On April 4th, the Delbarton Green Wave faced off against a talented Mountain Lakes Lakers team in a much-anticipated early-season matchup. The Green Wave was ranked #1 in New Jersey at the time, while the Lakers were ranked #8. These Morris County rivals always make for a great matchup. The two teams are well coached, with two hall-of-fame coaches supporting them: Coach Kovachik for Delbarton and Coach Flynn for Mountain Lakes. After the Green Wave beat Mountain Lakes in a in last year’s Morris County Finals, the Lakers were seeking revenge. 

In the 1st quarter, the Green Wave got off to a hot start. Senior Jack Amato scored two goals to open the game up early in the 1st. Shortly after, Bobby Cusimano found the back of the net with a great assist from Will Pedicano. Cusimano’s goal would give the Green Wave an early 3-0 lead. However, the Lakers did not back down easily as Holden Gillespie ripped a shot on goal late in the 1st, cutting Delbarton’s lead to 2 goals.

Mountain Lakes carried that momentum into the 2nd and scored an early goal that cut Delbarton’s lead to just one. However, after the Lakers scored, both Asher Testa and Jack Amato found the back of the net, pushing the Green Wave’s lead to three goals at 5-2. Amato’s goal would give him a hat trick on the day. Willie Doyle scored to open up the 2nd half on an excellent shot to extend Delbarton’s lead to four.

The Lakers were desperate for goals and found themselves scoring two late in the 3rd quarter to cut Delbarton’s lead by a score of 6-4. The Lakers were on fire and opened the 4th quarter with a quick goal by Giacomo Bevacqua. However, the Lakers were not able to convert anything late in the 4th due to some outstanding saves by Delbarton’s goalie Patrick Roelke. The Green Wave would win this very close game by a score of 6-5 and look forward to some much-anticipated matchups for the remainder of the season.