Princeton’s Doran is our Player of the Year
Senior attackman led state in points scored
With the Colonial Valley Conference’s boys lacrosse teams returning to a full-season schedule this spring for the first time since before the pandemic, there was a unique dispersion of talent.
Hopewell Valley reigned supreme as the conference champion with a 15-4 record, while Allentown (12-5) and Notre Dame (106) were not far behind with strong seasons of their own.
The most productive individual player, though, resided at Princeton (9-7).
Senior attackman Will Doran is our CVC Player of the Year after he put together a scintillating campaign with 128 total points scored — more than anyone in the entire state. The Williams College commit set career highs in goals (55) and assists (73), and it was impressive that he was such a prolific play-maker and distributor for teammates on the Tigers’ high-powered offense.
Hopewell Valley’s Matt Foret is our CVC Coach of the Year after taking a team with primarily the same players as last year and improving its win total from five to 15.
The Bulldogs were the only CVC team to make the sectional semifinals, where their memorable season ended at the hands of Rumson-Fair Haven, the Tournament of Champions runner-up. They also advanced to the Mercer County Tournament final for the first time in seven years.
Allentown also won a state tournament game in its first year under coach Alex Finan, knocking off Robbinsville in the South Jersey Group II Tournament before bowing out in the quarterfinals at Manasquan.
Here is a look at our All-CVC Team. ATTACK — WILL DORAN, SR, PRINCETON » The CVC Player of the Year went from being a star junior with 91 points to an even more dominant senior with 128. Only two other CVC players reached 100. Doran ends his career with 238 points and 79 ground balls despite losing his entire sophomore season to COVID-19.
ATTACK — JAKE SEARING, SR, ALLENTOWN »
The University of Tampa commit led the CVC in goals (70) and finished second in points (102). His seven goals May 9 against Princeton
helped Allentown reach the MCT semifinals.
ATTACK — LUCAS GAISSERT, SR, HOPEWELL » The Stockton commit made remarkable improvement as he went from posting 34 points a year ago to contributing 35 goals and 42 assists as a senior. That made him the most balanced and consistent offensive player on the CVC’s best team.
ATTACK — RYAN LEALE, SR, ROBBINSVILLE » Leale stepped up as a leader on a Ravens team that had only four seniors, tallying 48 goals, 28 assists and 37 ground balls. The senior goes out with 152 career points. ATTACK — JAKE RAFF, SR, ALLENTOWN » Raff teamed up with Searing to form one of the state’s top duos. He hit the century mark in scoring in Allentown’s final game as he finished with 41 goals and 59 assists.
MIDFIELD — LOUIS AZARA, SR. HOPEWELL »
The Montclair State commit was the top player in Hopewell’s cohesive midfield as he finished with 39 goals and five assists. Azara had 13 goals in the Bulldogs’ last four games including five in a sectional quarterfinal win against Somerville, ending his career with 98 goals.
MIDFIELD — GRANT VINSON, JR, HIGHTSTOWN » Vinson was sensational for the Rams with 45 points, 21 assists and 95 ground balls. He tied the program’s single-game record with seven goals in an 11-9 win against Steinert on April 18.
MIDFIELD — IAN STANIEC, SR, NOTRE DAME » The Susquehanna commit had the secondmost goals for his team with 37. He also recorded 15 assists and 41 ground balls. MIDFIELD — REID JOHNSON, JR, WW-P SOUTH » Johnson shined with 63 points and 67 ground balls for a rebuilding team. He scored five goals in three different games including when WW-P South beat New Egypt in its season finale.
LONG STICK MIDFIELD — DEAN LOURENCO, JR, WW-P SOUTH » A stellar track athlete, Lourenco was a multi-year starter and stood out this season with his 70 ground balls and elite speed on defense.
DEFENSE — SAL BELARDINO, SR, ALLENTOWN » The senior anchored a Redbirds defense that limited seven different opponents to five goals or fewer including a 7-5 upset win against Hopewell on April 9.
DEFENSE — WILL ERICKSON, SR, PRINCETON » The senior will join Doran at Williams College next season after being a vocal leader on Princeton’s defense. Known for being a hard worker and a good communicator, Erickson
routinely covered the opposing team’s best attackman.
DEFENSE — TRISTAN HARRISON, SO, NOTRE DAME » With high lacrosse IQ and excellent footwork, Harrison is the best cover defenseman to play for Notre Dame in recent memory. He also played on varsity as a freshman and has sky high potential in the program. DEFENSE — LIAM CONNAUGHTON, SO, WW-P NORTH » Connaughton had a breakout sophomore season in guiding the Knights’ defense and collecting 38 ground balls. DEFENSE — ISHAN SAIKA, SR, ROBBINSVILLE » Saika kept the Ravens’ young unit afloat with strong leadership and good physicality
throughout the season.
FACEOFF — JOE MEIDLING, SR, NOTRE DAME »
Last year’s CVC Player of the Year had another terrific season with 41 goals, 22 assists, 104 ground balls and an 81 percent win rate on 263 face-offs. The Towson commit provided a big lift to Notre Dame’s offense over the last two seasons with his dominance in the face-off circle.
FACEOFF — WALTER ZHAO, JR, ALLENTOWN » If there was a Most Improved Player Award, it would have belonged to Zhao this season. After taking only 75 face-offs as a sophomore, Zhao became a beast on that front this spring with an 86 percent win rate on 365 face-offs. He also had a staggering 117 ground balls and 26 points.
GOALIE — CUTTER SWANSON, JR, HOPEWELL » Hopewell made huge strides as a defense this season thanks in large part to Swanson’s stellar play in the cage. The junior had a 66 percent save rate as he stopped 182 of 274 shots on goal.
GOALIE — KYLE WOLCHOK, SR, NOTRE DAME » This senior also finished near the top of the CVC with a 65 percent save rate, stopping 160 of 243 shots on goal, as the Irish featured one of the area’s premier defenses.