prognosis couldn't stop Martin or the rest of this colossal unit from utterly dominating their opponents' offensive schemes.
The U15 Colonials' offense came from everywhere. It was an insanely strong midfielding corps offensively with prolific scoring from Manny Oliver of Wayland, Patrick and Ryan Quinn of Billerica, and Geiger, who won a deluge of face-offs.
Impressive speed and reliable ball control came from Cole Ventimiglia of Lower Cape, Dale Dunning of Dedham, Ian Thompson of Norwood, Conor Keating of Wayland, and Jack Cordio of Leominster whose father ran the team's substitution box.
Eric Raguin of Acton-Boxborough, Tristan Pietz of Dudley-Charlton whose father was the team's offensive coordinator, and Justin Staniul of Reading particularly shone as attackmen who communicated well and moved the ball around with a mixture of confident finesse and ferocious infiltration of their zone.
Kullen Stone of Chelmsford and Jacob Gundersen of Martha's Vineyard rounded out this small, albeit feisty attack unit and not a single member of this 22-man juggernaut failed to contribute to the team's overall domination and presentation of exciting lacrosse.
Though the U13 Colonials counterpart had an extra hour to sleep-in and get to the field for their 8:00 match, the younger team gathered earlier than necessary in their desire to watch and support the U15 squad.
It was evident from very early on that Sunday morning, that their U15 brothers set a very high bar. Expectations would be immense and the pressure to perform was quite tangible.
In their pool, the U13 Colonials would face three established club teams. They faced the Stapleton Jets out of Stapleton, Colorado, the prominent Denver Elite U12 team—managed by legendary 6-time NCAA National Champion coach Bill Tierney—and the El Dorado Hills
Trojans out of Sacramento, California.
The U13 Colonials handled the Jets easily, winning their first game of the day 7-1. Nico Campana of Wayland began the scoring early and mesmerizing goaltending from Bode Weber of Hull whose father was the defensive coordinator and Tyler Woolf of South Boston secured a fairly low-maintenance victory.
The game of the day occurred at noon against one of the top youth lacrosse teams in the country. Denver Elite is a summer team that plays in a handful of local college-recruitment based tournaments and a few national ones as well. Similar to the Colonials, the players attend an overnight camp together at the University of Denver. They are the only National Scholastic Club Lacrosse Association (NSCLA) team from Colorado.
The game was action-packed—tight for the entire duration. Some bizarre calls from the officials made it a nail-biting bonanza on the visitor's sidelines. Short three attackmen, as they waited for half the unit to arrive later in the evening, the team's offense was generated from dominant midfielders including Will Vincent of Brookline, Isaac Tallino of Natick, Kevin Moriarty of Marshfield, and Cameron Reirden of Leominster.
A tall task was placed on Matthew Gilliatt of Grafton, Chad Palumbo of Newton, and Colby Zarba of Martha's Vineyard, as they were asked to play a dizzying amount of minutes. The trio was fearless in penetrating a staunch defense and putting rapid fire on the Denver goaltenders.
Denver Elite took a late two-goal lead with less than two minutes left in the game. Panic seemed contagious as none of the coaching staff knew precisely how much time was left. Cam Reirden scored in domineering fashion to bring the Colonials within one goal. Hustling back to midfield for one final face-off and possession, the Colonials saved their best and most dramatic moxie for the end and Isaac Tallino buried a ball deep in the cage as time expired to secure one of the most exciting ties of the tournament.
The U13 squad had a steady defensive unit made up of energetic and versatile all-stars, including Brendan Maher of Melrose, Tyler Freedman of Sharon, Trey Brown of Hopkinton, and Nolan Houlihan of Billerica. Campana also gave them some much-needed relief from the stifling July heat and palpable deficiencies of oxygen.
Justin Pare of Bedford, Collin Costello of Plymouth, Luke Ventimiglia of Lower Cape, and Chris Cusolito of Melrose each brought vigor and poise to the midfield position, playing valuable possessions and keeping the ball on the offensive side of the field.
The Scoop / Winter '15 11
Continued on 12
Larry Cordio, Sue Dacey, John Roberts, and Tom Atkins