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Sports

Boys Lacrosse Players Take New Attitude Into New Season

Hard work is the name of the game for these players.

Improvement is the key word for Scott Reid and the boys lacrosse team at Jefferson High this year. The goal is to improve on last year's 7-14 record.

The Falcons head into this season looking to returning stars who have set a goal of winning the conference division and getting beyond the first round of the state tournament. Those same players will also be relying on a handful of sophomores who are making an impression and will have a real chance of playing quite a bit.

Coming off a season with a record of 7-14, three-year coach Reid does not think the team's record last year reflected its ability. According to Reid, the Falcons had one of the toughest out-of-conference schedules and therefore, played and lost to many top teams in the area. Despite that, the team qualified for the state tournament, losing to Ramapo in the first round.

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Returning at goal is DJ Kerwein, a three-year starter and first team all-conference selection from last season. Kerwein also holds the Falcon record for most saves in a game, 29, and most saves in a season, 247. According to Reid, Kerwein is the “best goalie we’ve ever had” at Jefferson.

Garrett Mullins returns to the 2011 season after missing half of last year’s season with a broken rib. Even with that debilitating injury, Mullins was a second team all-conference selection. Reid has no doubt that if Mullins played a full season he would have been a first team selection.

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Gone from this year’s squad are Pat Hodapp, Sean Sweeney and Max Becker, all captains on the 2010 squad. Hodapp, a first team all-state selection, will be missed at middie. He’s now playing at Mercy College, a Division II team in New York. Sweeney, a big part of the Falcons defense, is now playing at Montclair State University. And Becker, also a middie, is at County College of Morris.

“We have a mission this year—a different attitude at how hard we work. We’re getting back to being a family,” said Reid. The team creed this year is "your team versus our family.” It is printed on very bright pink shirts that the players wear to practice on pink t-shirt Friday. Printed just above their creed is the #13, in honor of Tim Metzger, a former Falcon lacrosse captain who was murdered this past January in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.

“We’re going to be a team to be reckoned with,” said Mullins, a four-year starter at attack. “We have a brand new attitude toward how we play. Our senior class has a lot of leadership ability and we will step up,” he added.

“I’m excited to see how we work together as a team,” said senior Ryan Boucher, a three-year starter on defense. “I’m also excited to see if we can beat our rivals, Vernon, Sparta and Montville. I’m going to try to keep everyone positive, motivated and doing their own job.”

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