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06/29/2017 12:00 AMLed by a versatile offensive attack, a defense that communicated seamlessly, and a hunger to make history, Valley Regional boys’ lacrosse put together the best season that the team has ever seen during the spring of 2017.
Following consecutive campaigns where the Warriors eked out berths into the State Tournament, the recent season marked a seven-win improvement for Valley, which finished with an overall record of 15-5. Most notably, the Warriors brought the Shoreline Conference championship banner home to Deep River by earning a 10-6 win over Haddam-Killingworth in the Shoreline Tournament final.
Head Coach George Hudson looked back at what Valley accomplished this year and feels proud of his guys for carving out their place in Warriors’ history by making adjustments and improving as the campaign wore on.
“It went well. We definitely grew throughout the year. Our losses helped us figure out what we needed to fix to get to that level,” said Hudson, who was in his third year as Valley’s head coach. “Overall, a very successful season. Years in the past, coaching was stressful trying to get the wins to get into states. This year, it all fell into place. You only get so many of those as a coach. This one was a special year.”
The Warriors played a grueling three-game stretch in three days at the end of April. With so much running up and down the field, it’s difficult for lacrosse players to have fresh legs and stay competitive through such a stretch. However, Valley pulled off victories in all three games by defeating conference foes North Branford (11-10), Morgan (12-9), and Haddam-Killingworth (12-7). It was right then and there that Coach Hudson knew his team had a chance to do something special this year.
“We had the three games in a row: North Branford, Morgan, H-K, back to back to back,” said Hudson. “We thought then that if we could go 3-0 in that stretch, then we’re right there with the best teams.”
Coach Hudson attributes a lot of Valley’s success to the leadership of his senior captains Jonathan Brophy, Hunter LaPlace, Jacob Azzinaro, and Ryan Davis. Hudson said that all four members of the quartet led by example through their unrelenting effort.
“The senior captains worked their butts off, never taking a rep off,” he said. “They played pretty much every possession. They were the heartbeat of our team. You can’t pull one apart and say he was the one. The four of them just led the team phenomenally.”
Hudson also noted that all four captains were close enough with each other that they were able to hold one another accountable without damaging their friendship. They all supported each other when they got down, and that made it much easier for any of them to get out of a rut.
“When one of them would have a bad day, someone would take the leadership role,” said Hudson. “If someone was having a bad game, another would step up their game, but nobody would give the anybody a day off either. They would say, ‘We got your back, but you’ve got to get into this game.’ They played well they meshed well together. It wasn’t just captains on the lacrosse field. They were friends.”
Each one of the Warriors’ captains earned an award that commemorated their contributions to Valley’s landmark campaign. Brophy took home the Warriors’ Most Valuable Player Award on top of garnering All-State First Team recognition. Brophy totaled 56 goals and 14 assists for the season, although Coach Hudson said that he played great on both sides of the ball.
“He really pushed the offense for us, but when I needed him to play ‘D,’ he would,” Hudson said. “He was our all-around guy this year.”
LaPlace was named to the All-Shoreline Conference First Team, the All-State Second Team, and also earned the team’s Coach’s Award for his stalwart defensive play that hit a peak this spring. LaPlace was constantly asked to stop the opposition’s top scorer and always handled that assignment with aplomb.
“He got that because of his growth over the three years that I’ve seen him,” said Hudson. “He’s gotten better every year. All the years of hard work he was such a solid defender facing the No. 1 attacker.”
Meanwhile, Azzinaro, who was Valley’s goalkeeper, earned the Warriors’ Defensive Player of the Year Award by excelling as the squad’s last line of defense with his 235 saves on the season. Azzinaro was also the guy who would get the team’s defenders into the right spots on the field.
“He guided the defense to do what they needed to do,” said Hudson. “He’s a great goalie at saving the ball, but this year he stepped up even more by communicating so well with the defense. He guided them much more this season through the slides and positioning on the field.”
Davis was Valley Regional’s key face-off man and wound up earning the Warrior Award. Davis battled through the bumps and bruises to stay on the field when his team needed team, and both his teammates and coach appreciated that commitment.
“He took 99 percent of our face-offs. He played man down, man up,” said Hudson. “He had a groin injury, a back injury. Even if he was hurt, he was the next man up. He showed a lot of grit this year.”
Fellow senior Rocky Harpin won the Warriors’ Offensive Player of the Year Award. Harpin put home 48 goals for Valley Regional, but was also a facilitator on the offensive end, as evidenced by his 31 assists for the season.
“His growth and his ability to see the offense and handle the pressure and play wherever we needed him on the offense was huge for us,” Coach Hudson said.
The Warriors will be fielding a much different team next year following the graduation of their seven seniors from this year’s squad. Still, Coach Hudson remains optimistic about Valley’s prospects for 2018. He has already named All-Shoreline Conference First Team Award winners Charlie Ferrucci and Soren Frantz as next year’s captains and knows that they learned a lot about how to lead a team to success from the guys who guided the 2017 edition of the Warriors to their best season in program history.
“Our future’s pretty bright. Our defense is there. I think our offense is there” said Hudson. “Yes, we lose a lot of seniors, a lot of leadership, but our younger group has the talent and ability to fill the role of the seniors we lost. It may take a little bit, but we’ll get there.”
From the Sidelines
Valley Regional’s varsity roster consisted 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 finished with a record of 12-4 for the regular season with its wins coming 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).
In the Shoreline Conference Tournament, the Warriors won their semifinal matchup against Old Lyme, 16-4, prior to a 10-6 victory against Haddam-Killingworth final. After Shorelines, Valley played in the Class S State Tournament as the No. 5 seed and posted a 9-7 home win over 12th-seeded Morgan in the first round. The Warriors took a 12-5 loss at the No. 4 seed Ellington in a second round contest.