Bonaddio's saves help Garnet Valley edge Ridley
It must have been like music to his ears. Michael Bonaddio was desperately trying to defend Garnet Valley's one-goal lead over Ridley on Thursday night when the ball slipped past him.
It must have been like music to his ears.
Michael Bonaddio was desperately trying to defend Garnet Valley's one-goal lead over Ridley on Thursday night when the ball slipped past him.
Fortunately for the junior goalie, he heard the unmistakable ping of the goal post.
"That's my best friend," he said, smiling. "I heard the ding just as loud as you did. It's just that in my head, it's a little bit louder."
Ridley fans heard it also, emitting an audible groan of disappointment as Garnet Valley retrieved the ball with about 2 minutes, 30 seconds remaining in the game.
Bonaddio and the Jaguars held on to win, 6-5, in a tightly contested Central League lacrosse game.
"This is a huge win for us," Bonaddio said. "Coming off the Spring-Field game, this is "gi-normous" for us and the program."
Garnet Valley (6-1) had suffered its first loss of the season Tuesday. Bonaddio's 20 saves Thursday night staved off a second defeat.
Even after pinging the post, Ridley continued to rip shots at the 6-foot-3, 240-pound junior, who wears a size 12 shoe.
"The defense was putting them in spots where I could see the ball and save it," Bonnadio said. "I'm lucky that I'm big, so I used that to my advantage."
It wasn't all luck, however. Bonaddio also positioned himself well to cut off angles and cover almost every inch of the goal.
"I love when it hits the post," he said. "It just tells me that I was in the right spot. It forces them to make a perfect shot and the post was there to help me out."
Tyler Moschella scored two goals, including the eventual game-winner. He also sparked the sluggish Jaguars.
At the 2:18 mark of the second quarter, Moschella tied the game at two with an assist from Denny Nealon. Seven seconds later, Nealon scored again with a helper from faceoff man Dan Lanham.
Ridley tied the game twice, but couldn't beat Bonaddio for the go-ahead goal. After all, goaltending runs in the family.
His father, Vincenzo, played goalie at Cornell, and his older brother, Anthony, was a goalie in high school. Another brother, Vincenzo Jr., played football at Johns Hopkins.
Bonaddio picked up his first goalie stick at seven. His first lacrosse stick apparently came much sooner.
"When I was born I had a stick in my hand," he said.
Garnet Valley 0 3 2 1 - 6
Ridley 1 1 2 1 - 5
G: Dylan Lee 1, Tyler Moschella 2, Denny Nealon 1, Matt Moore 1, Tim Bradley 1.
R: Brock Anderson 1, Billy Rouse 2, Devan Tavani 1, Cade Stratton 1.