Senior Jared Anderson, Rocky Hill’s leading scorer this season.
Rocky Hill Boys Lacrosse Creating History
ROCKY HILL - The sport of lacrosse can be dated back to the aboriginal people of Canada and its popularity has rapidly increased in the UnitesdStates over the last three decades. Rocky Hill High School is relatively new to the stick-wielding sport, but the boy’s team is in the midst of its best season in the school’s short history.

       The team amassed only 13 victories over its first three seasons at the varsity level, but the talented Terriers are excelling this season and in position to make a deep tournament run following a blistering 10-3 start.

       The Terriers took one step closer to a post-season berth by putting on a scoring exhibition in Bristol, defeating Bristol Central 21-13 last Monday night.

       First-year head coach Michael Albano, who previously worked with the youth lacrosse program in town, is the catalyst behind the quick turnaround and saw a lot of positives in the road victory.

       â€"We did well at face-off and created some fast breaks,” said Albano. â€"We moved the ball well and passed well on the attack, which led to good shooting.”

       Matt Molloy benefitted from the good ball movement and rewarded the team with eight goals. The junior also added four assist in the double-digit victory.

       Molloy helped the Terriers jump out to a 10-3 lead midway through the second quarter, but the Rams of Bristol Central made a furious comeback, scoring the final four goals of the half, including three in a matter of 30 seconds.

       â€"We made some defensive mistakes in the second quarter. We didn’t slide quickly enough on defense,” said Albano. â€"When someone gets beat, someone has to come to help and we just weren’t getting there quick enough. We didn’t do well with our slides today. That’s something that we have to work on and get better.”

       The home team continued its surge in the third quarter, narrowing Rocky Hill’s lead to 10-9 on a pair of goals from senior Noah Letourneau.

       â€"We weren’t looking at ball and man. They were only concentrating on their man. So when someone got beat, it was too late once they realized they had to come over and help,” Albano added. â€"We were just too slow with our slides, but we did better as the game went on.”

       The team corrected the defensive woes and cranked up the offensive intensity, scoring the next four goals. Molloy started the run with a close-range goal on a perfectly timed assist from Jared Anderson. Patrick Sullivan then sandwiched two goals in between a goal from Sam Cimini.

       Sullivan handles the face-off duties for the team and provides the team with a lot of energy. The junior finished the day with five goals and also dished out four assists. Cimini is a sophomore and the team’s distributor, leading the team in total assists this season.

       Anderson is one of two seniors on the roster and the team’s leading scorer. He added five goals and four assists to his steadily growing point production this season. The team’s other senior is James Pergolizzi, who also tallied a goal in the third quarter.

       The coach praised the two seniors for their outstanding play and leadership. He also likes the development of his sophomore goaltender, Peter Lucente, who allowed 13 goals, but came up with several crucial saves in the second half.

       The young team split the two games following the victory over Bristol Central. They defeated Canton 15-7 and lost to South Windsor 11-8 to close out a busy week. The win over Canton was the team’s 10th victory, which is a far cry from the three they had all of last season.

       â€"Overall the team is playing well because of their confidence. Early on we didn’t know how to win. Some of the kids had to gain that confidence because they weren’t used to winning,” Albano said of the team’s development. â€"Once they gained that confidence, we started rolling and we could start emphasizing everything else. We designed plays, worked on ball movement and cutting. Now we’re working on playing tougher defense.”

       The Terriers close out the regular season tomorrow night, May 22, at home against rival Berlin. Both teams are already assured a spot in their respective postseason tournaments, but bragging rights and positioning will be on the line.

       The game will go a long way in to determining Rocky Hill’s seeding in the upcoming Class S tourney, which begins later this month. It will be the school’s first time in the big dance. The team nearly made the tourney in 2013, but where eliminated in the qualifying round. This season the team will be one of the favorites and a threat against any team in the state because of their offensive production. The team is averaging 15 points per game, which places them amongst the highest-scoring teams in the state.

       To see history in the making, come to Rocky Hill High School for Friday’s tilt with Berlin. Face-off is 4 p.m.
MORE ROCKY HILL NEWS  |  STORY BY JOSH HOWARD  |  May 20 2015  |  COMMENTS?