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Sports

Boys LAX Tops Randolph in Season Opener

Hilltoppers' speed and skill prove too much for the Rams.

Randolph High School's defenders had a distinct size advantage in Thursday afternoon's boys lacrosse season opener, but the Hilltoppers' speed and agility prevailed in a convincing 12-5 victory.

Summit got off to a great start in the first quarter, winning five of seven face-offs. The Hilltoppers took advantage of virtually every possession, with goals scored by Marcel Godino, Jake Hall, and two by senior Johnny Scioscia. After the first quarter, Summit led 4-2.

"First game out, I thought offensively, we did some nice things," head coach Jim Davidson said. "Our face-off guys did a good job today."

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Scioscia continued his aggressive play in the second quarter when he fed a crisp pass to Godino for the goal, and then another to Michael Ford two minutes later. Ford's goal put Summit ahead 6-2 with 8:42 remaining in the first half.

"In our preseason games, we started a little slow and gave up some easy goals, so Coach Davidson wanted us to come out strong today, play hard, and not make mental mistakes," senior defender Bobby Lawrence said.

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With 4:12 remaining in the half, Lawrence scored an instant goal after a Summit timeout. A minute later, Lawrence checked Randolph's Kurtis Naslonski, causing Naslonski to bobble the ball. Although he was able to recover and fire a shot, Summit goalie Brian Feeney was there to corral the save. At the half, Summit led 7-2.

"In the second quarter, we really came together and played as a unit," Lawrence said.

The Hilltoppers hit their stride in the third quarter and took advantage of Randolph penalties when Marcel Godino and Danny Feeney each scored a man-up goal.

At the 7:54 mark, Rob Williams slotted a quick pass to Ford, who scored an athletic, diving goal. Summit won the following face-off, and just nine seconds after Ford's score, Michael Tsiang put one in the back of the net to give Summit an 11-2 advantage.

Randolph had a man-up opportunity late in the third quarter, but Hilltopper goalie Brian Feeney stepped up once again to make the save. Strong defense by Summit's Feeney, Lawrence, Williams, Joe Jaskolski, and Jules Godino held the Rams scoreless in both the second and third quarters.

Despite their nine goal deficit, Randolph continued fighting. The Rams won four consecutive face-offs in the fourth quarter and put three points on the board as Preston Naslonski converted two goals and Kurtis Naslonski scored a man-up goal for his team.

Summit's Nick Kilkowski, however, put the icing on the cake when he scored at the nine minute mark for the Hilltoppers' 12th goal of the game.

Even after a commanding 12-5 victory, Coach Davidson felt there were aspects of the Hilltoppers' game that could be improved upon.

"We played well, but we gave up a couple of goals when we shouldn't have," Davidson said. "We just need to tighten up a bit."

Nationally-ranked Summit travels to Morristown Saturday, April 3, to take on another nationally-ranked team, Delbarton School, at 11 a.m. The Hilltoppers defeated Delbarton 8-4 in last year's NJSIAA Tournament of Champions to win the state title.

"They're well-coached, they play hard, and they make few mistakes," Davidson said. "We've got some things to work on in practice tomorrow, but it should be a great game."

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