By Jaclynkelli Kronemberg
TopLaxRecriits.com. Posted 6/12/16

MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. – For the second year in a row the Victor boys’ lacrosse team reached perfection.

Dan Barrow and Max Lambert each scored two goals and the Blue Devils rallied in the second half to gain a 7-5 victory over Ward Melville in the New York Class A Championship Saturday at Middletown High School.

Victor, No. 3 in the C2C Lacrosse North America Rankings, closes at 22-0 and has won 44 straight games. Last year the Blue Devils won the Class B crown, and it’s believed they are the first boys’ team to win back-to-back titles after moving up a class.

“The past two years 44 and 0, it was a dream at first but now it is a reality,” said Barrow. “This is too good to be true.”

The Patriots (18-4) held a 3-0 lead until Lambert scored with just 2:45 left in the first half. Victor then scored three straight goals to open the third period as Barrow took a feed from Mike DeMarco, Ryan Maloney hit on a behind-the-back shot and Andrew Russell converted a one-handed catch and pass to cap a brilliant series of offensive plays.

The Patriots (18-4) bounced back to take a 5-4 lead on goals by Connor Grippe (with 5:08 left in the third) and Eddie Munoz (55 seconds into the fourth quarter).

But with 5:01 remaining Jamie Trimboli tied it and Barrow scored off a pass from Mike DeMarco with 2:32 left. Lambert then cinched it 44 seconds later after a key face-off win by TD Ierlan (13 of 16 face-offs).

“First off their defense is great,” said Barrow. “They played phenomenal. We are a second half team. In the second half we passed the ball good and got the shots that we wanted.

“I’ve been playing crease the whole season and number 10 DeMo gets me the ball when I’m open. He saw me and no one was near me so I took the shot. When we went up by one that was definitely a confidence booster and then we got the ball back and scored again.

“This was exciting,” said Victor head coach Jim Andre. “We knew Ward Melville was going be the best team we would see all year. They had incredible athletes all over the field.

“I thought my kids did a good job when it counted to get the ball in the right spot and make some shots. Their defense was incredible. I thought all of a sudden we would have them beat and all of a sudden they would have two whites jerseys right in our faces. This was a great effort by my guys in the second half.

“This feels incredible because there were so many doubters, that just didn’t think that us upstate guys couldn’t hang with a downstate team.”

Connor Grippe tallied two goals and DJ Kellerman grabbed eight saves for Ward Melville.

“Hats off to Victor,” said Ward Melville head coach Jay Negus. “They played a great game. There were opportunities, we made a couple of pipes and we didn’t shoot particularly well. They have a great face off kid and that can turn into a long day. Just have to use this as motivator for next year.”

Victor 7; Ward Melville 5

V: 0-1-3-3-7
WM: 2-1-1-1-5

V: Dan Barrow 2G; Max Lambert 2G; Jamie Trimboli 1G, 1A; Andrew Russell 1G; Ryan Maloney 1G; Mike DeMarco 2A; Adam Russell 1A
WM: Connor Grippe 2G; Dominic Pryor 1G, 1A; Eddie Munoz 1G; Dylan Pallonetti 1G
Saves: Chayse Ierlan (V) 5; DJ Kellerman (WM) 8