Shawnee Holds Off Kingsway in South Jersey Battle, 10-5

At Barchuk Stadium in Woolwich Township, Kingsway (11-2) hosted Shawnee (9-3) in a matchup between two South Jersey teams playing some of their best lacrosse of the season as the regular season nears its end. Kingsway entered on another strong campaign, while Shawnee arrived riding a three-game winning streak. In last season's meeting, Kingsway earned a 12-8 victory, giving Shawnee extra motivation heading into this rematch.   One of the main stories of the first half was the dominance at the face-off X for the Renegades, with senior FOGO [player_tooltip player_id='177204' first='Alex' last='Scibilia'] (Immaculata) winning the first six draws before leaving with an injury, only to be replaced with junior midfielder [player_tooltip player_id='174162' first='Grayson' last='Santucci'], who won 55% of his face-offs the rest of the game and also tallied one of Shawnee's six first half goals.   The other story of the half was the connection between Shawnee's stud senior attack duo of [player_tooltip player_id='31261' first='Thomas' last='McAneney'] (Duke) and [player_tooltip player_id='35707' first='Tyler' last='Rotkowitz'] (Rutgers). McAneney netted one goal and dished out three dimes, all to Rotkowitz in just the first half. These two were playing off of each other and showing off their chemistry to get out to a 6-2 lead at half.   The Renegades also got production from senior midfielders [player_tooltip player_id='31265' first='Brett' last='Lundberg'] (Duke), who tallied a pair of goals and [player_tooltip player_id='177206' first='Michael' last='Bartasius'] who connected on one, along with freshman attackman [player_tooltip player_id='166088' first='Mason' last='McGovern'] who was active and efficient for his team. The Dragons were led offensively by junior attackman [player_tooltip player_id='172262' first='Owen' last='Dougherty'] (LIU), recording a hat trick and also got help from a promising sophomore pairing of [player_tooltip player_id='177200' first='Quinn' last='Winters'] and [player_tooltip player_id='177202' first='Colin' last='Glenn'], who each scored one goal.   Dragons senior netminder [player_tooltip player_id='141558' first='John' last='Mcentee'] (Penn College) notched eight saves on the day, coming up with multiple doorstep stops early in the game to keep it close and not seeing many shots in the final frame when Kingsway dominated the time of possession, but was held to just two goals due to great goaltending on the other end from junior [player_tooltip player_id='177197' first='Tyler' last='Nusse'] to help close it out for the Renegades.   Standouts    Rotkowitz was nearly unstoppable in this game with precision shooting and a powerful release. He tallied four goals and two assists, with his first three goals coming in the second quarter with good instincts off-ball to find passing lanes and hard cuts to create space. He displayed his quick hands around the crease area and his strength to run through stick checks and finish in traffic. The Rutgers commit has great size at the lefty attack position and a hard shot with time and room and utilizes his stick skills and deception when on the doorstep. His first assist came by taking advantage of his short-stick matchup which turned into a quick slide and then late in the game he stayed patient with his defender hung up and connected with Santucci off a clean cut. The Team Ten star is currently second on the team in goals (47) and leading the team in assists (37) and points (84).     Nusse was a steady presence in net for the Renegades and showcased his clutch gene when it counted. He registered seven saves, and while he did not see a ton of shots on target, he showed great effort hustling to the end line, winning possession on a couple of occasions and stayed poised in the clearing game. I counted him for two saves in total through the first three quarters. In the final frame, Kingsway was winning face-offs, drawing multiple penalties and riding hardwhich resulted in multiple turnovers which is when Nusse started to see more shots and get good reads on them over time. The Blue Star product displayed his athleticism, having to get low or lateral for a few stops and did a good job of limiting rebounds and second chance points. Nusse is currently at 101 saves on the season and Shawnee will need his productive to stay high into playoff time.     McAneney showed in this game just how versatile and multi-dimensional he can be for an offense. He's currently leading the Renegades in goals (52) and added to his tally in the first quarter with a physical dodge from X to get top-side, but he is much more than a goal scorer, which he proved with his five assists. The Duke commit stayed active as a dodger and also showed his awareness and chemistry with Rotkowitz, knowing where he was going to be for a high percentage shot. On his final assist to [player_tooltip player_id='166088' first='Mason' last='McGovern'], he got a pass in the middle of the field and stayed calm under pressure, dishing out a quick pass to his wide open line-mate for a step down goal. McAneney is so challenging to cover because he garners so much attention with his dodging ability that it frees up himself or a teammate for a quality look at the cage.     Dougherty was a big reason why Kingsway was able to claw their way back into the game and make a second half run. He finished with a hat trick and scored one of the two Kingsway goals in the first half, staying alert on the crease and utilizing his fast hands to grab the loose ball and and cashed in an easy one. The LIU commit also showcased his range on a man-up opportunity with a low-to-high rip in the third to start the Kingsway run. He does a good job of using his strength to engage his defender and knock them off-balance to create space and proved on his final goal that he doesn't need much of an angle to be effective. The South Shore product is currently leading his team in goals (32) and can do damage both inside and from range with a quick release on his shot and with a ton of power.     DeNick played a big role in Kingsway controlling the ball late in the game and mounting a comeback. All game long he was flying around the field, bench pressing opponents into the ground and wreaking havoc on Shawnee's clears late in the game. He tallied three caused turnovers with hard slides and good anticipation, using his football and wrestling background to deliver clean body checks and fought hard for loose balls, using his lower body strength to box out. The Rutgers commit showed he can be a threat with the ball, making crisp outlet passes on clears and also registering a shot on a fast break to keep the defense honest. He had good footwork and change of direction when getting dodged on and uses the length of his stick to poke and slap his opponent's gloves to alter passes and shots. DeNick has an aggressive style of play and will need to keep up the hard work as this season continues.

At Barchuk Stadium in Woolwich Township, Kingsway (11-2) hosted Shawnee (9-3) in a matchup between two South Jersey teams playing some of their best lacrosse of the season as the regular season nears its end. Kingsway entered on another strong campaign, while Shawnee arrived riding a three-game winning streak. In last season's meeting, Kingsway earned a 12-8 victory, giving Shawnee extra motivation heading into this rematch.