Boys Lacrosse Rallies to Win State Group Championship, 8-7

It was a comeback for the ages! After trailing Rutgers Prep, 7-2, with eight minutes to play, the Morristown-Beard School boys lacrosse team erupted for six unanswered goals to capture the NJSIAA North Non-Public B championship, 8-7, on Thursday, May 30th in Livingston. It was the first group title for the team since 2008.

Senior Blake Bernstein ’19 scored three goals in the final four minutes, and knotted the score at 7-7 with 1:41 left to play before junior Mason Guida ’20 notched the game-winner with just 19 seconds remaining.  From there, MBS was able to run out the clock as the Crimson Crazies stormed the field to celebrate.

"I have coached high school lacrosse for 18 years and I have never seen a comeback like that in my life," said MBS Head Coach Sal Tromonda.

The first half of the contest was a hard-fought defensive battle as MBS jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead but trailed, 3-1, at halftime. MBS (10-13) didn’t take the lead again until Guida’s game-winner in the final minute. The Crimson defense was led by junior goalie Thomas Sokolowski '20 and senior Harry Gregory '19. Sophomore Peter Kearney '21 also played a key role, winning five faceoffs in the final quarter to give the MBS offense some much-needed possessions.

"This is incredible. We never quit on ourselves, but I'll be honest, I dropped my head a little bit at one point because it felt like a repeat of the Prep B final," said Bernstein. "Both of my attackmen came over though and reminded me that we've overcome more than this in the last three months. We just had to keep grinding to pull it out."

Coach Tromonda’s squad came into tournament play as the #6 seed, but toppled second-seeded Montclair Kimberley Academy, third-seeded Immaculata, and fifth-seeded Rutgers Prep to take the title.

With the win, the MBS boys lacrosse team will now play in the Tournament of Champions on Monday, June 3rd in Bridgewater. Opponent and game time are TBD.

Go Crimson!