Pearl River Boys Lacrosse to Rely On Veteran Defense

The Pearl River boys lacrosse team returns two of its top three scorers from 2010

The Pirates also have a veteran defense that should be the strength of the team.

The question is who will step up in the midfield, where they lost all three starters. That should go a long way to determining if Pearl River can match and possibly improve upon its 10-7 record from a year ago, even with only four returning starters.

"We can do pretty well," said Pearl River coach Al Staker. "I think eight to 10 wins is definitely possible for this team again. We play the same teams every year, so we know what these teams can do. We can play with just about every team on our schedule, maybe outside of Suffern. After Suffern, we’re competitive with every other school. Every game winnable if we get some good play out of a couple kids and good play out of our goalie. We should do okay if we don't have injuries."

Two parts of that statement could make the beginning of the season a challenge. Pearl River opens 4:15 p.m. today at Suffern and they may do so without senior Eric Moreau, who has been out a couple of weeks since rolling his ankle. Moreau scored 31 goals and dished out nine assists for a team-high 40 points in 2010 and Stakes is hoping he can play today.

Another returning starter, Ryan O'Connor, was third on the team with 32 points a year ago, including a team-high 15 assists. The key is finding a third attacker and midfielders to help them on the offensive end. Senior Alex Rudloff and junior Chris McGarry are likely candidates to fill two of those midfield spots. Senior Cory Hoffman is another option.

"Our second midfield is a good group of kids, but they are going to have to step up quite a bit to replace the scoring we had in our midfield last year," Staker said. "Alex Rudloff played varsity as a sophomore and a junior. We're looking for him to really step up and pick up a lot of the scoring we lost. (He and) Chris McGarry, both of them had seven-to-nine goals last year. We need them to increase that production closer to 15 to 20 this year to be competitive."

Rudloff scored nine goals as a junior and McGarry had seven last season, but the midfield must do more than score goals. They are a key part of a team's transition game.

"It's not just getting in your six-on-six," Staker said. "It's getting back on defense, picking up the right guys. They transition the defense to offense. If you can move the ball quicker to the offense, it makes scoring a lot easier. It's a lot easier to score four-on-four than six-on-six. We're hoping a couple of these guys can do it for us this year. They've shown glimpses of it."

The defense will be anchored by returning starters Sean Mockler, a senior, and Tom Argenti, a junior. Senior Mike Whiting, one of the team's captains, is also a part of the veteran group. Junior goalie Lowell Hunt shared time there a year ago, compiling a 4-2 record with a 7.23 goals against average and .636 save percentage.

"Our defense was pretty good last year and we return a good core of defensive players," Staker said. "We have our top two long-pole middies and two of the three starting defensemen. Our goalie is experienced. We return a lot of experience on the defensive end. I think will definitely be our strong point this year."

Pearl River is in League B with Nyack, Tappan Zee, Nanuet and Albertus Magnus. Staker said that Nyack returns quite a bit of talent this year and that Tappan Zee seems to always find a way to be solid.

2011 PEARL RIVER BOYS LACROSSE ROSTER

Seniors

Ryan O'Connor

George Corbiere

Eric Moreau

Sean Mockler

Tom Gorman

Cory Hoffman

Alex Rudloff

Brian Kelley

Matt Whiting

Matt Dodge

Kyle Hartigan

Juniors

Pat Brosnan

Lowell Hunt

Chris Alexander

Chris McGarry

Darren Gargan

Tom Argenti

Andrew Guarino

Austin Huber

Bryan Conway

John Orsino

Pierse Spilane

Ryan Fatigate

Justin Smith

Tyler Dierks

Mike O'Shea

Sophomores

Kevin Mulcahy

Freshmen

James Stephen

Eighth Grade

Matt Bosco

2011 PEARL RIVER BOYS LACROSSE SCHEDULE

Date

Day

Opponent

Location

Time

March 28

Monday

Suffern

Away

4:15 p.m.

March 31

Thursday

Minisink Valley

Torne Valley

4:15 p.m.

April 2

Saturday

JFK

Away

11 a.m.

April 4

Monday

New Rochelle

Away

4:30 p.m.

April 5

Tuesday

North Rockland

Away

4:15 p.m.

April 8

Friday

Clarkstown South

Home

4:15 p.m.

April 11

Monday

Edgemont

Away

4:15 p.m.

April 13

Wednesday

Clarkstown North

Home

4:15 p.m.

April 15

Friday

Peekskill

Home

4:30 p.m.

April 27

Wednesday

Hastings

Home

4:15 p.m.

April 29

Friday

Albertus Magnus *

Home

4:15 p.m.

April 30

Saturday

Archbishop Stepinac

Away

1 p.m.

May 4

Wednesday

Tappan Zee*

Home

4:15 p.m.

May 9

Monday

Eastchester

Home

4:30 p.m.

TBD

TBD

Nyack*

Home

4:15 p.m.

May 14

Saturday

Nanuet*

Away

12 p.m.

                 *  - Denotes League B game.