St. Augustine falls in state lacrosse semifinals
MORRISTOWN, N.J. - The drive from St. Augustine to Delbarton is roughly two hours. This, of course, is nothing unusual for the Hermits' lacrosse team - the nomads of South Jersey.
MORRISTOWN, N.J. - The drive from St. Augustine to Delbarton is roughly two hours. This, of course, is nothing unusual for the Hermits' lacrosse team - the nomads of South Jersey.
Game days for St. Augustine often require more time on a bus than on a field. In fact, most St. Augustine players travel about an hour just to get from their homes to school every day.
Sacrifice is a part of St. Augustine lacrosse. The team sacrifices easy wins to play an independent schedule against some of the top programs in the country. The players sacrifice their time and their bodies.
The Hermits are the best team in South Jersey. But they finished this season with just a 12-8 record after falling in Saturday's Non-Public A semifinals, 10-6, to Delbarton.
So the question, then, is whether the players think it's worthwhile to put themselves through all of the sacrifice.
"It's a brotherhood - there's just nowhere I would rather be," said senior attackman Charlie Kitchen. "And because we know someday we're going to win a game like this, and we all want to do our part in helping the program reach that point."
Kitchen's goal with 10 minutes, 16 seconds left in the fourth quarter tied the game at 6 before Delbarton (20-2) took control.
The late push by St. Augustine solidified that the Hermits belonged on the field with Delbarton - a true national powerhouse. And that's a mark of success for the Hermits.
St. Augustine looked organized and fluid and every bit as athletic as the Green Wave.
Each year, the program looks a little more solid, a little more complete, a little closer to breaking through in one of the nation's toughest high school playoff brackets.
Each year, they have a real shot.
"The reason we play the regular season that we play is to be ready for a game like this," said St. Augustine coach JC Valore. "And I do think this is the deepest, smartest, strongest team that we've ever had.
"And hopefully that trend continues as we continue to grow as a program."
St. Augustine had Delbarton on its heels at points in the first half as the Hermits dominated faceoffs and controlled possession.
Crisp ball movement led to a first-half hat trick for Jared McLaughlin. McLaughlin's third goal with 6:51 left in the second quarter gave the Hermits a 4-3 that they took into halftime.
And St. Augustine didn't go away even after Delbarton opened the third quarter with three unanswered goals. The Hermits answered with two straight, tying the score, before Delbarton's final outburst.
"We wanted to come out and play our game today, and we felt like we did," said McLaughlin, who finished with three goals and an assist. "We had a couple slips in the second half, but we're proud of the way we played."
McLaughlin is a Medford Lakes resident who travels about 45 minutes every day to St. Augustine in Richland.
He could have gone to a public school. He could have been a more dominant player, winning conference and even sectional championships.
But after the game - after the senior hugged almost every one of his teammates and wiped a few tears from his eyes - he talked about how proud he was to represent South Jersey on a bigger stage, how proud he was to add his own chapter to a storied program.
"I wouldn't want to play with any other team," McLaughlin said. "I love these guys."
St. Augustine 2 2 1 1 - 6
Delbarton 3 0 3 4 - 10
Goals: SA-Luke McLoughlin 3, Jared Chiachetti, Charlie Kitchen, Kyle Ross; D-Colin Crowley 2, Sam Johnson, Rory Madigan 2, Jack Chatwin 2, Keegan Khan 2, Tom Schelling.
Saves: SA-Luke Russomanno 7; D-Chris Crowley 9.