Scioscia Rejoins Boys Lax in Win Over Columbia

MAPLEWOOD–The Summit boys lacrosse team lit up the scoreboard on Monday afternoon in a 12-1 win over the Columbia High School Cougars.

The Hilltoppers welcomed back senior attackman Johnny Scioscia, who missed Summit's three previous games with an ankle sprain. Scioscia made his presence known halfway through the first quarter when he followed a Marcel Godino goal with one of his own to give Summit a 2-0 lead.

"It's great to have Johnny back and get him moving around a bit," Summit head coach Jim Davidson said.

Although Columbia's goalie, Matt Flanagan, made several quality saves in the first quarter, Summit's Danny Feeney was able to score off a nice spin move at the 3:00 mark, and Michael Ford followed with a heavily contested goal of his own.

Columbia's Will Richardson scored the Cougars' only goal of the game near the end of the first quarter to make the score 4-1, Summit, after 12 minutes of play.

The Hilltoppers kept attacking in the second quarter and, just 40 seconds in, Nick Kilkowski delivered a crisp pass to teammate Terry McKenna for the goal. Minutes later, Summit's Tim Yager made a nice defensive play when he intercepted a Columbia pass. Feeney capitalized on the turnover and fired a bullet shot past Flanagan for the score. Scioscia netted two more goals in the second quarter to give Summit an 8-1 lead at halftime.

It wasn't all offense for the Hilltoppers, however. As in most sports, good defense often leads to offense. Such was the case when, following a third quarter goal by Hilltopper Jake Hall, Summit defender Bobby Lawrence checked a Columbia attacker and came up with the ground ball. Lawrence quickly cleared the ball to Kilkowski, who then passed it to Ford for his second goal of the game. This heads-up play put Summit ahead 10-1 with 9:15 remaining in the third quarter.

Hilltopper Stephen Whitman scored a perfectly-placed shot from the alley at the 5:45 mark in the third quarter to add another point on the board for Summit. Near the end of the third, goalie Brian Feeney saved several Columbia shots to give his team momentum heading into the game's final quarter.

Summit junior Pete Badgley replaced Feeney in goal in the fourth quarter. Badgley was instantly tested, but came up with three clutch saves and one ground ball to hold Columbia scoreless.

"I'm happy for Pete," Davidson said. "He came out, made a few good saves, and got some good experience today. He did an outstanding job."

With five minutes remaining in the game, Summit's Michael Tsiang attacked the goal and drew a hard foul from a Columbia defender. The Hilltoppers were able to capitalize on the man-up opportunity when Hall sent a perfect pass to Kilkowski for the score. Summit won by a final score of 12-1.

"I think, top to bottom, all of the kids played well today," Davidson said. "It's good to see them apply the things we teach in practice to game situations. We're going to get a little more pressure coming up and we expect to have some closer games, so we need to tighten up a bit. But overall I'm pleased with our effort today and look forward to practice tomorrow."

Summit (7-0) hosts Seton Hall Prep on Wednesday at 4 p.m. at Metro Homes Field.