Sussex Advances to NJCAA Tournament

Coming out of halftime down 9-8, the first year NJCAA Sussex Lacrosse program wasn't having it.

In a year of firsts, the Skylander offense set a team record for goals in a quarter with 7, while a team defense slammed the door on Del Tech to the tune of just 2 goals in the second half to win 21-11 and advance to the NJCAA Tournament in Batavia, NY, to face nationally ranked Genesee.

"This game was won on April 13th," said head coach Steve Manitta. "We made the choice to travel to Long Island to play Nassau, the number one team in the nation."

"We knew what was going to happen, but we also knew that we'd be a better team because of it," Manitta continued. "We've traveled to Tompkins-Cortland, we played three times in Pennsylvania, testing bi-weekly for Covid, with a dozen players. These guys are absolute warriors. So damn proud of them."

Possessions were plenty for Sussex early on today, but poor shot selections seemed to doom the blue and grey in the "rubber match" for the right to represent Region XIX in the 2021 NJCAA Tournament. The second half was a different animal all together. The 'Landers found some rhythm in the clearing game, and took advantage of quality possessions and timely transition opportunities.

2021 Player of the Year Dom Falleni finished with 8 points, while Grant Parker and linemate Joe DeCeglia combined for 9 goals.

Midfielders Matt Sciancalepore and Blake Dipple both registered hat tricks, while dishing out 5 helpers.

19 of 21 goals were assisted for the Sussex.

Nolan Waldron and Zach Miller each found the back of the net, while Brian Curley had 2 assists.

Freshman goalie Collin Miller gathered 13 saves on the afternoon.