HILLSBOROUGH: High school lacrosse team looks to rest of season after strong start

By Justin Feil, Contributor
The Hillsborough High School boys lacrosse team may not have the names that everyone knows, but the Raiders have a strong senior class that has led it to a solid start and raised expectations for the season., Hillsborough crushed East Brunswick, 16-2, Saturday to jump out to a 3-1 start. It’s their best start since they were 3-1 at the start the 2011 season in which they finished 13-5., “I always say every year, once they’re seniors they tend to step up,” said Raiders head coach Mark Wilson. “We’ve gotten really good play out of our seniors. None of those guys other than Colin Purdy were big guys for us last year. Now that it’s their time, they’ve kind of stepped up, which is great.”, The Raiders graduated some key pieces from last year’s team. They lost important players from each area of the field., “The four big guys that we lost last year were the goalie Tom Mahoney, he’s starting already at Elizabethtown,” Wilson said. “We lost the left-handed attackman, Thomas Boland, who’s at Cortland. Then we lost the right-handed attackman, Dylan Zimmerman, who’s playing football at Delaware. The other big loss was Brendon Nork, the faceoff guy.”, Hillsborough has seen its seniors step up to overcome those losses. The Raiders have their greatest returning core back on defense. Nick Pezza returns as a starter on defense, and Kevin Roarty gives them another solid returner on defense. Nick Coira is a third senior to bolster the defense., “We’re playing four or five guys down there,” Wilson said. “The defense has looked good.”, The defense had the pressure of starting well to help acclimate a new goalie. It’s worked. Matt Wybraniec has filled the goalie starting spot, and the sophomore has looked strong., “The biggest nice surprise of the whole thing, and kind of the gravy on it, is our goalie,” Wilson said. “He’s off to a great start. He’s had double digit saves every game.”, Wybraniec has been given special attention from some Hillsborough team alumni. Owen Thomson, a former defenseman who just graduated after playing four years at Sacred Heart University, has returned to help coach at his alma mater., “I asked him to spend 30-40 minutes every day with this guy and you’re going to learn how to be a goalie coach,” Wilson said. “He’s really increased his level of play and done a great job. Owen is really good friends with Anthony Stavrakis, who isn’t playing this year at Salisbury after an injury. Owen and Anthony have been working with him. It’s paying big dividends.”, With Wybraniec playing well, it shores up a big question mark., “I felt really good about every single guy that was stepping into a starting role,” Wilson said. “The goalie was an unknown. The one thing I’ll say about Matt is he’s a hard worker and a tough kid. I knew he’d do everything that he could possibly do to improve his game and get his game up to the Skyland Conference level of lacrosse. I didn’t know if he’d be able to do it or not. I feel very lucky to have had a long string of good goalies at Hillsborough. It seems like he’s stepped up to keep it going.”, Hillsborough has been able to answer other concerns with seniors. On the faceoffs, the Raiders have turned to a familiar face to take the spot left by Nork., “Colin Purdy has stepped in,” Wilson said. “He really hasn’t lost a step from where Brendan was, and he’s another senior.”, The midfield contains athletic players who are figuring out the importance of their roles. Jack Casey is a captain and a junior, and has provided an offensive lift out of the midfield., “He’s had a great start,” Wilson said. “He had six goals at Rutgers Prep (in a 9-7 win). He had four goals against East Brunswick. He’s tearing it up.”, He is joined by senior twins Greg and Jeff Alboum. The Raiders would have loved to have them contribute more in previous years, and they’re showing their abilities this season., “They’re guys who have been on varsity for a while, but just haven’t been in major starting roles,” Wilson said. “This year they are. Jeff is doing a great job as an offensive middie. Greg is a captain and a defensive middie. He’s been awesome for us – ground balls, faceoff wing, middie defense, he’s been all over the field. He’s also a football guy and a really good athlete.”, Matt Gradone is another senior in the midfield. He’s come on to become critical in a number of areas., “He’s doing a great job,” Wilson said. “He’s doing faceoff wing, he’s clearing the ball, he’s playing offense. He’s the one three-way guy we have. He’s been a key part of it. He wasn’t in as big of a role last year, but this year he’s all over the field. He’s become an indispensable guy quickly.”, The Hillsborough offense is one spot that does not have many seniors, but it should have chemistry. The junior-oriented attack has plenty of experience together and now they’re using it at the varsity level., “Our starting attack are all juniors,” Wilson said. “They’re all guys who have been in the mix for a while with Tim Yost being the leader of those three. He’s been starting a couple years now. He’s been great. He’s on the right side. On the left side, we have Chris Santa Barbara, who’s scored goals in every game so far. We also have Carson Venis who’s also doing a great job. I think he was maybe two (goals) and three (assists) against East Brunswick. Those three have been a unit all their lives, so they’re finally back together and back to business with all those other guys graduated. They’re loving it.”, If the offense can convert on a higher percentage of possessions, the Raiders will feel even better about their chances to win. Wilson has seen the entire team come together relatively quickly. Preseason was better than a year ago when injuries and illness prevented any real momentum from growing. The Raiders were able to pick up where they left off with the returning group., “We had a really smooth preseason,” Wilson said. “We don’t have a veteran group in terms of starts, but there aren’t that many guys new to varsity this year. It’s not a statistically veteran group, but it’s a veteran group being with me and running our systems. In that respect, it’s paying off.”, The Raiders have had one early hiccup, a 9-2 loss to Pingry in which they didn’t feel the score reflected the way that they played. Hillsborough is looking to continue its hot start with games this week against Moorestown and Hunterdon Central. The Raiders face another difficult Skyland Conference lineup, but they go into it after strong showings in the first two weeks., “It’s been a lot of fun,” Wilson said of the start. “The guys are excited. We know we have some major tests ahead of us. This week is going to be a tough one with Moorestown on Wednesday and at Hunterdon Central on Saturday. Our conference, you don’t get too many easy outs. These next couple games are going to be big to see where we stack up against the big-time talent.”, Hillsborough has plenty to build on after winning three of its first four games. As they head into tougher in-conference games, it will be important for them to remember the keys to the season., “It’s just sticking with the game plan and everybody executing at a high level for all four quarters,” Wilson said. “We’re not experienced with starts. Guys need to understand that every rep in the game is important. The little things matter a lot. You can make a small mistake here and there when you’re in a back-up role, but now when you’re a starter, you have to answer the bell every time the ball is in your stick or you’re on-ball as a defender, you can’t make tactical mistakes with your execution. When the guys get more consistent with that and all play at the top level they’re capable of all the way through a game, then I think we’ll be pretty solid.”