Boys lacrosse team repeats success

The Newton High School boys lacrosse team’s accomplishments this season won’t soon be forgotten.

The Braves’s overall record was 10-9, and the team advanced to the playoffs.

“This was once again a successful Newton lacrosse campaign,’’ head coach David Gallucci said. “Our two most celebrated victories were most likely against Voorhees, 10-6, and against Lenape Valley, 8-3.

“Both teams were extremely talented and well-coached, and both were excellent games to be a part of.’’

The team had strong leadership, Gallucci said.

“I feel as if this squad found new leaders every day. Although consistently, our goalie Rylan Ivaldi seemed to be the most vocal on the field, directing and encouraging our defense through every contest.

“Matt McLean, senior defenseman, was also an influential guy in the locker room and took the role (of) letting his actions lead, rather than his words. On the flip side of that, senior midfielder Robert McCullough was our vocal leader.’’

A senior was one of the most improved student athletes for the Braves, the coach said.

“Face-off midfielder Aiden Akturk struggled early in the season but showed a tremendous work ethic and willingness to improve as the year went on.

“Freshman attackman Max Faye, who showed a lot of promise last year on the middle school field, really stepped up and embraced the spotlight.’’

The Braves played in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) North Jersey Group 1 Sectional Tournament, where they were defeated by Ramsey.

“This is the first time since the program was re-incepted in 2010 that Newton lacrosse has achieved back-to-back 10-win seasons as well as back-to-back winning records,’’ Gallucci said. “We were 5-2 in the Pooley Division this year and 3-3 in the NJAC Colonial Division.”

There’s plenty of optimism about the program’s future.

“We continue to build the program at Newton from the high school program down to the junior program,’’ he said. “We have now graduated two talented classes of seniors (2022 and 2023) that have paved the way for the future of Newton lacrosse.

“As for personnel, we return our starting attack sophomore Ty Guzzo, junior Brenden Lynch and freshman Max Faye as well as several talented midfielders, such as junior Evan Parker, sophomore Paul Reinhart and freshman Matthew Ellsworth.

“Defensively, we will look for experienced players like junior Matthew Teets, junior Yasin Tabatabaee and sophomore Ryan Corino to anchor, with a talented freshman class becoming sophomores, such as Sean Carson, who did a tremendous job for us this season when called upon.

“Sophomore CJ Wojtach will look to fill the shoes of Rylan Ivaldi, who conquered over 500 saves in his tremendous career as a Brave.’’