R’ville celebrates special senior class
ROBBINSVILLE >> As Lukas Hutt curled from behind the net around two defenders and scored the game-winning goal of an overtime bout between CVC heavyweights, a picture-perfect Senior Night was complete.
The senior attackman tossed his stick, helmet and gloves into the air. He raised his arms above his head and rushed to midfield. And then he leaped into a dogpile with other Robbinsville boys lacrosse players.
In the aftermath of Robbinsville’s thrilling 12-11 win over Princeton High on Thursday at the Steven J. Mayer Athletic Complex, it was all about celebrating the growth of a tightknit family.
“It’s honestly just fun for me, man,” said Hutt, who finished with a game-high seven points on four goals and three assists. “These are my brothers. These are kids I’ve been playing lacrosse with for 10 years now, and it’s just an honor to be able to do this one last time with the kids I grew up with. It’s awesome.”
Robbinsville (5-3) features a dynamic 14-man senior class — its largest in six years. The players are determined to take the program to new heights when the postseason gets underway in May, so handing Princeton (6-4) its first CVC loss was a critical stepping stone as they build toward those goals.
In addition to Hutt’s heroics, many seniors stepped up including a star performance by Alex Odenheimer with a gamehigh five goals. Owen Embley notched two goals, Luke Hanuscin finished with one goal and three assists, and goalie Brendan Coyle saved 14 shots including the 500th of his career.
“Senior Night, I’ve been playing lacrosse for 12 years, so tonight really meant a lot,” Odenheimer said. “We lost to this team twice last year. I had some pivotal mistakes in those games, so winning this game really mattered to me.”
An emotional Odenheimer then got choked up. His grandfather, who passed away last September, weighed heavily on his mind just like he has throughout the season.
“His goal was to see me graduate and to be here, and I think it was him today watching me, being there for me,” Odenheimer said. “Every goal I point to the sky, every time I step on the field I point to the sky. It’s all for him.”
It’s always been about family at Robbinsville, and Odenheimer’s grandfather never missed a game.
“He was battling cancer for eight years, and even when he was in a wheelchair, every game he was the first one here, stayed until the end,” Odenheimer said. “Came to my travel games in the summer — it was 115 degrees outside. He was there for me always, and I really do think it was him tonight.”
So it was only fitting that Odenheimer and Robbinsville could honor him in a special way.
Thursday’s game featured four lead changes and no lead bigger than two goals. Both teams played smart lacrosse with nifty goals both in methodical possessions and on fastbreaks, with Princeton’s star duo of Patrick Kenah and Braden Barlag (seven goals) giving Coyle and Robbinsville’s defense a relentless fight.
“Always with Princeton it’s unexpected a back-and-forth battle,” Hutt said. “It’s something we’re always ready for. We have a lot of respect for those guys. They’re a great team, they come to play every time, but this one went our way and we’re really excited about it.”
When Princeton surged ahead 5-3 with 6:55 left in the second quarter after two goals on loose balls, Hutt flipped the momentum back for Robbinsville with a heads-up steal as Princeton was attempting to clear the ball on defense. He then lunged toward the net and scooped in a goal.
“Coach Demkovitz, he is huge on the ride,” Hutt said. “We spend so much time on it, and plays like that make me happy because we really do emphasize the ride at practice and we spend a lot of time on it.”
Odenheimer’s goal off an assist by sophomore Liam Butler with 1:32 remaining gave Robbinsville a 7-6 halftime lead. Princeton pulled ahead again with two strikes in the first four minutes of the second half, and Odenheimer weaved from behind the net for another goal to erase Robbinsville’s last deficit.
Still, even when Odenheimer scored from 12 yards out to give the Ravens an 11-9 lead with 4:29 left in the final period, the Tigers kept battling and forced overtime.
Robbinsville’s Lucas Strand won the overtime faceoff. The Ravens quickly called timeout, and Hutt was delivered the dagger at the end of a 42-second possession with seven passes.
“We said, ‘We do this every day, just keep it calm, do what we do best,’” Hutt recalled when explaining the thought process during the timeout. “I got my guy at X where I wanted him and just finished. The scout was there. It was a good game plan, and we just did what we needed to do.”
With another tough test against Allentown up next Saturday, Robbinsville wants to continue riding this momentum after learning from close losses to other top foes in Mercer like Hopewell Valley, Notre Dame and Lawrenceville B.
“This is just the beginning, really. We have really high expectations for ourselves,” Hutt said. “We shoot for the stars, and we’re just getting started. I really do think that.”
If the Ravens do make deep runs in the Mercer County Tournament and NJSIAA state tournament, they just may reflect on their powerful Senior Night as the turning point.
“I think the whole thing this year has been ‘no complacency,’” Odenheimer said. “We need to be 100 percent. We need to be efficient, focused on everything, and I think today we did that. We made mistakes and we got past it and made it to the next play. I think today was one of the best games this group has played in any year we’ve been in high school, especially against a team like this. It’s really nice to have a win like this.”