Searing scores 4, Redbirds advance
Jake Searing has been around the Allentown boys lacrosse program long enough to understand how to lead and what to expect from his teammates.
So even though the Redbirds came into Wednesday’s South Jersey Group II first-round game with three starters out, Searing remained poised and confident.
The senior attackman scored a game-high four goals to reach 100 points for the season as seventh-seeded Allentown (12-4) eliminated 10th-seeded Robbinsville (6-10) on Allentown’s turf field.
“Most definitely we were shorthanded. We were missing a lot of our key players, but we just have other guys who step up, and a win’s a win,” Searing said. “So whether it’s a blowout or whether it’s a 14-8 game, a win’s a win.”
A win looked dicey early on as Robbinsville controlled the clock, scored three of the first four goals and led 5-4 with 6:19 left in the first half.
Allentown settled down, though, and played smarter on groundballs and in the passing game to steadily pull away. Walter Zhao beat a defender one-onone to tie the game at 5 with 5:51 remaining. Searing followed that up with three straight goals and then assisted Dylan Fotheringham to give the Redbirds a 9-5 halftime lead.
A next-man up mentality certainly applied to Allentown as Carmone Capone contributed three goals. Zhao and Fotheringham added two apiece. Jake Raff, Sean McCaffrey and Hunter Samuels netted one each.
“They were playing it good They were locking me off. They weren’t letting me catch the ball, really touch it at all,” Searing said of Robbinsville’s defense. “Since they wanted to play 5-on5, my teammates took advantage of that and they did their job and that’s why we won.”
Zhao also provided a huge boost in the circle by winning 22 of the 26 faceoffs. Zhao has been elite in that role this year, improving his faceoff win rate from 59 percent as a sophomore to 88 percent as a senior.
“Walter Zhao is the hardest working kid I’ve ever met in my entire life — since he was 7 years old,” Searing said. “He is outside working every day. He wanted this bad. He told himself he’s gonna be number one in the state in faceoffs, and he did that this year. He’s the best. He’s the best around here, he’s the best I’ve ever played with, and he deserves it all.”
For Robbinsville’s young team, the future appears bright after Owen Embley scored three goals, Ryan Leale tallied two, and Lukas Hutt, Luke Hanuscin and Alex Odenheimer chipped in three apiece.
Allentown, meanwhile, has now won five state playoff games in the last three tournaments and will try to upset second-seeded Manasquan on Saturday to reach the program’s third straight sectional semifinal.
For Searing, there is a sense of pride continuing to guide a team that welcomed in a lacrosse-savvy young coach this spring in Alex Finan.
“It’s awesome. Even though we had a new coach this year it feels the exact same. He’s the best, and I’m just happy to take a win with our team and move to the next round,” Searing said. “He’s definitely benefitted us a lot. He knows lacrosse, he bleeds lacrosse and he’s rubbed that off on us, and that’s why we love to play and love to play for him.”