In defense of a crown

Above right, St. Joseph High School's Chase McDonald puts a brutal hit on South Brunswick's Zach Zenda in front of the Falcons' net during Sunday's GMC Tournament final in North Brunswick, won by the Vikings, 9-8. Above left, South Brunswick's top scorer, Theo Smyk, uses his body to shield the ball, while at left, St. Joe's Andre D'Ambrosio is checked by the Vikings' Shane Foley. Above, Zenda and Foley celebrate a third-quarter goal, which padded the Viking lead.

It wasn't easy, but the South Brunswick boys lacrosse team defended its title on Sunday.

The Vikings, who have been the Greater Middlesex Conference's top team all season, survived a spirited effort from a vastly improved St. Joseph team in North Brunswick to capture their second straight GMC Tournament title, 9-8.

With the Falcons doing everything in their power to keep Rutgers-bound phenom Kory Kelly (71 goals on the year) in check throughout, it was up to a host of other Viking players to do the scoring damage. After falling behind 3-1 early on, the Vikings trimmed the deficit to just one, 5-4, at the half, and then took control in the third period, outscoring the Falcons, 5-0

PHOTOS BY JEFF GRANIT staff

Zach Zenda led the charge for South Brunswick, bouncing back from a crushing hit in front of the St. Joe's net to score the game-tying and go-ahead goals late in the third.

He later assisted on an insurance goal to help the Vikings hold off a resilient Falcon team that was primed to unseat the Vikings as the GMC's top team.

St. Joe's put forth a furious rally in the fourth, scoring three goals to get within one, but could not get the tying goal late in the game.

South Brunswick, who was led in scoring by Theo Smyk's four goals and two assists, Kevin Lally's two goals and Chris Laurita's goal and assist, will now turn its attention to the state tournament.

The Vikings (16-1) are the third seed in the Group IV bracket, and took on No. 14 Freehold Township yesterday in the first round. The winner gets either Bridgewater-Raritan or Washington Township in the second round on Saturday.

- Doug McKenzie