Don Bosco lacrosse downs Ridgewood, captures record fourth straight Bergen County title

MAHWAH – There is no stopping Don Bosco in its chase for history.

Especially when Brady Scioletti gets rolling.

The Duke commit scored five goals and the Ironmen used a big second half to beat Ridgewood, 10-5, on Saturday in the Bergen County boys lacrosse final at Mahwah High School.

The Ironmen became the first team to win four straight county titles and broke a tie with Ridgewood by finishing on top for the sixth time overall.

The script in the championship was eerily similar to Don Bosco's regular-season win over Ridgewood. A slow start offensively. A tie game at half. Then a run of five straight goals out of the intermission.

"We knew we could play a little faster and with more energy and a little bit better," Scioletti said. "In the second half, once we got that first one, the train is on the tracks and we keep rolling."

All season long, Scioletti has been the lead conductor with a dangerous left-handed shot. But the junior attackman came into Saturday with a little extra fuel after being held to no goals and only one shot attempt in the last meeting with Ridgewood.

This time, the mantra was to be more aggressive and more eager to let it fly.

"I think he was really motivated to play today, especially going up against a really good defender in Luke Marra," new coach Matt Lane said. "I was really happy with his effort and everything he did for us. A lot of our offense goes as he goes."

What it means

Don Bosco (11-3) will keep the Bergen County trophy for at least another year and hold onto its spot as the No. 1 team in the state. The Ironmen put forth another lockdown effort with poles David Corb, Luke St. Pierre and Ben Linder along with Conor Cosgrove and James Greenhut in the defensive midfield.

With 11 saves in the final, senior Colton Carfello sealed his spot as the first player to win four county crowns and the first goalie to start in three championship victories.

"It's huge," Carfello said. "[The four-peat] is something coming in here that was on my objective list. I want to win more state championships as well."

John Devir and EJ Garvey kept the Ironmen unbeaten against New Jersey opponents this year by chipping in two goals apiece in the final.

"We're not a team, we're a family as No. 55 Luca Chiaese says," Scioletti said. "We play together and play to win and when everyone is clicking, there is no one stopping us."

Better late than never

Carfello turned in some of his best work in the first half when the Don Bosco offense managed to score only three goals. The Ironmen got in its own way at times with three penalties in the opening half, including an offside call and an unsportsmanlike penalty docked on an assistant.

"A lot of the reason they were competing with us in the game and the score was tied was because of self-inflicted wounds whether it was turnovers in the clear game or taking poor shots or miscommunication," Lane said. "The message was just to play within ourselves."

Don Bosco came out of the break on fire with the help of Scott Conte, who won four straight faceoffs. The Ironmen also called on an unlikely hero in sophomore goalie Brody Corey, who was pressed into action when Carfello was called for a push on the final play of the third quarter.

Corey made two saves during his brief stay on the field, including one on the man-down when the score was 8-5.

"That was awesome," Carfello said. "I was so pumped up for him. Everyone was like, oh God, this could be dangerous if the starting goalie is going out. But he picked it up and I couldn't be more proud of him. I was celebrating even in the penalty box."

Another dramatic sequence with under eight minutes left when Sciolett scored a goal, then had the wind knocked out of him on a late hit to the back. Scioletti stayed on the ground for a while, but got back up and back into the game after less than a minute of gametime. Before long, Scioletti buried another shot on the two-minute penalty to make it 10-5 with 6:24 to go.

"For him to get a shot like that after the whistle and get back up kind of rejuvenated the whole team," Lane said. "It exemplified what we're looking for in players."

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Don Bosco lacrosse captures record fourth straight Bergen County title