Mount Olive lacrosse player rewrites the record books: 'Balanced player, not a ball hog’

When Adam DeCristofaro broke Mount Olive lacrosse's goal-scoring record on Thursday afternoon, his father was one of the first people to congratulate him. Marc DeCristofaro grew up playing lacrosse, and was on the sideline helping out the Marauders' defense.

The younger DeCristofaro came into Mount Olive's 12-9 loss to archrival West Morris tied with former attack Mark Laratta for the goals lead at 145. He broke it on a one-timer from the right side with 8:31 left in the first quarter.

The senior midfielder gave a little fist pump, as fans shouted, "School record!" At the time, it gave the Marauders a 1-0 lead.

He added the record for career points with 5:29 to play in the third quarter off an assist from behind the goal. DeCristofaro finished with five goals on Thursday, giving him 150 goals and 238 points.

Marauders midfielder Jake Podolnick, who graduated in 2010, set the records for assists (93) and points (236).

"To have my name there, and share the accomplishment with the guys I've been playing with for so long, it means a lot to me," DeCristofaro said, singling out classmates Jack Mullery and Kyle Schiller.

DeCristofaro attended his first lacrosse clinic in kindergarten, joining Mount Olive Junior Lacrosse two years later. Schiller was also there in second grade, with Mullery arriving as a fourth grader.

DeCristofaro has excellent field vision, and can shoot with either hand. Also a running back and safety on the Mount Olive football team, DeCristofaro cited his speed as an asset – and joked that, while getting hit with a lacrosse stick is "worse in the moment," playing football hurts far more.

DeCristofaro plans to play lacrosse at Stevens Tech in Hoboken next year. But his next goal is to become the first Mount Olive player with 100 career assists.

"That would be really cool," he said. "It shows I'm a balanced player, not a ball hog. Can't get an assist without someone else finishing, so those guys are definitely a big part of it."

Rewriting Mount Olive lacrosse history

This is the 19th season of the Mount Olive High School boys lacrosse program . Dave Gallucci founded it when he came home to teach and coach at age 24.

Gallucci had grown up in Budd Lake, but had to go to Montville High School to play lacrosse for his father, John Gallucci Sr. After 16 years and 148 wins, Gallucci moved on to coach at Newton. Current head coach Chris Blough came in two years ago, when the current seniors were sophomores.

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A Mount Olive resident, Blough had played and then coached at Roxbury High School.

"He and his teammates really bought into what I wanted in the program, a culture shift we were going through," Blough said of DeCristofaro. "He's one of those classic scholar-athletes, and that rubs off on the other guys for sure."

Marc DeCristofaro recalled his son's first varsity goal, late in the Marauders' season opener against Randolph in the COVID-shortened 2021 season. Mount Olive was down 13-1 when Adam scored. Cooper Anderson, then a junior and one of the Marauders' top scorers, went into the cage and grabbed the ball, writing "Adam's first varsity goal" on it before presenting it to him on the bus ride home.

DeCristofaro finished his freshman season with 11 goals and five assists, third overall in points. He led the Marauders in goals as a sophomore and junior.

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Mullery (87g, 53a) is already in Mount Olive's 100-point club. Schiller, an attack who has 58 goals and 35 assists, may be the next to join.

"For posterity, having his name in the record book, I think it's great. I can point to that and say he's developed," said Marc DeCristofaro, who coached all three – and several of the other current Mount Olive seniors – coming up in the youth system.

"Of the highest scorers in Mount Olive history, three of them I coached when they were little kids. I'm proud of all three of them. I'm proud of my son, and I'm tracking his stats right now, but I'm also tracking Jack and Kyle. We're very proud of him having his name at the top."

Jane Havsy is a storyteller for the Daily Record and DailyRecord.com, part of the USA TODAY Network. For full access to live scores, breaking news and analysis, subscribe today .

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This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: Mount Olive lacrosse player rewrites the record books: 'Balanced player, not a ball hog’