Boys Varsity Lax Week 1: The Player’s Perspective

Hello – my name is Ben Colao, your reporter tasked with providing weekly updates on the Boys Varsity Lacrosse season. Coincidentally, I also happen to be a member of the Boys Varsity Lacrosse team, where I take face-offs and play defensive midfield. As such, these weekly pieces will not just center on providing objective analysis of games and the larger season as it occurs, but also on providing the added perspective – my own – of these things from that of a player. So, without further ado, let’s address the critical opening week of the season:

Dodgers Fall Flat in Opening Loss against Millburn

Excitement abounded as Madison boarded the buses for its opening match-up against Millburn, a team the Dodgers eagerly wished to overpower. However, when the whistle blew to signal the start of the game, what followed was an embarrassing collapse of ability on the part of Madison to command any part of the game. Millburn remained in steadfast control of both sides of the field throughout the game, attacking the alleys and utilizing swift roll backs and cuts to score goal after goal against the Madison defense, which struggled to maintain its form and effectively slide and recover against these offensive moves. The ball would be stuck on the defensive end for Madison for the majority of the game, but the Dodgers would mostly fall flat when possessing the ball as well. For one, Madison routinely failed to clear the ball after forcing turnovers – ending the game with a miserable 48% success rate – and largely failed to capitalize on opportunities to possess off of ground balls, cutting down offensive time and overall momentum even further. In terms of what occurred when the ball was possessed on offense, there is unfortunately little to mention: Madison was plagued with unforced turnovers and a general inability to get any plays in motion without losing the ball to Millburn’s press-out man defense, save for a single goal in the first half and two more in the second. The Dodgers would ultimately suffer a stinging 13-3 loss to Millburn; JV would also lose in their opening game.

Dodgers edged out in Bitterly Contested Match with Morris Knolls

You wouldn’t have to be a player to know that the team which set out for Morris Knolls for their second game this Saturday, April 2nd appeared almost entirely different with regard to their mental and emotional resolve. Where before emotions had run high in anticipation for an eager and swift victory, the Dodgers took the field that afternoon with a professionalism and renewed determination to succeed that exemplified their skills and unrelenting will to win. Where before Madison had scrambled for any semblance of momentum, the Dodgers immediately asserted and retained control over the game: Fighting over and winning almost every ground ball, shutting out the Knolls offense save for man-up opportunities, and possessing the ball on offense for a myriad of well-executed plays. Madison cleared far more successfully than their adversary and dominated the x as well, winning 5 out of the 6 faceoffs taken throughout the game (minus one added loss due to an erroneous penalty call). At the half, the score was just 1-0 Morris Knolls – who had managed a goal off of a man-up play – and Madison would soon answer with two goals from Senior Stephen Heffernan and Junior Will Clifford. Both teams fought hard to the bitter end, but what ultimately killed Madison’s chances for victory ended up being in the penalty box (9 penalties taken total), coupled with their failure to capitalize on enough of its opportunities to score. In more man-up offense, Morris Knolls would score two more goals, and end up edging out the Dodgers 3-2 in their second loss of the season. However, the difference between this loss and their first was clear as day.

Player’s Perspective: With New Leadership, We are Poised for Something Big
With our brand new coaching staff, I believe that this season will be far from a repeat of our last season; which was plagued by stinging loss after loss under coaches who failed their duty to account for our shortcomings as a team and steer us in the correct direction. Our roster is filled with talented, scrappy players, and every game on our schedule is a winnable one; and if we continue the energy and momentum I saw in our Morris Knolls game, I wholeheartedly believe in our team’s ability to succeed. Coach Lederer and his associates are succeeding in driving us in the right direction and honing our skills and stamina to the level they need to be to succeed where it counts. Though no one will look at Milburn and remember anything positive in the slightest (I certainly won’t), our improvements made against Knolls – and most importantly our resolve – is proof to me that this team is far from ready to let this year go. This coming week, Madison will face off against Morris Knolls on Monday, April 4th, as well as Verona on Thursday, April 7th. Get ready, because there’s so much yet to see.

Go Dodgers!