Boys lacrosse: Montgomery tops Pingry in double OT
MONTGOMERY - After the Montgomery High School boys lacrosse team fell to Moorestown in triple overtime, the Cougars swore they wouldn't let a loss like that happen again.
On Wednesday, Montgomery again faced a similar situation against The Pingry School. The teams were tied 7-7 and time was running down in the second overtime period, but this time there was a different ending for the Cougars.
Kyle Marrapodi scored the game-winner on an assist from Matt Stagnitta with 1:04 remaining in double overtime to lift Montgomery (10-2) over Pingry, 8-7.
"I got it on the crease, I knew I had to shoot it right away. It's in overtime, you have to shoot it every time, so I just shot it as soon as I caught it," Marrapodi said. "They're a big team, they're really good, we're really good and it feels amazing."
MORE: GIRLS LACROSSE ROUNDUP FOR WEDNESDAY, MAY 4
"Our coaching staff they really prepared us really well, everything they threw at us we had a play, we had something to counter it," Stagnitta said. "When you're playing basically a game and a half in overtime, you really need that, and that's where that coaching and that preparation comes in." The win was the second in a row for the Cougars after falling to Bridgewater-Raritan in the closing seconds 8-7 on April 27. For Big Blue (9-2), it was their second loss in three games.
Pingry, which trailed 6-4 after three quarters, battled back in the fourth, with Jake Moss and George Enman scoring back-to-back goals within a minute to tie the game 6-6 at the start of the fourth quarter.
"I guess just our communication was down," Marrapodi said of Pingry's comeback. "But we got together, we knew we had to get it back up and we did and turned the game around."
RELATED: PINGRY vs. MONTGOMERY PHOTO GALLERY
With 5:13 remaining, Enman scored again to put Big Blue ahead for the first time since the first quarter, 7-6. Montgomery scored the equalizer with 1:02 to play, with Nico Ipeker scoring his fourth goal of the game on an assist from Stagnitta to send the game to overtime.
"Pingry is a top 10 team in the state, they have some good players and we really wanted it," Stagnitta said. "We lost a tough one in triple OT to Moorestown and no one on this team wanted to feel that again, so I think that's what drove us."
Jared Reinson won the faceoff for Montgomery in the first overtime, and controlled possession for nearly the whole four minutes, until Moss caused a turnover and gave Pingry the ball back with 1:15 left, but Big Blue couldn't capitalize, and the game went to double overtime.
Reinson won eight faceoffs for the Cougars, while Jamie Zusi won 11-of-19 for Pingry.
Staff Writer Lauren Knego: lknego@gannettnj.com; on Twitter: @laurenknego
Montgomery 8, Pingry 7
GOALS: (M) Ipeker 4, Engels 2, Marrapodi, Stagnitta; (P) Shepard 2, Enman 2, Cummings, T. Zusi, Moss; ASSISTS: (M) Stagnitta 3, Colangelo 2, Marrapodi; (P) Shepard, Moss; SAVES: (M) Yanovitch 15; (P) Dillon 5, Metzger 6.
WEDNESDAY'S BOYS LACROSSE ROUNDUP
North Hunterdon 12, Immaculata 4: Bobby Brennan, Sean Wood and Nick Gurreri each scored twice for North Hunterdon (8-5). Rob Marron and Jared McMahon each added one goal and two assists for the Lions. Tyler Kojac and Steve Dwyer each scored two goals for Immaculata (2-7).
Bridgewater-Raritan 12, Hillsborough 1: Brian Kolen registered two goals and four assists to pace Bridgewater-Raritan (11-0). Ethan Christensen finished with a hat trick. Sean MacKinney and Austin Vanderbeek each scored twice. Dillon Zimmerman scored on an assist from Brendan Nork for Hillsborough (4-8).
Monroe 12, Peddie 1: Sean Gillies recorded four goals and four assists to lead Monroe (11-3). Kyle Tepe added a hat trick and Peter Jarosiewicz scored twice. Christian Giannola chipped in one goal and two assists.
Rutgers Prep 9, Somerville 7: Kevin O’Hara scored four goals, Tre Allen tallied three assists and Dan Varga added two goals for Rutgers Prep (1-11). Cole Touhey recorded 22 saves for the Argonauts. Ryan Pedrani scored three goals, Sam Taddesse scored twice and Tommy Garrettson dished two assist and added on goal for Somerville (2-10).
Steinert 12, North Brunswick 10: Ibe Allah scored four goals while Miguel Nicolas-Quirino added two goals and four assists for North Brunswick (5-11).
Moorestown 11, Watchung Hills 8: Sean Mullaney scored four goals for Watchung Hills (6-6). Tyler Furlong scored twice. Brendan Dreyer and Brian Richmond each added a goal.
Hunterdon Central 10, Ridge 8: Dylan Dobrosky led Hunterdon Central (9-3) with two goals and two assists. Brian Mitrow and Ben Coakley each scored twice. Sean Parker and Kyle Johnson each tallied one goal and one assist. For Ridge (7-5), Dan Skea led with four goals. Rich McKenna and Brendan Quigley each added one goal and one assist.