The Montclair Kimberley boys lacrosse team came into the 2024 season with a lone senior and a tough start to the schedule. However, the Cougars have seemed to pass it with flying colors.
Montclair Kimberley came from behind to defeat Millburn, 11-7, on April 16. The Cougars finished a pretty brutal stretch at 4-2.
“We know we are going to be young with only one senior on the team, and we have to jump right into our season with six games in two weeks,” said Montclair Kimberley head coach David Giarrusso. He added, “It is not ideal to have one practice between each contest, as these post-game/pregame practices do not give us the opportunity to focus on the foundational skills some of the younger players need to play varsity lacrosse.”
For Montclair Kimberley, the win over Millburn was a quality victory after falling behind 4-1 to start the contest. However, the target is the tournaments near the end of the 2024 spring calendar. The Cougars reached the 2022 Non-Public B final, falling to Rutgers Prep.
“We are happy with the effort. The players have been coachable and very supportive of each other even when things have not gone our way, or they have made mistakes,” said Giarrusso about the start of the season. “Our goal is to be playing our best at the end of the year. We need to stick together and play for each other in order for that to happen. We rely on and spend valuable practice time building character as we go; it’s what helps teams like us down the stretch, and this group loves the aspect of being the best teammate they can be.”
The start is encouraging after the Cougars finished the 2023 season with a 5-13 record and graduated several high-quality players, especially a few who are playing college. These include two starting defenders, Jordan Fishback (Oberlin College) and Trent Bednar (Vanderbilt University) and faceoff man Charlie Kenrick (Colgate University). Evan Grossman, the third-highest scorer on the team last season, scored 25 goals.
But while Grossman graduated, Montclair Kimberley does have several goal scorers back. This includes senior co-captain Nick Snyder, who led the Cougars last season with 29 goals, and junior co-captain Henry McCann with 27 goals. Both McCann and Snyder have already scored 17 and 16 goals, respectively, in the first six games. “Fortunately, we return a lot of our scoring punch from last year. Our sole senior, Nick Snyder (who is committed to Haverford College), has been great the last few years coaching and helping out the younger players,” said Giarrusso.
Against Millburn, the Cougars started their third goalie, sophomore Nathan Kissel. He struggled at first as Montclair Kimberley were down 4-0 in the first quarter.
“We had a poor defensive start and Millburn had a 4-0 lead, we asked our defense to get more aggressive and communicate in order to limit their quality shots,” said Giarrusso. “But the message was simple, we needed to focus on the little things and effort. Help each other on the ground balls and keep moving the ball in transition.”
Kissel and the defense limited the Millers to only score three goals in the final three quarters as the sophomore received the game ball for his work against Millburn. “We were proud to hold them to zero goals for the last 22 minutes of the game,” added Giarrusso.
The victory over Millburn was a great bounce-back game after losing back-to-back games to Madison (13-7, April 11) and Glen Ridge (14-8, April 13). “When you play strong, talented and well-coached teams, you need to minimize your mistakes and make the most of your opportunities,” said Giarrusso about the pair of defeats. “Our two recent losses were good reminders of our need to keep working on the fundamentals to minimize the unforced errors and take advantage of our limited practice time together in order to make sure we execute our game plans and play for each other.”
Snyder’s leadership goes along with his unselfishness on the field while being one of the top attackers in the county. He was named to the All-Super Essex Conference Liberty Division second team as well as the North Jersey Interscholastic Lacrosse League (NJILL) Waterman Division honorable mention list in 2023.
“Nick is one of the top attackmen in the area and is really great at helping out the younger kids,” said Giarrusso about Snyder, who had four goals against Millburn. “He doesn’t want to do it all; he would rather work hard to help the younger kids have success. His experience running cross country gives him that mental toughness. The other kids are learning that from him as well.”
After breaking out last season, McCann has still been putting up stats despite more attention on him after being named to the All-SEC Liberty second team in 2023. “Henry will draw a lot of attention this year from the opposing defense. He knows that and has worked hard to prepare himself physically after and during his hockey season this winter,” said Giarrusso about McCann who had a pair of goals against Millburn.
One of the top Cougars’ midfielders last season was sophomore Noah Rodgers, who was part of the All-SEC Liberty Division honorable mention list. He has set up a good midfield this season along with another sophomore, Thomas Meeker. Rodgers has eight goals, four assists and Meeker six goals, nine assists in the first six games this spring.
“Our sophomore middies, Noah Rodgers and Thomas Meeker, really are like ‘frick and frack’. They work really well together and work off each other’s successes and mistakes. The conversations jogging to the sideline are very mature. They show two kids who want to be the best they can be. They are always talking about the would of, could of and should of elements of plays that even result in a goal. It is great to see that attitude out of two sophomores. Again, we have to relax sometimes and understand that they have only played one season of varsity lacrosse. We ask them to do so much, but they would both tell you it is exactly what they want- more responsibilities.”
Montclair Kimberley sophomore Simon Hardiman is the number one goalie this season after taking over for junior Ethan Bell, who was injured last season. Hardiman received plenty of experience as a freshman in the nets. Both Bell and Kissel will see time in goal. “Simon is as solid as they come. He has a great swagger about him,” said the Montclair Kimberley head coach. “He jumped right in when junior Ethan Bell broke his thumb last year.”
While Snyder and McCann have been an explosive offensive duo, one of the top up-and-coming scorers is sophomore Charlie Wolff, who has collected nine goals and five assists. Wolff had six goals as a freshman in 2023.
The Cougars moved into the NJILL Bianchi Division, and the league title might be decided this coming week when Montclair Kimberley travels to St. Peter’s Prep (April 24, 4:30 p.m.) and at Livingston (April 26, 4 p.m.).
Montclair Kimberley Boys Lacrosse Schedule
(Matches at 4 p.m. unless noted)
- April 24 at St. Peter’s Prep, 4:30 p.m.
- April 26 at Livingston
- May 1 at Columbia
- May 4 Essex County Tournament, TBD
- May 11 Essex County Tournament, TBD
- May 14 Montclair
- May 18 at Blair Academy, 1:30 p.m.
- May 20 at Delaware Valley