Boys Lacrosse: Bridgewater-Raritan finishes strong to capture North Group 4 title

RARITAN TOWNSHIP – Last year, on the same field, there was pain and the wrong kind of tears.

Now, a year later?

“Whole 360,” Bridgewater-Raritan junior Colin Kurdyla said with a smile that didn’t appear to be going away for a while.

Saturday, the fourth-seeded Panthers continued their postseason run by beating previously undefeated host Hunterdon Central 10-6 to capture the NJSIAA North Group 4 title for the first time since 2016.

It was tied 5-5 entering the fourth quarter and 6-6 with 10 minutes left, but Bridgewater-Raritan closed on a 4-0 run.

Colin Kurdyla scored three of his five goals in the fourth quarter and added two assists. He credited midfielder Matt Maciolek for his strong play in the quarter. The junior finished with three goals and two assists and Tom Tremarco and Brady Kurdyla each had a goal.

For second-seeded Hunterdon Central, Dylan Johnson scored three goals and had an assist, while Chris Bill, Vinnie Devito and Brendan Lehrer had a goal apiece.

Last season, Hunterdon Central beat Bridgewater-Raritan 8-5 in the Group 4 quarterfinals. However, this spring they’ve showed fight and grit throughout the tournament.

In the quarterfinals last Saturday, they trailed fifth-seeded Montclair 4-0 before winning 11-8. In the semifinals on Wednesday, B-R upset top-seeded Ridgewood 9-6.

Now, they have a championship plaque and are still playing on.

What's next

Bridgewater-Raritan (16-3) plays Wednesday in the Group 4 state championship game against Southern, which beat Lenape 7-4 in the South Group 4 final Saturday.

The Red Devils fell just short of defending their sectional title and ends at 18-1.

Key plays

Bridgewater-Raritan had a momentum-turning three minutes midway through the fourth quarter. First, Colin Kurdyla fired a goal off a feed from Daine Kostes with 7:58 left for a 7-6 lead.

Hunterdon Central responded with a sustained possession. The Panthers’ Luke Cifuentes created a turnover, snagged it up and bolted downfield. Maciolek eventually got it, fed Tremarco, who scored with 4:59 left to make it a two-goal game.

Game balls

The Panthers' defense collapsed on Hunterdon Central, limiting their high-powered offense. Defenders Cifuentes, Nick Jankowski and John Mock each stepped up.

Both goalies get a nod in Will Kasica and Hunterdon Central’s Dillon Baehr. Each one came up with a handful of point-blank saves and gave their teams a chance down the stretch.

Kasica made 12 saves and Baehr made seven.

Bridgewater-Raritan overcame the strong play of Hunterdon Central’s Sean Creter, who won 15 faceoffs. However, he did not score. In Hunterdon Central’s regular season 8-7 win on April 30, he had three goals.

Bridgewater-Raritan coach Chuck Apel credited the defensive play of Matt Bratus and Connor Driscoll, who switched up on Cretes.

Unsung heroes

Brady Kurdyla (who entered with 59 goals) was a little banged up on attack. Alex Delierre stepped in and played a solid game, not turning the ball over and cut some ground balls while handling the ball. Attack Kyle Holmes also played well.

They said it

Colin Kurdyla on the team's ability to comeback, “We never panic. We always stay calm in the moment and we pulled it out.  … Everybody played a role today. Everyone played great and it’s just an amazing feeling.

Kurdyla on the difference from the final game last season,  “Everyone on this team remembered that feeling. All these guys, the juniors, seniors, even some of the sophomores -- we instilled that feeling into them since the first day of practice. We knew we had something special. Man, it paid off today.

"One of the best feelings in my life. I’ve been playing lacrosse since I was born. My dad put a lacrosse stick in my hand. It’s all been building up for this moment. I don’t think this smile is going to go away all night.”

Bridgewater-Raritan coach Chuck Apel on the team's win, “I just thought the team played well with good energy from top to bottom. All the kids on the sidelines are really into it, so that’s when everybody’s together. Everybody wants to win. Tough to beat you.”

Apel on what made the difference in the fourth quarter, “I just thought that we shared the ball better. We moved it. We made the extra pass. We did what we needed to do when we got open shots. We got really good looks, so we got the ball in the right hands and we finished our shots.”

Email: amendlowitz@njpressmedia.com

Andy Mendlowitz is a sports reporter for MyCentralJersey.com. To get unlimited access to local news throughout Central Jersey, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Bridgewater-Raritan finishes strong to capture North Group 4 title