WALL – A year ago, Wall boys lacrosse had its winningest season in program history, recording a school-record single-season-high 14 wins while finishing the season ranked sixth in the Shore Conference.
“It was probably our best season yet, but we’ve had a couple close to it,” said head coach Chris Knight, who along with assistant coach James Cowley have been there the entire 14 years that the Wall boys lacrosse program has been in existence. “We had the most wins and we made a nice run in the states, so, yea, it probably was our best season to date.”
Two of their five losses last season came against long-time nemisis Rumson-Fair Haven.
In the Shore Conference Tournament quarterfinal round they dropped a one-goal decision, 10-9, to Rumson before reaching the NJSIAA South Jersey Group II semifinals where the Bulldogs topped the Crimson Knights again by a score of 9-6.
Two years ago, the Bulldogs also eliminated Wall in the SCT semifinals, this time outscoring them, 14-6.
Prior to this season, Wall had never beaten Rumson-Fair Haven and even though they had to replace their top two scorers – Mike McIntyre (73 goals) and Will Forte (37 goals) from a year ago – Wall’s record stood at 5-1, with their only loss coming against juggernaut Manasquan – ranked sixth in the state – when they played at Rumson two weeks ago.
In that game, with the score knotted at 4-4 in the closing minutes of the first half, one sequence of plays helped tip the momentum in Wall’s favor.
Senior goalie Sean DeMott made five straight saves on Rumson possessions to keep the game tied but after the fifth stop, Wall took the ball the other way and junior attacker Ethan Doyle scored off a pass from Daniel Burns for a 5-4 halftime lead.
“Sean really came up big there,” said Knight. “He’s shined against Rumson every time we’ve played them. Those saves gave us a confidence booster going into the third quarter. If they put two or three in there, you don’t know what may
have happened.
“Absolutely, that was huge, Daniel’s pass to Ethan then Ethan converting right before half was a game changer,” Knight added. “Just seeing the confidence in their eyes at halftime you knew. They were determined and there was no way they were going out there and losing; it was nice to see.”
Wall held a slim lead throughout the third and fourth quarters and with just under two minutes to play they were still up, 9-7. However, with 1:14 left, Rumson’s Rowan Goldin pulled the Bulldogs within 9-8 and Rumson won the ensuing faceoff which in turn led to Harry Ricker’s game-tying goal with 52.7 seconds left.
Wall’s rising sophomore Logan Peters then appeared to have won the game for Wall in the closing seconds but the goal was waved off for a crease violation.
However, Peters would not be denied the winning goal this time midway through the first overtime period. He made a sweet cut towards the net, dodged a couple of defenders up close then slipped the ball past the goalie for the dramatic game-winner.
“Absolutely, no doubt,” said Knight when asked if he thought the penalty gave Peters a little extra incentive. “He didn’t cry about it, you know what he did, he just said, ‘Give me the ball I want to do it again,’ and he did it. That’s the type of leader he is and that doesn’t come around too often.”
Peters finished with three goals and two assists and Doyle added three goals and one assist in what was probably, up to this point, the biggest victory in the history of the Wall boys lacrosse program and a signature win, no doubt.
“It was huge, and it was 14 years in the making,” said Knight. “I originated with this program and Rumson was a program we always looked up to that had a great program from the youth standard and we mimicked a lot of what they do. We worked hard, had a scout on them and we played them close twice last year so our kids were confident coming in. We had a few key players on that field who played last year and they made some big plays also in that game.”
Peters has been fantastic easing the pain of losing both McIntyre and Forte as he’s evolved into one of the most productive scoring threats in the Shore, if not the state.
“Logan doesn’t come off the field,” said Knight. “His forte allows us to play him at all different positions, attack, midfield, on the wing, wherever.”
After nine games this season, the three-sport star leads the team in goals (35) and assists (32).
He began the season hot being named week one Player of the Week by the Asbury Park Press and hasn’t let up.
“We had Logan as a freshman last year when we had a very good offense and Logan was a big part of it,” said Knight. “He learned from a lot of the older kids but also he’s trained so hard in his life and he was so respected last year that we voted him captain this year as a sophomore. His leadership has shown up right away in this program and although his goals and assists might not have been up there with the seniors last year, it was just his presence on the field and the locker room that led to him being voted captain as a sophomore.”
It hasn’t all been Peters; he’s had some big-time help from Doyle, a junior attackman, who’s right behind Peters in scoring with 33 goals along with seven assists.
Following their win against Rumson, Wall avoided a letdown in a trap game against Ocean beating the Spartans, 13-7. In that game, Doyle scored six goals while Peters added three goals and three assists.
“I’ve seen Ethan grow up through the youth programs,” said Knight. “He’s a strong powerful lefty with great shot. He’s a positive, nice kid and it’s great to have him on the left side the way he’s able to shoot like that.”
Doyle was named the Asbury Park Press week four Player of the Week.
Sophomore Ryan Brice has been a nice surprise at midfield this season scoring 18 goals and assisting on 11 others, while freshman attackman Matt Dollive has shown he’s for real by hitting the back of the net 16 times and assisting on 14 others. Burns, another freshman attacker, has chipped in with eight goals and six assists.
“Last year Ryan was more of a defensive midfielder for us with that offensive core I had,” Knight said. “He worked hard in the offseason and his shot has gotten tremendously better and it’s showing.
“Our young guys have come in and it’s really showing. Both Matt (Dollive) and Daniel (Burns) are freshmen and they’ve really stepped up. Having these kids ready freshman year is a credit to our youth program. We’re really young but we have some seniors that can really lead, too; it’s a nice mix,” he continued.
Defensively, it’s been seniors Shane Meyler (five goals, one assist) and Jake Pinkerton and freshman Charles Sasso holding down the fort in the backfield.
“Shane’s the anchor for us on defense,” Knight said. “He’s made All-Division every year and he’s known around the Shore. He’s a dominant defender and should be All-Shore this season. Great stick and great leader, who we always put on the opposing teams top scorer.”
The third-ranked Crimson Knights’ record slipped to 7-2 and 4-2 within the division after a disappointing 14-13 loss to division-opponent Red Bank Catholic when their attempt at a comeback fell just short. Wall scored four straight goals late in the fourth quarter to even the score at 14-14, but the Caseys’ Kyle Boggio scored the game-winner with 47 seconds left.
UPDATE: On Saturday, the Crimson Knights bounced back nicely with a crucial 13-9 division win against Saint John Vianney – ranked seventh in the Shore Conference – improving to 8-2 on the season and 5-2 within the division. Wall is now 3-1 versus Shore Conference Top 10 teams this season. Peters (3G, 2A), Doyle (3G 1A), Burns (3G), Dollive (2G, 2A), Brice (1G) and John Knight (1G) all scored in the win.
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