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07/29/2019 12:00 AMThe Morgan boys’ lacrosse squad produced a quality campaign winning 11 games and competing in the Shoreline Conference Tournament final, as well as the Class S State Tournament in 2019. Head Coach Brendan Hylan’s squad featured a solid core of seniors who’s steady play helped propel them to double-digit wins on the year. Morgan defeated Haddam-Killingworth by a 10-9 score in the Shoreline semis before dropping a 12-7 contest to North Branford in the final. In states, the Huskies lost to H-K, 10-5 in the first round.
While the Huskies didn’t reach the ultimate goal of winning a championship this past spring, Coach Hylan still considered this campaign something that his team could be proud of. The Huskies went out and played hard every chance they had.
“In the beginning of the season, I ask the kids what individual goals and team goals they want to strive for. Most of them stuck with a team goal and they wanted to bring the banner home,” said Hylan. “That was a common overall team goal, unfortunately we did not quite get there, but I think we had a solid season.”
The play of Morgan’s two senior captains in Zak Johnson and Ryan Caldwell helped thrust the Huskies into playoffs. Johnson also earned the team’s Most Valuable Player award and provided 44 points between 22 goals and 22 assists, while Caldwell took home the Huskies’ Offensive MVP Award as the team’s points leader with 63 points (47 goals, 16 assists). Coach Hylan loved everything the senior pair brought to the field.
“Zak was the heart and soul of the team. There were games when he was the leading goal scorer, but there were other games where he would have to distribute the ball more. Ultimately, he was the positive force. He was the kid that picked up the offense and cheered for the defense. He was well received as a captain and a lot of the kids respected him,” said Hylan. “Ryan just controlled the pace of the game. If he was having a day with seven, plus points, we were on the offensive push. If he wasn’t having a day like that, the defense picked up the slack. He wasn’t the loudest player, but he led by example on the field.”
Helping out with the scoring load was senior Ford Pender, who supplied 38 points between 29 goals and nine assists. Hylan depended on Pender’s solid play in the midfield.
“Ford was a two-way middie for us. He was our leading scorer as a midfielder. He is just the type of player you want in any sport because he’s a spark plug,” said Hylan. “He’s a go-go kind of kid who can just keep going. He’s a blue-collar type who will bump and grind to give it his all every game. He was kind of mister clutch for us.”
Goalie Matt Luchuk earned the Huskies’ Defensive MVP Award and All-Shoreline Conference Second Team honors for his stellar play in the net. Luchuk had a save percentage of 60 percent on the season. Luchuk made just as big of an impact preventing goals as the offense did scoring them, according to Hylan.
“We didn’t have a defensive captain, but Matt definitely filled that void,” said Hylan. “As a goalkeeper myself, I saw him as a general on the field, and he he wasn’t afraid to bark the orders to keep the kids moving around on the defensive end.”
Another major presence on defense was senior Mike Savage. While lacrosse wasn’t his first sport, Savage was a capable defender who used his football know-how to help him be effective.
“Mike was one of our better defensemen. He’s going on to play football in college. He could really shut down the other team’s attack,” Hylan said. “He’ll never shy away from a fight in that regard. His last name says it all. He’s ruthless as a defensman and get, and I really enjoyed coaching him.”
Earning Morgan’s Sportsmanship Award, which was named in honor of Alice Lee and comes with a scholarship, was senior Matt Koziy. His relentless approach to helping the tea improved, whether it be at practice or game time, made Koziy Hylan’s choice for the honor.
“I usually select someone who on and off the field that could knock you down and extend a hand and pick you back up,” said Hylan. “He makes a great play and will help you figure out how you can beat him the next time out. He was trying to help the kids get better and he’s off to college to play lacrosse.”
With the Huskies being a senior-heavy squad this season, Hylan expects that there may be some growing pains next year. Still, Hylan believes that Morgan can compete with anybody in the Shoreline conference given some time with a large incoming group of freshman and seasoned returning players.
“So we graduated 10 seniors this year, and nine of those 10 were starters, but, we bring in 14 freshmen,” said Hylan. “I see it as a rebuilding year, but I’ll never count us out. We’re going to bring back some solid players too. These kids are going to have to step up next season.”
From the Sidelines
The Morgan boys’ lacrosse team’s roster featured senior captains Ryan Caldwell and Zak Johnson; seniors Matthew Koziy, Hunter Kyhn, John Leviness, Matthew Luchuk, Ford Pender, and Peter Sullivan; juniors Alex Amendola, Jonathan Fiorillo, Tyler ForChielli, Kyle Gagliardi, Elmir Gutic, Hunter Hill, Matthew Lee, Benjamin Lichack, and Liam Trahant; sophomores Andrew Beauchamp, Guiseppe Carpenter, Timothy Lichak, and Todd Morin; and freshmen Joey Bruce, Aidan Madura, Ethan Madura, Aidan McEnaney, Diego Pelaez, and Tyler Zitzkat.
Brendan Hylan completed his second season as the Huskies’ head coach. Hylan’s coaching included assistant coaches Scott Bush and Dennis Forbes. Coach Hylan also thanked social media director Pete Mezzetti.
The Huskies earned wins in the regular season against Valley Regional (13-10 and 14-2), Cromwell (17-4 and 15-2), Old Saybrook (14-5 and 10-3), Old Lyme (11-5 and 6-5), and Haddam-Killingworth (14-6 and 8-5).
Morgan defeated Haddam-Killingworth in the Shoreline Conference Tournament semifinal by a score of 10-9 to advance to the final where they lost to North Branford 12-7.