Another week has passed, and with it another week of Madison Lacrosse. I was optimistic as a player heading into this week, as I believed in the strength of my teammates to continue in our overall growth as a team coming off of our difficult but well fought loss against Morris Knolls; and thankfully, I was proven right. Here is Week 2 of the Madison Boys Varsity Lax season, recapped.

Madison Triumphs over Arch Rival MoBeard in Test of Emotional Resilience

Morristown Beard was a game many, myself included, were waiting for with gritted teeth. After barely losing to our rival in both a scrimmage and our regular season game against them last year, we were eager to settle the score. As expected, once we arrived at the field on Monday, April 4th for our game, we were met with rowdy screams and jeers for the entire duration of the warm-up period. This was a team that thrived on puffing itself up to get under the skin of their opponents – but now, about a year later, we were far removed from the team that may have once succumbed to such emotional tactics. Personally, my mind remained focused on that first faceoff – and when the time finally came, an ill-fated sweep on the part of the MoBeard faceoff midi, earned Madison the first possession of the game. Similar to Morris Knolls, the game was fairly low-scoring as the strength in both teams initially laid in their defense. The first quarter came and went without a goal scored, with fierce defensive stops (and unforced turnovers) on both sides. The second quarter would see the first goal scored by MoBeard with 4 minutes remaining, but this would later be answered by a goal from sophomore Andrew Boyd before the half came to a close. By halftime’s end, however, the Dodgers had resolved themselves to victory; in the end, their resolve won out. Senior Luke Denison scored a well-earned goal nearly right out for the halftime gate, though this would be matched by a fast break goal off of the following faceoff (Overall, Madison earned possession in 4 of the 9 faceoffs taken). What would ultimately earn us victory though, would be our emotional resilience in the face of an increasingly desperate foe – who, after several penalties and nearly an ejection of their own head coach, fell apart against the discipline of the Dodgers. Taking advantage of their increasingly disorganized defense, especially in transition, Junior attackman Will Clifford, Senior LSM, Joe Carfano, and Freshman midi, Joaquin Soler, all earned goals for Madison in the second half; goals that would all go unanswered. In the end, we certainly hadn’t played our best game, but Madison would win 5-2 against Morristown Beard, their first victory of the season.

Thursday Game vs. Verona postponed due to Rain

Due to a rainstorm, Madison’s away game against Verona on Thursday, April 7th, was canceled. The new tentative date for the game is Tuesday, May 2nd.

The Players Perspective: “Let’s take that next step”

We often talk about taking the next step forward each day. It’s something Joe Carfano, a senior and one of our team captains, often ends with before breaking us down at the end of a game or practice. And this is something that I think perfectly encapsulates where we are as a team right now. We have certainly come a long way, but we have that much more to go, and it remains crucial that we do not get complacent and instead continue pushing ourselves to get that much better with each opportunity we get. We had a refreshing two days off this weekend after 13 straight days of practices and games, but I couldn’t be more excited to take the field on Monday and keep this momentum going. This week, the Dodgers have their home opener against Del Valley on Tuesday, April 12th at 4:30pm and another home game against Vernon on Thursday, April 14th at the same time. Let’s take that next step.

Go Dodgers!