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Wall boys lacrosse beating 'archrival at their place' - what's better than that?

MANASQUAN - For Wall seniors Billy Carr and Connor Moore, this one means the most, earning their first-ever NJSIAA Tournament sectional boys lacrosse title for the Crimson Knights over archrival Manasquan 10-9 Tuesday.

“It feels amazing after years of chasing it and coming up short, to finally get one, over our archrival at their place…it is the best feeling in the world,” Carr said.

A rivalry between the schools that goes back generations and spans multiple sports, Wall came out from the jump in the South Jersey Group 2 final.

More: High school lacrosse NJSIAA state tournament tracker: Shore Conference teams

Road warriors

In this rivalry, winning on “their field” earns extra credit.

“It came down to execution, and I think both teams wanted it badly,” Wall head coach Victor Rivera said. “They have five state sectionals for a reason, so we knew they were going to come out and give us their best shot.

“But we knew if we played our game, and we didn’t beat ourselves, maybe something good would happen.”

Something good happened, to say the least.

From the jump Wall set the tone, scoring within seconds of the opening face-off thanks to a quick score from sophomore Michael Hoarle with a followup goal from Connor Moore. Squan answered the two scores with a score from junior Brody Muly.

Michael Hoarle ramped it up

Hoarle’s hat trick would lead Wall on the day.

Junior attackman Jack Meyer netted a pair before teammates Moore and Shea Brennan, a junior, both found the back of the net. Senior Patrick Donohue’s goal at the 9:06 mark in the second quarter put the hosting Warriors in a deficit, 7-1.

“We started really slow. We came on strong in the end which is nice to see, but we were undisciplined and they had a lot more energy than us,” Manasquan head coach Sean Cunningham said. “They were energized and focused to start the game.”

Additional scoring from James Farinacci and Matt Porazzo gave the Warriors a competitive chance in the opening half, able to cut it to 7-3 at the break.

“They bought into the game plan. We watched a lot of film and we were ready for the things that they did,” Rivera said of his group. “There are times when you have to adjust, and I felt like our team did what we needed to do and we were able to step up to the challenge.”

'Tight until the last second'

The second half was another story, new life for the Warriors, battling back. Goals from sophomore Brandon Kunz and senior Blake Gorski, his second of the day, saw the hosts cut into the lead 9-7.

“Our backs were against the wall in those closing minutes. We had some bad penalties, and we let them back in the game. It was tight until the last second,” Rivera added.

Scoring last for Wall was sophomore Shea Brennan, whose goal with 3:39 left to play would be crucial in the end, extending the visitors 10-7. But troubles from the get-go proved too much to overcome.

“When you can’t win face-offs, we were playing catch up the rest of the way,” Cunningham, the Manasquan coach, said. Goals from Farinacci and another from Gorski with 2:32 left to play were too little, too late.

Middie senior Moore, whose game-winning goal in overtime over Somerville lifted Wall to this chip opportunity just a few days earlier, gave all his confidence to his teammates.

“I give a huge shoutout to John McCurry. He is always giving me more confidence to step up and play big,” Moore said of his senior attack teammate. “He told me I need to initiate more and facilitate. And that is how it started, getting a couple goals early and getting the momentum started.”

Goodbyes for now

The Warriors program graduates three seniors, who Cunningham said he has watched since middle school. It is a small graduating class, but a special one to the head coach, he said.

“It is tough to say goodbye sometimes. It doesn’t matter if it is a guy that puts up 100 points or if he sits on the bench but works his butt off every day at practice. You spend so much time with these young men it is impossible not to form a bond with them,” he said about seniors Porazzo, Gorski and Farinacci.

“All three have been tremendous. They have been starters and primetime players. They are very talented, great young men with great work ethic, in the classroom as well.”

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Wall NJ boys lacrosse defeats Manasquan for NJSIAA section title