Lawrenceville’s Black vs. Red Game: Breakdown and Standouts

On Friday November 14th, Lawrenceville hosted its annual Black vs. Red game at the Getz Sports Complex on the Lawrenceville campus on a chilly night under the lights with a litter of Division 1 coaches in attendance for this event.   It was a hard fought game by both sides as the Big Red put on a show in front of the home crowd with a decent turnout and high energy on the field as they gear up for the Big Red Fall Classic next weekend against a high level of competition where they will face Loomis Chaffee, Taft, Seton Hall Prep and Haverford, among other schools in attendance.   The start of the game opened up with an <a href="https://preplacrosse.com/player/aedan-bishai/">Aedan Bishai</a> (Colgate) face-off win and that seemed to be the trend all quarter, as junior [player_tooltip player_id='126348' first='Matt' last='Souter'] (Johns Hopkins), sophomore Liam Lockwood, junior [player_tooltip player_id='16721' first='Malcolm' last='Richardson'] (Penn State), and freshman Thatcher Aton each tallied a goal for the red squad. With Bishai playing make it, take it against freshman FOGO Beau Dillmeier, the black squad didn't see many offensive chances in the first quarter as the red team took an early 4-0 lead.   Opening the 2nd frame, both defenses were playing great, with the black squad led by junior goaltender [player_tooltip player_id='16730' first='Jett' last='Stake'] (North Carolina) along with senior [player_tooltip player_id='16777' first='Wyatt' last='Stamnes'] (Michigan) and juniors [player_tooltip player_id='121313' first='Sean' last='Currie'] (Virginia) and Sam Vachris (Denver). On the other hand, the red squad was led by sophomore net-minder [player_tooltip player_id='165640' first='Seamus' last='Gorman'], alongside juniors [player_tooltip player_id='121315' first='Luke' last='St. Pierre'] (North Carolina) and AJ Dellorco (Drexel) and sophomores Santi Mejia and [player_tooltip player_id='167396' first='Steve' last='Panagopoulos'] on the defensive end.   Both defensives were flying around with great communication and footwork making it tough on the offense, but the black squad would rally back with a pair of goals coming from senior [player_tooltip player_id='16729' first='Jake' last='Sturtevant'] (Michigan) and sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='36028' first='Harrison' last='Tyler'] to cut the lead to two goals, before red team's senior midfielder [player_tooltip player_id='45444' first='Mateo' last='Sala'] (UMass) extended their lead to 5-2 going into the halftime break with a slick goal from the right wing.   Both offenses started to click in a back and forth 3rd quarter, with graduate <a href="https://preplacrosse.com/player/hansen-peck/">Hansen Peck</a> (Syracuse) making an appearance and netting two for the black squad along with junior [player_tooltip player_id='23757' first='Tate' last='Starr'] (Virginia) who made a miraculous play as he was falling to the turf to inch his team closer. On the other end, senior attackman [player_tooltip player_id='37497' first='Colby' last='Rossettie'] (Johns Hopkins) tallied a pair of goals in the quarter, Souter got his second of the game, and junior [player_tooltip player_id='165775' first='Shea' last='Mulhern'] joined the party with great dodge from the top and finished with a top-shelf bouncer past Stake as the red squad was able to keep their opponents at bay with a 9-5 lead heading into the 4th.   The final frame had some more great defense on both ends, with junior goaltenders Tate Ponko and [player_tooltip player_id='123241' first='Jake' last='Burch'] taking over in net for their teams, but eventually Lockwood found Richardson on a cut inside for a tough finish in traffic to extend the red team's lead, before [player_tooltip player_id='23757' first='Tate' last='Starr'] answered back with a sweep across the top of the offense and a rocket of a shot past Ponko. The final goal would come off a turnover caused by Souter on the defensive end which led to a fast break where Rossettie connected with Lockwood for his second goal of the night and the red team would eventually be able to run the clock out late for a 11-6 victory in a great back and forth exhibition game for Lawrenceville.    Bishai controlled the X all game and showed how valuable experience at this level pays off against freshman Beau Dillmeier who did a good job of causing ground ball battles when he couldn't win it clean. The Colgate commit finished with 15 wins on 20 attempts and was able to control the time of possession and was a key part in the red team's quick start in the 1st quarter. He did end of switching jerseys with Dillmeier at halftime to even the playing field and had continued success with only a few face-off loses. The Connecticut native has good size and a quick reaction on the whistle with great stick skills and plays smart, not forcing the ball into turnover situations on the break.     Through the three quarters that Stake played, he did not stop communicating on the defensive end. His energy was infectious, as he was loud and commanding his defenders which is exactly what you want to see and hear out of your goalie. While he faced a ton of shots from great shooters, he also ended up with 11 saves in his time on the field, with back-to-back stops on one possession in the third quarter which ended with him making a diving stop to pump up his squad. The Tar Heel commit made every effort to keep his team in the game and not let it get out of hand with confidence in net and a great reaction time and an ability to drop on low shots, with quick outlets and crisp passes to start a transition chance.     Rossettie made his presence felt playing X attackman and stayed aggressive with his dodges and moving off-ball. Matched up against [player_tooltip player_id='121313' first='Sean' last='Currie'] most of the night, he showed patience with the ball and ripped off a lot of shots. The Johns Hopkins commit finished with a pair of goals and an assist and used his agility and footwork to evade pressure. On his second goal, he drew a double and split the defenders with a swim dodge to get a high percentage look at the cage that he was able to finish, showing off his crafty style of play and elusiveness to ignite the offense. Rossettie plays fast and smart with strong dodges and keeps his head up at X for open cutters or a skip pass for a step down. On the break, he finds the soft spots in the defense and has great accuracy with time and room.     Richardson is a crafty player with great stick skills and is fearless with the ball. He finished with two goals and both were in traffic as he endured hard checks from his opponents but was able to stay calm and use his athleticism to stave off defenders. At one point in the first half he was getting doubled by two poles and was able to control the ball with heavy pressure and find a teammate to initiate offense and get the defense moving. He also showed the ability to beat his matchup clean and with his hands free, has a hard and accurate shot which will be a problem for the opposition. He displayed good size, speed and strength and uses it well to absorb checks and create off of that by either finding an open teammates or split the defenders for an unsettled opportunity.

On Friday November 14th, Lawrenceville hosted its annual Black vs. Red game at the Getz Sports Complex on the Lawrenceville campus on a chilly night under the lights with a litter of Division 1 coaches in attendance for this event.