Lions of Middletown North Defeat the Spartans 13-4

By Walter J. O’Neill, Jr.

Ocean Township midfielder Leo Labush (4) races for the ball as three Lions of Middletown North chase after him.

Jack Varley (24) a junior attacker for the Spartans of Ocean fires a shot and scores a goal as the ball goes over the left shoulder of the Middletown North goalie.

April 4, the Spartans of Ocean Township hosted and lost 13-4 to the Lions of Middletown North in a non-divisional Shore Conference boys’ lacrosse game. Middletown North improved to 3-0 overall and are 1-0 in the Colonial division.

Ocean drops to 1-2 overall and 0-1 in the Constitution division. “Middletown North was a great early test for us. Although we came up short on the scoreboard, we welcome the challenge of playing strong teams as we work towards our ultimate team goal of playing our best lacrosse and peaking at the end of the season,” said Thomas Ryan, head coach at Ocean.

Last year, Ocean finished 8-10 overall and were 5-2 in their division. “We graduated 13 seniors from last year’s team. We have many returning players stepping up,” said Ryan. He mentioned Vinny Stolowski, senior, Connor Holevinski and Jack Varley, both juniors who are leading the offense. On the defensive side, the coach said that senior John McLaren, along with junior Mickey McGovern, are playing strong. The goalie is River Pinto, a junior.

“Ryan Smyth is a returning two-way midfielder. He plays both offense and defense and rarely comes off the field. His contributions to the team and impact he makes on the field transcends what is seen in the box score at the end of the games,” Ryan said.

The coach also said that McGovern is one of the most versatile players in the Shore Conference. “Not only is he capable of defending the best player on the other team regardless of position, but he creates offense in transition with his athleticism and is also skilled enough to be a cog in the offensive engine in the settled game as well, said Ryan.

Two players who didn’t start last season, but have stepped up to have a great preseason and start to the 2025 year are sophomore midfielder Frank Frasca and junior defender Eric Brandimarte. The coach also said two newcomers to the sport who have had very successful careers on the soccer pitch are Lucas Renvoize and Connor Shaw. Having a decent start this season on the face-offs is junior James Knight.

Through the first three games, Holevinski has five goals and six assists, Stolowski has five goals and two assists, Varley scored four times and assisted four times, Ryan Smith has three goals and Frasca has three goals and three assists.

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