Boys LAX Gears up for Another Stellar Season

The Summit boys lacrosse team set many records and accomplished many feats last season. The team finished the year with a record of 22-1, winning the Iron Hills conference and setting a new Summit High School boys lacrosse record with 22 wins.

Summit worked their way up through the season, suffering their only loss in their first game against local rival and nationally-ranked, Delbarton School, of Morristown. Following the loss, the Hilltoppers won 22 consecutive games, capturing the Union County Tournament championship, the NJ Group II championship, and the NJ TOC (Tournament of Champions) championship. They finished the season ranked No. 1 in the state of New Jersey and No. 7 in the nation, according to Inside Lacrosse Power Rankings.

Though Summit graduated two All-Americans last year (James Kennedy, Kyle Mahoney), the Hilltoppers retained their All-American goalie, Brian Feeney. They also welcome back members of last year's All-County team: Bobby Lawrence, John Scioscia, and Jules Godino.

"Our kids have played together for years; many started with youth lacrosse in third or fourth grade," said Summit head coach Jim Davidson, who is now in his 12th year as the Hilltoppers' coach. "This team knows how to play and, more importantly, how to play together."

Although the Hilltoppers will experience a few personnel changes in the 2010 season, they expect to have another standout year.

"We lost James Kennedy, who was New Jersey's Player of the Year last year, and Kyle Mahoney, who had 74 goals last season," Davidson said. "It will be hard to replace those offensive weapons, but we have about 75 percent of our players back from last year, including most of our defense."

Last season was not a joyride from start to finish, however. The Hilltoppers faced several injuries and illnesses, but the team performed consistently and took each game one by one. Davidson credits much of the Hilltoppers' past success to being prepared and staying positive on the field.

"As coaches, we always try to be prepared and keep the kids prepared," Davidson said. "We demand a lot as far as preparation, coming to practice every day, and maintaining a good attitude."

Despite the record-setting season last year Davidson says that his players are confident and anxious to defend their state championship.

"We've looked good in our scrimmages so far this year," Davidson said. "We've played a lot of kids in different combinations to see what fits. We're hoping to piece everything together and find a steady rotation within the next week."

"It's a new year, and a new team," Davidson added. "Our expectations are usually always the same: we want to, first of all, be the best team in our conference, then in the county, then the state. So expectations are still high, but we don't feel any added pressure. We have to just go out and play, and get better every day."

Summit enters the 2010 season ranked No. 17 in the nation according to Inside Lacrosse Power Rankings. Their first regular season game is at home on Thursday, April 1, against Randolph. Game time is 4 p.m. at Tatlock.