The Chiefs Boys Lacrosse team is coming off of a record setting season. The team won a record 20 games last year, with four devastating losses. Though the boys had a lot of new records set that season, they did not walk away with any hardware. Though the team had four losses, they only lost to 3 teams, and only once at home. Though Caldwell was tied at halftime, they ended up losing to Seton Hall Prep in the county championship. In the game for the division championship they lost against Bernards. However, as devastating as those games were, none compared to the state championship loss against Mountain Lakes. Up until that point they had not lost at home, and looked to keep that streak alive, but to no avail.
Returning Players Stepping Up
Though many players graduated for the Chiefs, some important varsity players are returning. Senior Marist commit Sean Murtagh is looking for a big season this year. He will be a big part of the team’s success, playing both sides of the ball at the midfield. Coming off a 56 point year, he looks to make an even greater impact this season. The other Division 1 commit on the team is Will Swift, who is a returning starting defenseman. Last season he tallied 32 ground balls with one assist. This year he looks to take on a very important leadership role, guiding the rest of the defense. Jordan Gruzas is also a familiar face for the Chiefs, returning 18 points and 19 ground balls. Senior Skylar Brown is also looking to contribute a greater role this season, coming off a 30 point, 34 ground ball season. He will be needed to lead the young offensive unit in order for the team to be successful. Junior defenseman Ryan Healey (yes that’s me!) is also a returning face, stepping into a leadership role on the defensive side of the ball. Additionally, both of the faceoff men are returning, combining 383 faceoffs taken last year. Senior Milo Ruggeiro took slightly more than Sophomore Jeremy Rodriguez, though Rodriguez has seen action on the offensive side. Finally, junior goalie Jacob Natt, who made 6 appearances behind former goalie Landon Pini is also returning. Jacob has been handed the keys to command the defense from in between the pipes by new coach Nick Esposito.
New Faces
As far as the returning faces go, it is not very deep. However, there are plenty of people stepping into bigger roles this season. For starters, with Head Coach John Timan retiring, former offensive coordinator Nick Esposito is now the Head Coach. This moved coach Kyle Huff into the defensive coordinator position, and thrust newly acquired coach John O’Hara into the JV head coach position. Many juniors, sophomores, and freshmen will also need to take an extra step up. People such as junior attackmen Riley Daniolowicz and freshman attackman Ryder Weintraub will assist Jordan Gruzas in rounding out the attack line. Coming out of the box, junior Ryan Livelli, sophomore Logan Mooney, and sophomore Chris Lynch will look to help the Chiefs in large, important support roles. On the defensive side of things, juniors Dylan Basile and Teagon McOmish are looking at big roles filling spots on the defense. Juniors Daniel Barnes and Henry Goodwin will also make an impact as two of the team’s defensive midfielders. Accompanied by sophomore Michael Moore and junior Cam Galbierczyk will be coming out of the box as the LSMs. New seniors, Zach Garcia and Lucas Turner are also looking to fill roles, making contributions on the defensive side. All of these new faces are a breath of fresh air for Caldwell Lacrosse, who have relied on many 3 or 4 year starters, who just recently graduated.
Schedule
The team faces a tougher schedule than ever before, being moved up into the Fitch-Pitt division. After years of dominating the Watermen division, the NJSIAA decided it was time to move the team up. In the Fitch-Pitt division, the boys will face Seton Hall Prep, Delbarton, Summit, Westfield, Chatham, and Montclair. All of these teams will be good matchups, challenging the skills of the Chiefs. Playing this schedule, there is no doubt that the team will be tested throughout the season.
