Glen Rock High School’s first appearance in the Boys Lacrosse State Sectional Championship game ended in disappointment Saturday as the Panthers’ bid for an upset of defending Group 1 state champions Mountain Lakes ended with a 14-6 loss.
“It’s definitely a tough loss today – we didn’t quite execute the plan that we wanted,’’ Glen Rock coach Mike Escalante said. “But certainly, this was a team that – we only had five seniors, we had a freshman goalie, we started off 2-4… They kept with the program. I can’t say enough about the kids’ attitude, more than anything.’’
Junior attackman/midfielder Thomas Consoli had three goals for Glen Rock (11-9), which also got goals from junior Sean Egan, senior Tim Ray and sophomore Justin Douenias, but the Panthers turned the ball over too many times against a Mountain Lakes team that is 14-4 and ranked No. 13 in the nj.com’s Top 20.
But in reaching the sectional final with a team whose top six scorers were underclassmen and whose starting goalie was a freshman, Glen Rock would appear to be set up to continue to rise next season. Sophomores John Corry and Douenias each scored over 40 goals and Consoli had 31, with Egan and Liam Horton, both juniors, chipping in with 24 and 22 goals, respectively. And goalie Colin Consoli certainly grew into the position, saving 51.9 percent of the shots he faced.
Escalante acknowledged the losses of the five seniors, especially faceoff man Trevor Douenias and long stick midfielder Robert Ray, will leave some big holes to fill. But he admitted the Panthers have a lot of talent coming back.
“Next year’s a long way away, but at the same time, if everyone comes back and stays healthy, we could have success.’’
