Jamie McCulloch of Ossining, right, takes aim at Fox Lane goalie Cameron Stephens during the first quarter of Ossining’s 5-4 overtime victory today. (Photo by Jim Stout/MaxPreps.com)
Today is an interesting one — game-wise and otherwise.
What do I mean by that, you ask?
Though the regular season is already under way in the Hudson Valley and Long Island regions (with Connecticut yet to start), today’s most interesting events may be some showcase scrimmages.
For starters, John Jay, which is 20th in Inside Lacrosse’s Preseason National Rankings, hosts New Jersey power Delbarton, which is ranked 21st, at 11 a.m.
Five-time Connecticut state champion Darien hosts Shoreham-Wading River in a 9 a.m. scrimmage.
As if that’s not enough, Yorktown takes on a pair of 2009 sectional semifinalists — White Plains and Greeley — in a three-way scrimmage at 2 p.m. in Yorktown.
As we told you earlier this week, Bronxville is competing in a sixt-team preseason tournament at St. Josephs High School in Metuchen, N.J., to benefit Fields of Growth.
The tradition-rich annual Daniel Hand Preseason Tournament is scheduled for Hammonasset Beach State Park in Madison, Conn. A total of 16 teams will participate, including Syosset, New Canaan and Wilton.
There are also some big games today as well.
Among them — Wantagh visits Mount Sinai, Plainedge hosts Baldwin and Ossining visits Fox Lane at 11 a.m., Huntington hosts Smithtown East at high noon, and Stepinac visits New Rochelle at 1 p.m.
As always, be sure to post your thoughts on these matchups as well as any info on the scores and game details.
Lacrosse for Dummies
* Order a copy of the newly released 330-page brand-new edition of the book by Joe Lombardi here
Connect with us
Become a Fan of LaxLessons on Facebook now by clicking here.
LaxLessons.com recruiting coverage
Posted In: Scoreboard Central
Joe,
Also a big Jamboree in Greenwich this morning:
Iona Prep
Kinnelon, NJ
Staples, CT
Rye
Newtown, CT
Chatham, NJ
Mahopac
Mendham, NJ
Pleasantville
Walt Whitman (long island)
happened to be on a plane back from Denver, and on the plane was the Cherry Creek High School lacrosse team. Said they were going to the Daniel Hand tourny? I am now curious as to how this team will fare, Colorado a growing lacrosse hot bed, and you certainly have to be impressed with the funding this team has. Had at least 4 coaches and many parents.Anybody going?
The Hand Tournament is also today
Ossining 5
Fox Lane 4
in OT
wow did Hop look bad today..beaten in every way..Gvodsen looks lost…only highlight is a lefty rip by Ranagan
Ossining beats Fox Lane 5-4 in OT with the GW goal coming 21 seconds into OT… Fox Lane forced OT on a goal with 1:13 left in regulation. Fox Lane was down 3-0 in the game before coming back…
Final: Stepinac 8, New Ro 3
How did the JJ-Delbarton scrimmage go today?
Good game, both teams played well, John Jay lost I believe 6-4 but could have won but was stuffed multiple times right on the crease. Delbarton goalie played very well and got the win in a game like scrimmage.
JJ offense very stagnent today. but defense looked good
Town jumped out on 5-0 lead on Greeley in first few minutes and coasted.
Beat White Plains comfortably too.
The D and goaltending was very solid…
Along with the hosts, Chatham, NJ was the class of the Greenwich scrimmages today. Rye destroyed Mahopac and Iona Prep did not look sharp. Staples from Westport can really play.
Some results from the Darien scrimmages (w/ starters):
Darien vs. SWR: 7-1 Darien — SWR did not look as good as they did last year, and was outmatched (good FO guy though).
Darien vs. West Islip: 4-2 WI: Good game. Quick note that one of the WI goals was with an open net after the Darien goalie went downfield and took a shot. Pretty evenly matched, but WI looked slightly better. Surprisingly, Galasso did not really stand out, most likely because WI did a good job of sharing the ball. Darien had good ball movement on a great WI D, but didn’t really test the keeper much, and settled for mediocre shots.
Darien vs Fairfield Prep: 5-1 Darien: Prep looked all right, but not as good as the last two years. They always seem to improve by playoffs, so it’s tough to predict where they stand, but Darien really outplayed them today. (keep in mind that this result probably won’t mean much later on — Darien won by a similar score last year and a lot of people thought Prep was a better team by season’s end. The year before it was the opposite, as Darien finished #4 in the nation).
I only saw the action at the stadium turf. Any details from the games on the other field?
rye destroyed mahopac……after pac pulled mcguigs
John Jay just didn’t have the ball vs. Delbarton today. Merlino’s loss is especially being felt in the faceoff X. Delbarton won 7-4 but JJ got a few late goals with Delbarton starters out.
Finals from today …
Oceanside 16, Jericho 7
Smithtown East 7, Huntington 5
Wantagh 8, Mt Sinai 5
Thank you John Jay for being such classy hosts and for the sandwiches after the scrimmage. Your coaches and parents couldn’t have been nicer. It was a great day of lax.
– Your friends at Delbarton
These are the teams that were scheduled to play in the Hand tournament today. Anyone have any info on how it went?
Bridgewater-Raritan (NJ)
Canandaigua
Cherry Creek (COLO)
Corning East
Daniel Hand
Duxbury (MASS)
Medfield (MASS)
Mountain Lakes
New Canaan
Northport
Ridgewood
Summit
Syosset
West Genesee
Wilton
Winchester (MASS)
JJ vs. Delbarton: This game was played like an in-season game with high intensity on both sides. Close early with 1-0 Delbarton at the end of one. Delbarton hit two pipes in the quarter while Jay had 2 point blank shots rejected by great goalie play from Delbartons starting net minder (in all the Delbarton goalie stopped 4 shots that were right on the doorstep and most were good shots, outstanding reflexes). The half ended with Delbarton leading 3-0. Keeping JJ off the board for a half is impressive and the Delbarton long poles played very well with a number of stops and strips. JJ got things moving in the 3rd but at the end of 3 had it 5-2 Delbarton. Some starters for Delbarton were pulled while JJ stayed with many of their top players in the beginning of the 4th quarter. JJ added 2 to Delbartons 1 and the score ended 6-4. Subs played for both sides for the latter part of the final quarter.
Delbarton had some sloppy passes in non pressure situations and clears were inconsistent. JJ clears were solid but too many turnovers in the box gave Delbarton extra possessions and that was the difference. Js set offense was non existent as most of their goals came on unsettled situation. Jay was missing three starters (two injury, one family event). Based on what I saw I would say both teams deserve their Inside Lacrosse ranking but Delbarton would move up past J after today.
JJ is still a work in progress and new coaching is coming together slowly but surely. Man-up opportunities always seem to result in quality shots and clears have been an automatic. Man-down is also a highlight giving up very few shots and/or goals over the past few games. Scoring for JJ today was Morris, Daniello, and Walter. Pickel and Caviola stood out on the D side with both starting multiple fast breaks. Pickle could be one of the fastest players in section one. If he gets a step he is gone. Notable is the strong play by freshman Jay long pole Lambert. Good feet and stick.
The John Jay goals were only scored by Morris and Daniello, both had two.
anyone see somers tourny
Congrats to Ossining on your win at Fox Lane. This game was all about the goalies.
Somers Tourny limited info
Eastchester beat HenHud and Pelham, lost to Somers and Arlington. Don’t know about the others games.
Hey, it’s 35 degrees outside…it must be lax season!
BigBad Bear
Cherry Creek a very good team who travels east every yr to play teams on LI, (Rocky Point this time) as well as in Md, Ca.
Greenwich jamboree,
Walt Whitman was from Maryland
Didn’t see all the teams at Greenwich today but agree with above that strongest team easily looked like Chatham, NJ. Also impressed with Staples (Westport). Have to think they will be among the top teams in Fairfield.
After a poor showing vs. Staples in their first game, Rye looked strong in the next two scrimmages vs. Mahopac and Greenwich.
can anyone who was at the grennwhich games clarify on IP?
howd arlington look against hed hud
JJ’s defense and goalie play was sharp (again) and has been througout these scrimmages, they have a very good mix of size speed ,athleticism and maturity. JJ’s offensive, has yet to kick it into gear. Lots of talent, not yet clicking !! Defense may end up being the strength of Coach Shurr’s team this year. .
What a suprise ….. a Tim Shurr coached team with a strong defense.
Did anyone expect any different? I hear he is quite pleased with what he has!
Joe have you had any chats or comments with him yet?
Yes, TownLaxer. I spoke at length separately with both Tim and assistant coach Geoff Nolan after yesterday’s scrimmage against Delbarton. Tim said he’s been getting more comfortable each day and getting to know the players better. He had great things to say about Brandon Merlino and his work ethic and how unfortunate it is that Merlino will be out for the season with a torn ACL. (He suffered the injury warming up before the team’s scrimmage against West Islip.) John Jay was also minus another middie, Jimmy Morris (concussion), yesterday. So midfield depth, which has traditionally been a strength for John Jay, right now is not there. Production in the faceoff X is also a major concern now, minus Merlino.
As expected, the defense looked good, as did the goaltending. A player to keep an eye on is freshman defenseman Jack Lambert, who already is 6-foot, 170 pounds, and who played well yesterday.
In less than a week, John Jay plays Yorktown. I also caught the Huskers yesterday in a three-way scrimmage with Greeley and White Plains and I think some names that are not yet familiar to a lot of folks (though mentioned here quite a bit the last few months) could have been impacts, including guys like Frankie Fusco and Conor Gately. Another big key will be faceoffs, where Joey Porcelli and Nick Donovan will be key. Overall, I thought Yorktown was a bit ahead of where I’d thought it might be at this point with the transitioning of new players in key roles.
Saturday’s JJ-Yorktown game will tell us a lot. It will also be a big day for Delbarton, which plays nationally ranked rival Summit. And Somers plays at St. Anthony’s and West Islip hosts Chaminade as well.
On a side note, I was impressed by White Plains’ size and athleticism. The Tigers had a few injuries, but they will have a very strong attack with Michael Trapp., Ryan McGee and Norman Greenfield. Offense is definitely their strong point. Mark Armogida also did a good job setting up scrimmages with Yorktown and Somers to give his team an idea of what it needs to improve on heading into the season. The Somers scrimmage will be on Tuesday at 11 a.m. at White Plains and also include Bronxville and Suffern.
Not sure how Tim Schurr can get the credit for JJ’s defense. Last year the saying was Lew couldn’t get the credit because it was Tim’s team. That Lew inherited the team and was benefiting from Tim. Wouldn’t that be the same for this year – wasn’t it the Sav’s team?
Joe,
How did Greeley do in the scrimmages yesterday?
Greeley improved as the day went on. The Quakers started out by giving up a few quick goals against Yorktown, but settled down as the day went on. Greeley, of course, lost three defensive standouts from last year in Derek Katchis, Ben Litwak and Jake Jessup. Hunter Bastian is the leader of this year’s new-look unit. On offense, Nate Becker leads the way, along with Alex Cohen and Danny Leventhal. Overall, there are quite a few new faces for Greeley this year and I think it’s a team that will improve and gain more confidence as the season goes on.
The early injuries are unfortunate but overall we are all so thrilled with the atmosphere in the program now. There is no longer any negativity or players looking over their shoulders. It is a positive atmosphere and it’s great to see.
Excellent analysis and insights on all the teams Joe. No one does it like you – not even close.
any more info from the darien scrimmages involving darien/west islip/fairfield prep/swr?
Did koelsch play yesterday?
Derek has been cleared to play. (Yorktown opens at Wappingers on Wednesday before facing John Jay on Saturday.) He did not play in yesterday’s scrimmages.
laxforfun Says: “Not sure how Tim Schurr can get the credit for JJs defense.”
Here is why i think he can take the credit:
– the defense runs a completely new series of packages and coverages.
– the starters appear to be guys like Waldman and Smyth, who were not even part of the defenive rotation with The Sav’s and Lambert (freshman)was not on the team.
– Pickel is playing the LongPole position which takes advantage of his superior speed and ground ball abilities
– The middies like Morris, O’ Donnell , Chan, Weil and Walter are really playing both way! Great Defense from good offensive guys. They will miss Merlino
Looking at those Darien scores with WI, and Prep. I know they are scrimmages , but can we take anything out of that for how Somers stands. Also how JJ’s performance against Wislip , whether that means anything. Just a thought.
Most likely not, but in terms of the eyeball test, Somers probably compared favorably to Fairfield Prep
Yo someone keeps stats tomorrow at the JJ-Darien scrimmage so we have exact goals/assists totals bc they’re so important and no one had better be wrong like the Somers-Darien scrimmage. Hahaha.
GreenWhite-
there was no 5-0 lead at any point in the town/greeley game
Greeley played very well actually. i think KI had like two goals? I dont know what all the hype over him was about…
Yeah I dont know either why people like Kevin who is like only going to break the single season scoring record at Ytown. He is only in like 10th place all time right now. Only going to Hop too. Come on.
Joe howd arlington look
lax4life –
I haven’t seen Arlington yet. Anyone who has, please provide some insights.
scores of the greeley/’town game were:
3-4 ‘town at the half
7-4 ‘town final
just a scrimmage but surprised greeley kept it so close?
5 3 town at half
8 4 final
not as close as it seems