By DAVE O’SULLIVAN
Staff Writer
On X @GDsullysays
MOORESTOWN — The last time the Moorestown High boys lacrosse team scored fewer than two goals was four years ago — May 3, 2021, in a 15-1 loss to Manasquan. That year, and the year after, the Quakers went to the sectional semifinals. Two years ago, they made it to the South Jersey Group 3 championship game, and last year the Quakers went 17-5 and won the state championship.
In short, this is a program that is used to scoring — and winning — the last couple of years. But Moorestown didn’t do either on Thursday afternoon, as visiting St. Augustine Prep limited the Quakers to their lowest scoring total in nearly 1,500 days. The Hermits let an early 1-0 lead slip away, but then rallied for three goals in the fourth quarter to pick up a 4-1 victory, perhaps their best of the season.
Moorestown, the No. 5 team in the state according to the nj.com Top 20 rankings, had won 5-of-6 coming in and had only been held to less than eight goals in its two losses, 6-5 to Pingry and 11-3 to Summit. But St. Augustine Prep senior goalie Ben Zaitz and an inspired defensive effort in front of him shut down Moorestown’s normally high-powered offense. The Quakers have five players in double-digit goals this season, including two with more than 20.
After junior Ryan Diamond gave Prep a 1-0 lead early in the second quarter, Moorestown (9-3, 2-0 Olympic American) got the equalizer in the third quarter when Aidan Ruff took a pass from Chase Caulder and scored on a beautiful shot from the right side. But that was all the offense the Quakers could muster, as the Hermits dominated the fourth quarter.
“There was definitely a lot of preparation, and all of our guys bought in. This was probably the toughest team we’ve played so far and we’ve been digging in all season, but we knew we had to lock in to get a big Top-5 win and put ourselves on the map. We’ve known we’ve had the potential, we just had to prove it,” said Diamond, a Washington Township native. “That’s what we practice for every day (is the fourth quarter). The offense buys in, the defense buys in. The defense was making the stops and the offense just had to score. It’s a team effort.”
“It’s simple stuff you say as a coach, but our biggest thing was whoever got two or three more ground balls (in the fourth quarter) was going to win this game,” said Hermits coach J.C. Valore. “That allotted itself to possession, but through getting those ground balls, there’s a level of energy that’s acquired on the sidelines and on the field that translates to a harder brand of offense. I thought we got some good stops and some great ground balls, and when it went the other way we played harder than we did the first three quarters.”
“It’s a great day when I don’t have to do much,” said Zaitz, of Medford. “I think I only saw about three shots on goal. I just give props to my defense, every game, they’ve played amazing all year. We’ve given up so few goals, and as a team we’ve come so far since the start of the season. It’s been great. I trust my defense. Every day, I know they are going to come out and put their hardest work in, and I just have to do my best to make saves.
“We knew they (were good) in transition and we shut that down, and we shut them down in 6-vs.-6,” he continued. “That’s why they didn’t score much, they tried to settle it and they just couldn’t score against us, simple as that.”
St. Augustine (10-1), which came into the game ranked No. 11 in the state, had trouble figuring out Moorestown’s zone defense, but the Hermits finally got something going in the fourth quarter. Less than two minute into the quarter, Penn State recruit Ryan Wodazak scored what turned out to be the game-winner, giving the Hermits a 2-1 lead. Fellow junior Sabastian Varallo, one of Prep’s leading scorers, added a pair of goals in the final six minutes to seal the victory.
“We play a lot of teams that want to hold the ball and drain the clock against us, but we’re confident in our guys. We know we’re going to get shots, we just go out there and play our brand of lacrosse,” Diamond said. “We have a lot of good players and everyone is selfless. We share the ball and that’s how we get ours and win games. We don’t need to hold the ball and chew up the clock, we all can play, and we know that. We knew this was where we were going to be, it’s just time to prove it, and we showed out.”
“Playing against a zone it’s longer possessions,” Zaitz explained. “They have a very strong defense and a very strong goalie. Our offense worked hard and (today) putting up four goals got the job done.”
“A lot of it is our youth getting more experience and our experienced guys just getting more in tuned with how we best want to lay ourselves out this season as we get ready for the playoffs,” Valore said. “The stuff in between the lines has really been our calling card this season, how we ride and how we manage transition on both ends of the field. We’re proud of the whole team, but defensively — when you’re talking about a whole team effort and a system-based approach to this game, those guys should really be proud of themselves.”
Valore said he explained to his players exactly what kind of challenge it was going to be, facing a team like Moorestown on the road.
“We knew what we were walking into. I continue to say this throughout the season — all these games have been inherently different, and this one lived up to that,” he said. “We haven’t played in a game this tight in years. I think it was two good teams trying to feel each other out. Obviously, we have a lot of respect for them and their coaching staff. It’s always a battle with Moorestown. We’re fortunate to be able to play in games like these.”
The Hermits can revel in this victory for too long, however. In the next two weeks they face Pennsylvania powers Episcopal and Perkiomen, both on the road, before returning home May 10 to battle the Hun School. They also have state powers Gil St. Bernards and Delbarton later this month.
“We know we have a tough rest of the schedule, so we just have to move on,” Zaitz said. “We have Episcopal and Saturday and that’s going to be a tough one, so we have to move onto the next game. We can’t linger on this one for too long.”
WHAT’S NEXT: St. Augustine Prep travels to Episcopal (Pa.) on Saturday at noon. Moorestown hosts Eastern on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
