Boys lacrosse: Ridgewood and Don Bosco set up heavyweight battle in the Bergen County final
RIDGEWOOD – Round 1 was for the division title.
Round 2 will be for a county championship.
Round 3 could be for all the marbles.
Top seed Ridgewood and second seed Don Bosco will meet on Saturday in the Bergen County final in a matchup that felt pre-ordained from before the first faceoff this spring. The showdown is set for 6 p.m. at Mahwah High School.
Don Bosco has won a record three straight titles and the last two came at Ridgewood's expense. Neither broke much of a sweat on Thursday in the semifinal round.
The Ironmen rolled past Bergen Catholic, 14-5, while the Maroons clipped Tenafly, 11-2.
Now the real fun begins.
"I think they're a well-coached team," Ridgewood senior Charlie Merrick said. "They scout well. They know our hands and our plays and what we're going to do. They also move the ball really well. But to be honest, I think we are a better team, as a team. So I think we're going to show that on Saturday and surprise a lot of people."
Saturday will be the second of three possible meetings between the two winningest teams in tournament history.
The prior one came last Thursday when Don Bosco beat Ridgewood, 12-4, in a match that decided the Gibbs Division crown and the state No. 1 ranking. That game was tight and low-scoring until the third quarter when the Ironmen broke things open with seven goals in 10 minutes.
If Don Bosco needed any extra motivation, the county seeding provided it in spades. The No. 1 team in the state did not get the top spot in the bracket.
"It definitely lit a fire in us," Don Bosco junior Brady Scioletti said. "We thought we deserved it. We played Ridgewood the next [week] and showed that we should be No. 1. When Saturday comes, we need to prove a lot."
Taking care of business
Ridgewood (12-1) showed patience on the field and quick hands in the faceoff circle against Tenafly, who was eager to hold its own in its Final Four debut.
The Maroons controlled the ball for most of the first quarter behind their ride and the work of Matthew Hogan on the draw (12-for-16 as a team), but it only translated to two goals in the opening period.
Eventually, the shots started to fall for the Maroons with the help of two Division I commits. Merrick led the offense with a hat trick and Maryland pledge Jack Schultz added two goals of his own out of the halftime break.
Penn State-bound defender Luke Marra even joined the party by scoring a transition goal and setting up Jake Roth for the final Ridgewood tally.
"We knew that Saturday is not guaranteed," Merrick said. "Tenafly was a great opponent. They held us to two in the first quarter. As our coaches said today, we just worried about ourselves today and didn't worry about the other team and played some of the best lacrosse we played all year."
Defending-champs roll on
Don Bosco (10-3) showed strength in numbers in beating Bergen Catholic for the second time this season. The Ironmen used two faceoff men, three goalies and got four goals from their defensive midfield when all was said and done.
By halftime, first-year coach Matt Lane had a 10-3 lead on hand.
"Explosive. Definitely explosive," said Scioletti, when asked to describe his offense. "A lot of firepower. Each guy on the field can beat you off ball, on ball. When we play together as a whole, I think we can be somewhat unstoppable."
The question now is if that offense can come to life once more against the stingiest defense in the county. Don Bosco will also be without long-stick middie Sal Postiglione, who went down with a broken thumb.
Whoever comes out on top Saturday will move into the all-time lead with six county titles.
"It's definitely satisfying getting there for the fourth time in a row," Don Bosco senior Conor Cosgrove said after a two-goal, one-assist night. "We've been talking about it all season."
"To win Saturday would mean everything for these seniors who have lost to them twice," Merrick said. "I think this game is going to be really special."
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Boys lacrosse: Ridgewood and Don Bosco advance to Bergen County final
