The Verona High School boys lacrosse team took to Sellitto Field for a playoff game Wednesday afternoon, but for the first half, it wasn’t Verona’s game.
Boys lacrosse has been playing like a well-oiled machine this season, maybe even a well-oiled machine equipped with artificial intelligence. Verona’s offense and defense seemed to have developed a sixth sense of how to work together to pile up Verona goals while limiting those of their opponents. The Hillbilly boys have scored more than 200 goals this season, while keeping everyone else from finding the back of their net more than 200 times.
But almost everything seemed out of sync when #5 Verona took on #12 Kittatinny High School in the first round of the North, Group 1 NJSIAA playoffs. Verona scored first, as it almost always has this season, but the Cougars answered with goals of their own. By the end of the first quarter, it was 2-1 Kittatinny. Verona still seemed off balance until the closing seconds of the second, when the maroon-and-white fired in two–one from Jack Lonsinger and another from Jarrod Keating–in quick succession.
That momentum was amplified by whatever words were spoken in the half-time talk, and when the third quarter opened, the old Hillbilly magic roared back. Verona opened up an 8-4 lead by the end of the third, and widened it some more in the fourth. When the final buzzer sounded, the scoreboard read 10-5 Verona. Lonsinger lead Verona’s scoring with four goals, and there was also scoring by Mike Matarazzo, Jeremy Boub, Trevor Spinelli and Steven Luehs.
The next round in NG1 will be on Saturday, when Verona travels to #4 Kinnelon. That game is set to start at noon.
