By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 12/29/15
Tim Ley and Owen Caputo each scored twice as Team 91 (N.Y.) repeated as High School JV champion today by blanking the NC Box Stars (N.C.), 6-0, in the USBOXLA Northeast Regional at BucksMont, outside Philadelphia.
Justin Tierney and Tommy Rooney also scored for Team 91, while goalies Sawyer Davis and John Hulsman shared in posting the shutout as Team 91 pulled away after leading 2-0 at halftime.
Team 91 wins HS JV title at USBOXLA Northeast Regional
Overall in the 2-day tourney, Team 91 dominated on the defensive end and outscored its foes, 41-5.
“We played great defense, the offense kept cooking and our goalies played phenomenal,” said Ley, a 2018 from Massapequa who is committed to Boston University. “I thought the team played great for our first tournament of the season.”
“I thought we played really well the coaches put us in a good spot to win the game,” said Rooney, a 2018 Air Force commit from Syosset. “We ran a lot of good plays to scored off; that was a key to our success.
“Our defense was definitely lock down; we didn’t let anyone get any open shots and our goalies played really well.”
Team 91, NC Box Stars and Patriot-NJ (which defeated Blue Star-NJ, 6-4, in the third-place game) all advance to the Nationals in San Jose, Calif., in August.
Rooney said his team had a brief scouting report from Caputo, who used to play for the Box Stars.
“Owen told us they were pretty good so we were looking for a good battle,” Rooney said.
Tierney, a 2019 from John Glenn, said his team is well coached.
“Our goalies played great the whole tournament,” he said. “We know how to play with each other and to play unselfish; that’s why we win.”
Ley said his team had five practices to prepare for the winter box season. Team 91 will compete in a tourney the weekend of the Martin Luther King holiday in Washington D.C. and at the NXT Philadelphia Indoor Lacrosse Championships in February.
How has playing box helped your field game?
Ley: “The stick skills and having to play in tight corners. There is always somebody on you in box, you are always getting checked.”
Rooney: “Definitely my stick skills. I have gotten a lot better in finishing around the crease from playing box and that’s helped me in the field game.”
Tierney: “The physicality. Also, it’s so hard to score when. When you are 1-on-1 in the field it’s almost automatic. But here it’s so hard. It also helps your feet, and with dodging, and feeding. The stick work helps so much.”
Final Pool Standings
High School JV
Team W L GD GS GA
Team 91 4 0 30 35 5
NC Box Stars 4 0 24 33 9
Blue Star 3 1 7 22 15
Patriot 3 1 10 26 16
Eagle 1 3 -12 22 34
Fusion 2019 1 3 -12 19 31
Fusion 2018 0 4 -17 6 23
Super Star 0 4 -30 7 37