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05/29/2017 12:00 AMAt the beginning of this season, the seniors on the Warriors’ boys’ lacrosse squad got together and established a goal of putting up the program’s first championship banner in the Valley Regional High School gym. Well, Valley’s seniors can now proudly say mission accomplished after the Warriors claimed their conference title by posting a 10-6 win over Haddam-Killingworth in the Shoreline Conference Tournament final at Indian River Complex in Clinton on May 25. Head Coach George Hudson’s squad got the nod on the strength of some stellar defense, as well as a balanced offensive attack that featured six different Warriors netting a goal on the night.
Senior captain Jacob Azzinaro saw the game unfold from his goalkeeper’s position, and he saw a team that was determined to achieve its objective. Azzinaro came up with 18 saves as part of a dominant defensive effort that helped the Warriors become the class of the Shoreline Conference in 2017.
“I’m just super stoked. We brought that banner to the school, and that’s a testament to this team,” said Azzinaro. “If we were just adding numbers to it that would be one thing, but we actually brought the banner to the gym.”
Senior captain Jonathan Brophy and senior Rocky Harpin both scored three goals and had one assist for Valley Regional. Sophomore Sean Cole had one goal to go with four assists. Juniors Charlie Ferrucci and Soren Frantz both scored a goal, as did freshman Davis Burleson, while Ryan Davis had an assist and also took all the face-offs for Valley. Fellow senior captain Hunter LaPlace scooped up four ground balls on defense, and Coach Hudson added that he did a great job of guarding Dan Civiello, who is one of H-K’s top offensive threats. Frantz and senior Nick Smith also had a heavy hand in Valley’s excellent defensive effort.
Valley and H-K had split their two regular season meetings, and the Shoreline final started off tight as the Warriors held a 3-2 lead after the first period. The Warriors won the second period 4-2 to hold a 7-4 advantage at halftime. Valley locked it down even more on defense after the break and held the Cougars to just two goals in the second half. Those defensive stops enabled to the Warriors to push in transition and maintain their offensive pressure as Valley pulled away in the latter half on its way to the 10-6 victory.
Brophy wasn’t just excited that the Warriors won the Shoreline Conference title, but also with the fact they won it together as a tight-knit group.
“That was the No. 1 from the beginning of the season. Being able to accomplish that with your best friends, that was the best thing,” said Brophy. “It will for sure be something that we will never forget. It’s the fairy tale ending to our senior year.”
As expected, Coach Hudson was beyond pleased with the team’s milestone victory, and he handed out high praise to his seniors for getting the Warriors to perform at such a high level.
“My seniors really set the goals and tempo for the team, and they pushed everybody else too,” said Hudson. They were great leaders on and off the field.”
Although the Warriors had a solid record heading into the Conference Tournament, they actually hit a small rough patch toward the end of the regular season by losing three straight games, including a 6-5 defeat against H-K. However, Coach Hudson felt the losing streak actually helped Valley get ready for the stiff competition of the playoffs. Hudson’s club open postseason play by routing defending conference champion Old Lyme, 16-4, in the Shoreline semifinals.
“We were down when we lost those three in a row, but these guys turned it around, and I couldn’t be more proud of them,” said Coach Hudson, whose team is now 14-4 overall. “I think it was kind of the teams we were playing. We had some pretty tough teams right at the end. After that last loss, we gathered ourselves and got back on course. They buckled it down and played pretty smart.”
Azzinaro and his fellow captains identified what wasn’t working for the Warriors and made sure that they got back to talking on defense. That played a huge part in Valley containing the Cougars’ offense in the championship game.
“We didn’t have as much communication. Now, we do a better job of talking. We started focusing on that after we lost to H-K,” Azzinaro said. “This game, talking wasn’t a problem. The second slide to recover wasn’t a problem. We were really good in transition, and our defense was really aggressive. Our guys aren’t afraid to bring the ball up the field and take a shot.”
While Valley’s communication skills were vital to the victory, Coach Hudson said the most important thing for the Warriors is to play free and easy on the field.
“When we aren’t tight, and we’re having fun, we just fly around and score goals. We were going to play our style, and we knew if we played our game, we had a shot. That was the biggest key,” said Hudson. “We were able to control our composure and play smart. I’m extremely proud of this team. They worked their butts off.”
Brophy knows the Warriors have many talented players who played a part in their run to the conference crown, but overall, he feels that Valley’s success stemmed more from the sum rather than any individual parts.
“I don’t think anyone feels like a freshman, a sophomore, a junior, or a senior. We all just fit together, and that’s why we’re winning,” Brophy said. “As long as you’re comfortable playing with everybody, then you’re going to be alright.”
Following the Shoreline Conference Tournament, Valley opened play in the Class S State Tournament as the No. 5 seed and posted a 9-7 win over 12th-seeded Morgan in the first round on May 31. Three days later, the Warriors took a 12-5 loss at Ellington in a second round contest to finish with an overall record of 15-5 for the season.
From the Sidelines
Valley Regional’s complete Shoreline Conference champion roster consists of senior captains Jonathan Brophy, Hunter LaPlace, Jacob Azzinaro, and Ryan Davis; fellow seniors Luke DeFrino, Rocky Harpin, and Nick Smith; juniors Charlie Ferrucci, Soren Frantz, Roan Sullivan, Nathan DeJongh, and Charlie Haughton; sophomores Peter Halsey, Sean Cole, Justin Robida, Jake Klin, Rick Persico, and Dylan LaPlace; and freshmen Davis Burleson, Bill Burch, Dan Harris, Mark Luccaro, and Cam Frazier.
Valley’s wins on the regular season came against North Branford (18-10 and 11-10), Cromwell (22-4 and 17-1), Old Lyme (17-11 and 10-9), Old Saybrook (12-5 and 11-2), Fitch (19-11), Morgan (12-9 and 7-4), and Haddam-Killingworth (12-7).