Brett Carroll
Staff Writer
Cashing in when the chance arrives is the objective of the boys’ lacrosse team at Red Bank Catholic High School.
“As a team we have to continue to capitalize on our opportunities,” Red Bank Catholic coach Frank Finochio said. “We leave plays on the field. At the end of the day, it comes down to the team that makes the most plays. We have to start finishing some of those plays as we get closer to the Shore Conference Tournament.”
Pat Brady, a senior who plays the midfield, offered his own solution.
“I think we just need to stop all the mental errors,” Brady said.
The opportunity was there for RBC to deliver on April 25 at Count Basie Park in Red Bank.
Sophomore attack Kyle Boggio scored with one second left to cut the RBC deficit to 7-6 against Holmdel High School.
After a face-off penalty by Holmdel, the Caseys had a chance to tie with a free heave at the buzzer. But Holmdel blocked the shot to preserve its 7-6 victory.
Finochio was happy with the way RBC fought back every time Holmdel would score to move ahead by two- and three-goal leads.
“We keep knocking at the door,” Finochio said. “They play really hard. They kept their composure. Today we literally played to the last second. We literally got a shot off with a second left. I’m just proud of them how they keep fighting, and how they keep getting better. We’ve lost a lot of close games this year, but we’re knocking and we’re on the verge of doing some really great things in the Shore Conference.”
“We didn’t give up,” Brady said. “We keep getting better, last year when we played them, they killed us. I mean we’re a young team, and we keep getting better. That’s all we can ask for.”
At 4-7, RBC is working on reaching the .500 level.
“We need to continue to go out and play hard,” Finochio said. “We’ve played a lot of close games this year. Been on the good side of some, and been on the bad side of some. I would like to see us continue to compete and come out on the good side of those games.”
“I just would like to win out,” Brady said “I think we can do it, just gotta continue to go out there and do it.”
Finochio touched on some of the key Casey players.
“Luke Gueci is a sophomore[defense],” Finochio said. “He’s been playing really well. [Senior] Don DiPiero and midfield has been playing really well. Our sophomore attack, Jack Zenkert has been really good. Everybody has been going out there and playing well. Just as a unit they’ve all been really good. Like I said, we just have to learn how to capitalize on plays and get some more wins.”
The Caseys will hti the rod for the short ride to meet their local rival, Red Bank Regional High School, on May 4. The game will start at 6:30 p.m.
