NO. 13 DON BOSCO PREP BOYS LACROSSE STARTS FAST, TOPS NO. 15 CHRISTIAN BROTHERS

Their names might not be attention-grabbers just yet. That will come with time. The way the ball was flying around on offense Wednesday for Don Bosco Prep, No. 13 in the NJ.com Top 20, was eye-catching though. This attack isn't as established as last year's squad was, but the Ironmen looked dynamic in their opener, beating No. 15 Christian Brothers, 12-4. Passes were crisp. Space was created. Movement was nonstop. Add all of up and it's easy to see why lanes were open for Don Bosco to score so much, including its dominance during a 9-0 run that lasted almost 32 minutes and set the tone. The Ironmen saw six different players finish with at least one goal and watched as Nate Mazurek and Reese Gerlach each scored three. "We definitely have some big shoes to fill this year after the Kims left and minus Joey (Corbett) right now, but we have guys stepping up to fill spots. We made plays and showed out today," said Gerlach. "This is exciting. The culture here right now is unreal. We have a lot of guys who are willing to put in the work and want to win. "We're ready to go all out." Last year, the Kims handled a lot of the possessions on offense. The twins are off at Syracuse University now though. Corbett was expected to take on a bigger role in their absence and still could by the end of the season. Right now, however, the Michigan commit is sitting out and waiting to become eligible. Corbett played high school lacrosse in eighth grade in New York. That became an issue because of New Jersey's eight-semester rule. The Ironmen came into the year knowing what had to be done. Don Bosco needed its older players to step up to fill the void and seniors like Gerlach and Matt Solleder have accepted the challenge. Solleder, a Lafayette commit, was a presence a year ago on attack with 24 goals and 27 assists, but this could be a much bigger year if he keeps playing like he did in the opener. Solleder scored a pair of goals and had a career-high six assists. He spent much of the afternoon at the top of offense, surveying the CBA defense and waiting for his chance to find an open stick. It worked over and over again as Gerlach, Mazurek, Bill Gaul, David Kyme and Max Thomas all got open for scores. "We've been working the zone all week in practice and the lanes were open almost every time," Solleder said. "Guys were open and we had opportunities and we capitalized every time. It was nice to have no sticks in the lane and no pressure on the outside. We were all composed and it made it easier to work together." The defense also played a major role in the opener. And just like the offense, that unit had to overcome the loss of a big-time player. For the second year in a a row, UNC commit Joe Destro will miss the season with a knee injury. The senior suffered that injury the first day of practice and it was devastating blow to the Don Bosco defense. But the Ironmen had to push forward. They've done that so far and were in midseason form against CBA. After CBA scored to make it 3-3 with 1:38 left in the first quarter, Don Bosco settled in and put the clamps down. The offense rattled off nine straight scores before CBA scored again, recording its fourth and final goal of the game with 5:40 left in the fourth quarter. For the 32 minutes in between, the Ironmen were untouchable. That defensive unit was made up of seniors Michael Buschbacher, Matt Dilorenzo, Jason Haber and Sean Devir as well as juniors Luke Fortunato and Michael Courtney. Senior Jack Bagin and junior transfer Jonathan Singer split time in net. The better the defense played, the more chances the offense had. It was a winning combination against CBA. It's also a formula that can carry Don Bosc Prep far in the county and state tournaments in 2019. "It was really easy to trust the defense to get us the ball because they kept doing it again and again," said Solleder. "(Luke) Fortunato had a couple huge ground balls and weaved his way through traffic to get the ball up to us in transition and that's what we need to get the offense started. The faster the defense gets it to us, the faster we can settle down, slow it down and dictate what happens next."

NO. 13 DON BOSCO PREP BOYS LACROSSE STARTS FAST, TOPS NO. 15 CHRISTIAN BROTHERS

Photo Credit: Andrew Mills