Mountain Lakes boys lacrosse closes out Tournament of Champions with milestone victory
BASKING RIDGE — Back in 2004, Mountain Lakes played in the first boys lacrosse Tournament of Champions final. The Lakers lost to Delbarton in overtime.
On Monday night, they were determined to end the final TOC with a better fate. Mountain Lakes scored more goals than any team in TOC history, defeating Rumson-Fair Haven, 21-5 in the last championship game.
It was the most lopsided TOC win, befitting a Lakers squad that has "relentless" on the back bottom hem of its shooting shirts, often visible under jerseys.
"We've been here before," senior Owen Pirolo said. "We know what it feels like to win the TOC. I wanted to feel it for myself. It feels amazing. They didn't have the experience we did."
It's a moment many of the Lakers seniors have dreamed about since they first picked up lacrosse sticks. Another of this season's themes was "Stay Public," a reference to the power of playing for a small hometown school – and the TOC final came down to the Group 1 and Group 2 champions.
Tim Flynn, the only head coach in Mountain Lakes history, made reference to that legacy after the final. Flynn won his 700th game earlier this year, all with the Lakers.
"Every day, getting better, pushing one another, not worrying about anything but the team, that's what happens. Seniors, this was beautiful," Flynn said in the last huddle.
"You saw plays run by our kids who have been playing together since first grade. We're not calling anything. ... This belongs to every kid who ever put the uniform on at Mountain Lakes, every parent, all the families."
This is the Lakers' fourth TOC title, adding to 2007, 2008, and 2019. Betsy Flynn, Tim's wife, took the team's royal blue felt banner home from Ridge High School, to sew an orange "'22" at the end.
Top-seeded Rumson (22-5) had won 11 in a row coming into the final, but is only 1-2 in TOC play. No Shore Conference team has ever won the TOC.
"You think about this moment since you're 2, 3 years old. It's even better than I pictured it," said senior Cade Schuckman, who scored twice in the final.
"We've been saying it all year: 'No one wants it as bad as we do.' Everyone in this town knows what we sacrifice. We get the feeling in the locker room, on the field. Everyone has bought in, 100 percent."
Morris County Tournament: Mountain Lakes outlasts Delbarton to defend MCT lacrosse title
Schuckman and classmate Caz Kotsen were among the current Lakers signing autographs for younger players. Nick Bossio, 9, said he'd put his lacrosse ball next to the one autographed by New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge. He marveled, in particular, that "the legendary Tim Flynn" had signed it.
Mountain Lakes ends the season on a 15-game winning streak. Its only loss came at Don Bosco, 12-6, on April 23 – the game after Flynn's milestone win.
Though the third seed in the TOC according to LaxNumbers.com at the start of the postseason, the Lakers (22-1) defeated Delbarton twice, finished first in the NJILL-Gibbs and NJAC-American, and won the Morris County Tournament and Group 1 titles.
Kotsen scored two of his game-high five goals as the Lakers tallied five times in a four minute and four second span late in the first quarter. Senior Reid Tietjen finished with two goals and four assists. After Rumson had closed the deficit to three goals, Mountain Lakes scored three times in the last minute of the first half to stretch to a 9-3 lead.
"I don't think I could've envisioned how this game would go when I was younger," Kotsen said. "I couldn't even envision it yesterday. Not really, not like this. ... It's surreal. This is all we wanted, not just this year, but since we were 5 years old. The culture in town, we know as soon as you pick up a stick, you're planning to play in the final game."
Jane Havsy is a storyteller for the Daily Record and DailyRecord.com, part of the USA TODAY Network. For full access to live scores, breaking news and analysis, subscribe today.
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This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: Mountain Lakes NJ boys lacrosse wins Tournament of Champions
