Summit nips Moorestown in lacrosse final

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. - Moorestown pushed heavily favored Summit to the brink.

But the state's No. 2 team pushed back.

Kyle Mahoney scored the winning goal with 34 seconds to play as Summit beat Moorestown, 9-8, yesterday in the Group 2 state championship game in boys' lacrosse.

"We gave them everything we've got," Moorestown coach Baron Wallenhurst said. "That's one of the two best, if not the best, teams in the state."

Mahoney scored four goals, and James Kennedy added three for top-seeded Summit (20-1), which is ranked No. 2 in the state by the Newark Star-Ledger.

Brian Lapres scored four goals and Andrew Berry collected three assists for third-seeded Moorestown (14-8), the defending state champion.

"I don't think anybody besides Moorestown thought we had a chance," Berry said. "But we knew we would give them a game."

Summit burst to a 3-0 lead, but Moorestown answered with three consecutive goals. The Hilltoppers took an 8-5 lead midway in the third quarter, but the Quakers responded again, tying the score on Lapres' goal with 6 minutes, 24 seconds remaining in the game.

Chris O'Donnell's ground ball gave Moorestown possession with 1:34 to play. But the Quakers lost the ball on a turnover. Summit moved downfield and ran a pick, with Mahoney taking a feed from James Kennedy and converting the chance.

"I'm really, really proud of the way these kids battled," Wallenhurst said. "We play the schedule we play so that we can compete against the best, and that's what we did today."

Moorestown 4 1 2 1 - 8

Summit 4 3 1 1 - 9

Goals: M-Brian Lapres 4, Eric DeStefano, John Marcelli, Tim Moulton 2. S-Kyle Mahoney 4, James Kennedy 3, John Scioscia, Joe Condrey.

Saves: M-Ben Kenuk 7; S-Brian Feeney, 4.