Connor Holevinski and Ben Girard lead Spartans over Green Wave

By Walter J. O’Neill, Jr.

Seven on Seven. Matt Mosey (7) of Ocean has the ball and is racing to the Green Wave goal. Jayden Velez (7) of Long Branch is playing defense.

The Ocean Township High School boys’ varsity lacrosse team was at Long Branch on April 24, for a Shore Conference Constitution divisional matchup. From the opening minute to the final horn the Spartans controlled all aspects of the game and left with a 14-0 victory.

 With the win, Ocean improved to 6-4 overall and are tied for first in the division with Middletown North at 5-0. So far this season the Spartans have scored 92 goals and allowed 70. Connor Holevinski, sophomore, and senior Ben Girard, both play mid and attack player for Ocean, led the team over Long Branch.

Holevinski scored four goals while Girard had three and assisted on four. “This was a total team win with contributions up and down the lineup. We like to be a balanced offense,” said Thomas Ryan, head coach of the Spartans. The coach added that because of their depth and skillsets, Ocean has many players that can have a big game at any time which keeps opponents off balance.

Seven other players for Ocean also scored in the win over Long Branch. Jack Varley, James Knight and Vinny Stolowski each had one goal and two assists. Nick Iacouzzi had a goal and assist, while Ryan Smith, Tommy Iacouzzi and Stephen Falco each had a goal. Boomer Volek and Matt Mosey each had an assist for the Spartans.

“River Pinto had his second shutout of the year. The last time our program had two or more shutouts in a season was in 2015. The goalie back then was David Walk, who is an assistant coach with our varsity program now,” added Ryan. The other shutout for Pinto occurred on April 17, when Ocean beat Neptune 18-0.

“Ben Girard has been the catalyst of our offense all year. Through April 24, he has 30 goals and 19 assists for a total of 49 points,” said Ryan. He also credited Stolowski, Holevinski, Jack Varley, Ryan Smyth, James Night, Matt Mosey and Iacouzzi with the team’s success. “Holevinski is second on the team in goals with 20 and Stolowski is second on the team in assists with eight.”

Also on the defensive side with the short sticks are Tommy Iacouzzi, John Rainford, Manny Raigosa and Christian Revolinsky are the unheralded stars according to Ryan. “They are tasked with defending some of the most skilled and athletic players on the opposing teams. These four seniors execute their challenging roles with grace and toughness and set the standard for what our program expects of Spartan lacrosse players,” said Ryan.

Long Branch has had a tough season. They are winless at 0-9 overall and 0-5 in the Constitution division. So far this season, the Green Wave have been outscored 115-10.

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