveled to Gary Kehler Stadium at Westfield High School in Westfield. Behind senior Max Racich’s six goals and great goaltending by senior John “Jaz” Zanelli, the Pirates defeated the Blue Devils 13-5. Seniors Billy Black and JP Meyo each scored two goals, seniors Matthew Wrede and Quinn Spillett each scored one goal and dished out three assists, and junior Jordan Lugo scored a goal. Senior Will Giarrusso won six of 11 faceoffs, while junior Shawn Lyght won four of 10 face offs. 

Zanelli, who had 11 saves, said after the game, “We have depth, and I think that’s because we go so hard in practice every day. The guys have a next-man-up mentality and are ready to go on the field right away. It really helps if someone goes down, because we are able to keep our momentum going.” 

Racich added, “One thing we really honed in on today was making contact, making Westfield play us, getting the slide and keeping the ball moving. We did a great job today. All our guys keep their heads up all the time so we can get the ball to the open man to score, and it was very effective today.”

On Saturday, April 16, the Pirates hosted Brunswick HS (Greenwich, Ct.), one of the top teams in the country, and dropped a 13-5 decision to the Bears. SHP was trailing 3-0 in the first quarter when Racich scored a goal with :21 left on an assist by Wrede. The Bears dominated the second quarter, 8-0, to take a 11-1 lead at halftime. In the third quarter, Spillitt and senior James Bailey scored unassisted goals to make the score 13-3. In the fourth quarter, sophomore Christian Schweiger scored on an assist by junior Andrew Daly, and Meyo scored on an assist by Racich. Zanelli had 10 saves. Giarrusso won eight of 15 faceoffs.