St. Anthony's finds Delbarton too much to handle

A big green monster from Morristown, N.J., traveled roughly 75 miles Saturday to reach Long Island and once it arrived on the field to play St. Anthony's, its size, physicality and speed dominated.

Delbarton's boys lacrosse team is an imposing group that includes 21 seniors, more than a dozen Division I recruits and several kids who look more suited to play on a basketball court. They wore their evergreen away jerseys looking every bit the part of a relentless, intruding villain hungry for a road victory.

The defending N.J. non-public state champion stick checked and shot its way to a 7-3 nonleague win against St. Anthony's.

The 13th annual game between the regional rivals -- the Friars lead the series 7-6 -- was St. Anthony's (4-1) first against a powerhouse poised for a championship run.

"It's definitely a wake-up call and we'll start practicing a lot harder," senior captain and attack Dylan Molloy said. "We kind of come in thinking we're going to win every game, but this definitely changed that."

St. Anthony's coach Keith Wieczorek said there was no shame in the loss but added there are several things to work on, including knowing when to shoot the ball as opposed to hanging on too long for a shot.

"We know our issues right now; we're having trouble finishing our shots," Wieczorek said. "The kids know we have work to do."

SEE PHOTOSDelbarton 7, St. Anthony's 3

Just 40 seconds into the game, and after Harvard-bound Austin Williams secured the opening faceoff, Grant Van Fossan, who finished with a hat trick, scored for Delbarton. The away team scored again just a few minutes afterward when Jordan Dowiak connected on a shot that looked as if it was fired from a cannon.

"They started out fast and we just didn't know how to handle it," Molloy said.

Molloy opened the second quarter with a score for St. Anthony's yet Van Fossan's second goal increased the lead to 3-1 at the half.

Delbarton's faceoff wins and the senior-laden team's control of the ball led to a 4-2 scoring advantage during the second-half. A four-minute possession late in the fourth capped off by Van Fossan's third goal destroyed any plans for a St. Anthony's comeback.