Hampton Claims WPIAL Boys Lacrosse Division II Championship

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, May 23, 2015 | 12:55 AM

Hampton last participated in boys Division 2 Lacrosse in 2012. The Talbots last won a WPIAL title the same year. After a 2 year jump up to Division 1, Hampton returned to familiar ground and found a familiar result, defeating top seeded Canon-McMillan 15-12 at Highmark Stadium to capture its 4^th Division 2 championship.

The Talbot overcame an 8-6 halftime deficit outscoring the Big Macs 9-4 in the third and fourth quarters to improve to (14-6) on the season. Canon-McMillan got on the board first when senior attack Reese Ruscello picked up the rebound of his own shot and beat Hampton’s Chris Geraud: 57 into the game. Sophomore Drew Winklosky answered for Hampton just: 19 seconds later taking a feed from Isaac Capezzuti and finding the net to tie the game at1-1. Capezzuti scored his first of 4 goals on the night at (2:22) to give the Talbots their first lead. The Big Macs leading scorer senior Ben Ward scored: 25 later to tie the game but Seve DiBucci scored from distance for Hampton and the Talbots led 3-2. After a whistle and a game reset with :11 remaining in the first quarter, Canon-McMillan worked the ball to sophomore midfielder Doug Kotar and he sped down the right side and fired to beat Geraud with one second left to tie the game at 3-3.

Undaunted, Seven DiBucci scored his second goal of the game and then junior long stick defender Brad Gable scored a shorthanded goal on a great individual effort at (5:09). Gable picked up a loose ball and nearly ran the length of the field before entering the slot and fired a shot past Will Graziani to put Hampton in front 5-3. Canon-McMillan Head Coach Craig Schleifstein then called a very effective timeout and the Big Macs rallied. Ward scored his second goal of the game just :18 later and after Dante DiBucci tallied for Hampton, the Big Macs finished out the third quarter with four unanswered goals. Isaac Miles (6:22), Zach Moore off a face-off win and run :15 later, Nick Carr at (6:57) with Canon-McMillan a man-up and then Ruscello scored his second goal of the game at (11:50) after a second Big Macs timeout to make the score 8-6 Canon-McMillan at halftime.

Ruscello completed his hat trick: 48 seconds into the third quarter to put Canon-McMillan up by three goals. Hampton however, would turn the game around by scoring 8 of the next 9 goals. Capezzuti and Dante DiBucci scored the Big Macs lead to one, before Ward netted the hat trick with a man-up goal at (7:51) to make the score 10-8. Capezzutti (9:04), and Dante DiBucci at (10:56) and (11:16) gave Hampton an 11-10 lead after three quarters. Then senior attack Nick Grabowski took over for the Talbots, scoring a natural hat trick in the first (5:58) of the fourth quarter. Grabowski netted a man-up goal: 39 into the quarter, followed up with a short-handed tally at (4:35) and scored an even strength goal 1:23 later and Hampton led 14-10. The Big Macs had one push left, getting goals from senior Dominic Tolomeo and the second of the game from Carr in a span of 2:27 to pull within two goals. But the Talbots were able to wind the clock down before Capezzuti capped of his great night with his 4^th goal of the game converting a turnover with just: 09 left in the contest. The Big Macs lost for just the second time on the season, finishing the year at (16-2). Ben Ward paced Canon-McMillan with 3 goals and an assist. Nick Carr scored a pair of goals and added a helper while Reese Ruscello scored a hat trick for the Big Macs. Isaac Capezzuti paced all scorers with five points (4G/1A) for Hampton. Nick Grabowski (3G/1A) and Dante DiBucci each had big games for the Talbots while Seve DiBucci scored a pair of goals and Nathan Hyre added three assists in the win for Hampton. Senior goalkeeper Chris Geraud finished his fine career at Hampton with 11 saves to help lead Hampton to the gold medal for the 4^th time in school history.

Scoring Summary:

Hampton Talbots:          3 – 3 – 5 – 4 = 15

Canon-McMillan:            3 – 5 – 2 – 2 = 12

1st Period Scoring:

CM: Reese Ruscello – Unassisted                      (:57)                 

H: Drew Winklosky – Isaac Capezzuti                 (1:16)

H: Capezzutti – Luke Molingowksi                      (2:22)

CM: Ben Ward – Unassisted                              (2:47)

H: Seve DiBucci – Unassisted                            (8:22)

CM: Doug Kotar – Unassisted                            (11:59)

2^nd Period Scoring:

H: Seve DiBucci (2) – Unassisted                       (3:12)

H: Brad Gable – Unassisted                               (5:09) SHG

CM: Ward (2) – Unassisted                                (5:27)

H: Dante DiBucci – Nathan Hyre                         (5:48)

CM: Isaac Miles – Unassisted                            (6:22)

CM: Zach Moore – Unassisted                           (6:37)

CM: Nick Carr – Unassisted                               (6:57) Man-Up

CM: Ruscello (2) – Ward                                    (11:50)

3^rd Period Scoring

CM: Ruscello (3) – Carr                                      (:48)

H: Capezzutti (2) – Nick Grabowski                     (3:01)

H: Dante DiBucci (2) – Alex Wood                      (6:03)

CM: Ward (3) – Unassisted                                (7:51) Man-Up

H: Capezzutti (3) – Unassisted                            (9:04)

H: Dante DiBucci (3) – Hyre                               (10:56)

H: Dante DiBucci (4) – Hyre                               (11:16)

4^th Period Scoring

H: Grabowski – Unassisted                                (:39) Man-Up

H: Grabowski (2) – Unassisted                           (4:35) SHG

H: Grabowski (3) – Unassisted                           (5:58)

CM: Dominic Tolomeo – Unassisted                   (6:05)

CM: Carr (2) – Unassisted                                  (8:32)

H: Capezzuti (4) – Unassisted                             (11:51)

Man Advantage Opportunities

Hampton: (1-for-5)         Canon-McMillan: (2-for-6)

Goalkeepers

Hampton – Chris Geraud – 11 Saves

Canon-McMillan: Will Graziani – 12 Saves

Tags: Canon-McMillan, Hampton