Young Colts Neck Boys Lacrosse Taking Strides Forward By John Sorce

 

COLTS NECK Whenever a team plays three top 10 teams in the beginning of the season, it is usually going to be an uphill climb from that point on. 

Such was the case for the Colts Neck boys lacrosse team, which lost six of their first eight games, but has turned a corner recently. They have won three of their last four and their lone loss was to an unbeaten Christian Brothers team. 

We had a real rough start, having basically all top 10 teams in the beginning with Wall, Manasquan and Shore,” 14th year head coach Jeff Rosenberg said. “After that stretch, we got a little more time to play on the field as the weather got better and everybody started coming together. I think we’ve improved big time.” 

Colts Neck did have trouble with the aforementioned top 10 teams, losing to Wall, Manasquan and Shore by a combined 46-11. But they battled rivals Freehold Township and Howell tough, losing to both teams by just two goals. 

“I’ve seen a lot of improvement out of the guys, and that’s really the key.” Rosenberg said. “I think we have really done a good job of getting better as the season has gone on.” 

The Cougars sit at 5-7 overall and 3-4 in A North, good for fifth place in the division.

Playing in A North, for Rosenberg, means playing a lot of rivalry matchups. Middletown North and South are in the division, and Colts Neck has Freehold Township and Howell, which are all a part of the Freehold school district. CBA and Marlboro also play in the division. 

“CBA is always strong and Middletown South is having a great year,” Rosenberg said. “It’s a rivalry type conference for us.”

Senior Zack Alagna is the Cougars leading scorer with 26 goals and 32 points. Nick Lago is a senior captain who is second on the team with 17 goals and 24 points. Junior Nick Giantasio has 15 points and 13 ground balls, which leads the team. 

In goal resides Brandon Cifone, a junior who the team had to convert into a goalie because they didn’t have anyone else to man the position. He has nearly 100 saves this season. 

“He’s done a great job,” Rosenberg said about his goalie. “We converted him from an attackman when he was a freshman and he’s really done a great job. He’s made a lot of saves this year. The freshman team didn’t have a goalie and we didn’t have any goalies coming up, so we kind of looked around and we like to have a good athlete in the goalie position. He fit the bill and he’s really done a great job. Otherwise, we’re young on the defensive end, but they’re learning.” 

Finding players can be difficult in Colts Neck, with no dedicated youth program in town. Rosenberg looks for experience and lacrosse IQ when looking for prospective players for the varsity team. 

“We don’t have a dedicated youth program in Colts Neck, so I’ll get two or three kids from Freehold or Howell,” Rosenberg said. But I think about 40 percent of our kids have honestly never played before, so when I’m looking at tryouts, I’m looking to see who has experience, who can handle a stick and who has lacrosse IQ, those kind of things.” 

Colts Neck did not qualify for the Shore Conference Tournament this season, so their primary focus for the postseason is on the states. Rosenberg hopes to at least make it to the second round, and see where his team can go from there. 

“We have three games left,” Rosenberg said. “If we win all three games, we can be above .500 and put us in a good spot for the states. Our goal is to make it through the first round of the states and see where we can go from there.” 

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