SOUTH BRUNSWICK 6, NORTH BRUNSWICK 5

SOUTH BRUNSWICK — Drama, upsets and more drama.

That was the theme last night at the semifinals of the Greater Middlesex Conference Boys Lacrosse Tournament, when third-seeded South Brunswick nipped second-seeded North Brunswick 6-5 in double overtime on two late goals, followed by fourth-seeded East Brunswick shocking top-seeded St. Joseph 9-8 on a goal in the closing minutes.

North Brunswick (11-5) had beaten South Brunswick (12-4) twice during the regular season, while St. Joseph (15-4) had upended East Brunswick (11-6) twice during the season. South Brunswick will entertain East Brunswick in the title game tomorrow night at 7 p.m.

In the opening game, host South Brunswick saw a 3-1 third-quarter lead turn into a 5-3 defict with 5:32 remaining in the game. But after Chris Laurita made it a 5-4 affair with 3:42 left in regulation when the defending champion Raiders were down a man, junior attackman Kevin Lally forced OT when he picked up a loose ball and raced to the goal, scoring from 10 yards out while falling down as time expired.

After a scoreless initial overtime, the Vikings won it when Laurita scored in similar fashion with 31 seconds showing in the sudden-death overtime.

On the tying goal, Lally said, "There was a loose ball, I ran to it and when it was just me and the goalie, I went for it. I knew there wasn't much time, but I didn't realize how close it was. I didn't know why everyone was jumping on me."

On the winning goal, Laurita commented, "Andrew Fellouris, our defensive man, just threw the ball up and it came right to me. I basically had a sword fight with my guy, then it was just me and the goalie for about 20-30 yards. At that point, I just closed my eyes and let it go."

2006 GMC TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS!!!!SOUTH BRUNSWICK 9EAST BRUNSWICK 5
MONMOUTH JUNCTION — The South Brunswick High School boys lacrosse team knows all about adversity. And last night, instead of overcoming it, for once they dished it out.

Too much, in fact, for the East Brunswick boys lacrosse team to handle.

The Vikings downed the Bears 9-5 yesterday in the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament championship game, claiming their first crown since 2001 in a contest that was all but decided by halftime.

Zach Zenda and Chris Laurita scored hat tricks, a suffocating defense limited East Brunswick to two goals until there were under seven minutes left in the game and goalkeeper Luke Zabel stopped 13 of the 18 shots he faced.

The win snapped a five-year championship drought for South Brunswick, which had lost in the GMCT finals in each of the last four seasons. But head coach Mark Ziminski said that, in looking back, he sees six years of success, not four years of failure.

"There was no monkey (on my back) — I don't even look at it that way," he said. "Every year you want to win, but the fact that we got here six years in a row is an excellent achievement."

Zenda got the Vikings started yesterday with a goal 2:51 into the game, and that was just the beginning. Laurita scored 1:07 later, then tallied again off a feed from teammate Kevin Lally with 17.4 seconds left in the first quarter to make the score 4-1.

East Brunswick's Bryan Pasichow scored 3:17 into the second quarter to draw the Bears to within two, but that was where Zabel took over. He made seven saves and allowed no goals over the next 26 minutes of play (spanning three quarters), while his teammates scored four, with Lally assisting on three of them (he finished with a goal and four helpers).

East Brunswick leading scorers Steve Kulischenko, Mike Corona, and Nick Fusco — who had combined for 85 goals and 129 points entering the day — were all held without a single point until Corona's unassisted goal with 6:25 left in regulation.

It was a team effort from a group that learned the meaning of the word in the first game of the season, when Rut gers-bound junior phenom Kory Kelly — the team's leading scorer a year earlier — tore his ACL, MCL, and meniscus.

"Even before Kory went down, we said it couldn't be a one-man show this year," Ziminski said. "And then they made it happen. Through all the adversity, they all fought through it."

Laurita and Lally both agreed that the team rallied around its fallen star, and made a commitment to rise above that loss and a bevy of other early-season injuries to a number of players. They said that the character developed from those struggles helped them last night.

"It was a team effort today," Lally said. "Everyone contributed, and we think that says a lot about our program."

Laurita agreed, "We definitely didn't do it alone."

Kelly was in full uniform on the sidelines last night, although he didn't play. After accepting his individual championship plaque at the conclusion of the game — Kelly never removed his helmet — he received a hug and a tap on the head from nearly every teammate.

Kelly is scheduled to have surgery on his knee this week, and should be ready to take the field again by the start of the 2007 season.

"They won it for him today," Ziminski said. "And he'll go to the hospital with a smile on his face."

Coach Ziminski, the staff and players would like to thank all the fans and students for their support on Monday night. The tailgating and body painting was great to see.

SOUTH BRUNSWICK 11, SOUTHERN REGIONAL 10

Chris Laurita scored five times for South Brunswick, which built a five-goal lead early in the fourth quarter and held on to defeat Southern of Manahawkin, 11-10, yesterday in the first round of the NJSIAA Group 4 tournament in South Brunswick.

Sixth-seeded South Brunswick (14-4) forged an 11-6 lead 3:25 into the final quarter on a goal by Adam Kinder. Southern (14-5), seeded 11th, clawed back with four goals in the games final seven minutes.

Shane Foley scored twice and Theo Smyk, Kevin Lally and Zach Venda had one goal apiece for South Brunswick. Laurita, a junior attackman, has fired in 17 goals over his last six games. Teammate Luke Zabel, a sophomore, came up with eight saves.