By Marnee Rosen
Special to Pascack Press
PVRHSD—The Pascack Hills boys lacrosse team just posted one of its most successful seasons in school history. The Broncos finished 13-4 and broke the program record for wins, set back in 2010, while also scoring 167 goals, more than any other previous PH squad.
PH coach Dave Bucco took over the lacrosse program this year after seven seasons as an assistant, and gave props to his senior class for their performance and influence on the rest of the roster.
“This group of seniors deserves a lot of credit, not only for their play but also for their senior leadership,” Bucco told Pascack Press. “This is a group that went through a four-win season as freshmen, lost their sophomore year to Covid-19 and then went 8-7 last year. This year, we essentially had a new staff which is never an easy transition, but we made a goal at the beginning of the year to break the program wins record and it was nice to see them be rewarded for their effort.”
The girls lacrosse team at PH flourished this season as well: The Broncos secured a league title on May 18 after beating Northern Valley Demarest. In that game, junior Emily Sailer scored her 100th career goal.
“I’m so happy I achieved this milestone because it has been a big goal of mine,” Sailer told Dylan Cochin of the Trailblazer. “However, I would not have been able to score my 100th goal without my amazing teammates and extremely supportive coaches.”
PH coach Lindsey Jachens said that Sailer was unable to play lacrosse her freshman year due to the pandemic, so Sailer is only playing in her second high school season.
“We are so incredibly proud of Emily for reaching this milestone,” Jachens said. “Scoring 100 goals in two seasons is an impressive feat. This accomplishment is symbolic of all of the hard work Emily has put into lacrosse since she first picked up the sport.”
Boys bring it
Bucco said senior captains Joseph DelGrande (127 faceoffs won) and four-year starter Billy Gold helped tremendously on faceoffs and on the defensive side of the ball.
Junior John Stewart was named 1st Team All-League and led the way offensively with 39 goals and 34 assists, and took on an increased role this year. Senior Brendan Kelley, who was PH’s leading scorer a year ago and missed this season due to injury, so more of the onus fell on Stewart to produce.
The team received meaningful contributions from its freshman class, as CJ Driver and Michael Weaver combined for 53 goals and 37 assists.
Bucco lauded seniors Gianni DelForno, Connor Carlson, Ryan Feder, Nick Priore, Connor Hughes, Anthony Rotella, Garret Wynne, Steven Valko and Cole Tansky as integral contributors.
In net, senior goalie Ryan Giammanco posted a breakout season as well, holding opponents to under six goals a game and amassing 215 saves while earning a First Team All-League selection.
Bucco said, “It’s tough to mention just some of the guys on this team, because they all deserve recognition.” But he singled out:
- Junior midfielder Mark Espinosa (17 goals, 20 ground balls), “someone we relied on all season long on both sides of the ball.”
- Sophomore midfielder Ryan Davis (16 goals, nine assists and 25 grounballs), Bucco called Davis “probably our most talented midfielder.”
- Sophomore Gabe Crandall (21 ground balls), who “handled our long stick midfielder position all season and was someone we relied on heavily.”
- Junior defender Chris Bonanno (team-leading 54 ground balls), sophomore Zack Groves (three goals, 12 ground balls) and freshman Connor Ohnikian (six goals, 30 groundballs) “who all played hard and were all ground ball machines.”
Bucco said he expects the boys’ program to continue its winning ways next year despite numerous players set to graduate.
“I’m hoping this type of success motivates our guys to really put in a great off-season of training and we come back next year and win the first ever title in program history,” Bucco said.
He added, “We have all the pieces and the talent to accomplish this. We want to win a league title and then move up to the next level of competition and start climbing that ladder.”