HEADstrong Rivalry Games at Widener

April 3, 2010 – Chester, PA

The Rivalry Games was created to help raise awareness and funds for the HEADstrong Foundation in its fight against blood cancer through high school lacrosse teams. Widener University hosted this 1st annual event and gave all participants the experience of playing the game in a college setting. The Foundation was developed in honor of Ridley graduate Nick “Head” Colleluori, the former Hofstra student-athlete who died in 2006 after a relentless 14-month battle against Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

The event raised $32,000 for the Foundation and drew approximately 2,800 people under perfect blue skies as each team involved sold HEADstrong t-shirts and held blood cancer awareness activities on their respective campuses. The Rivalry Games featured 11 games in all, including five boys’ varsity contests between league rivals and the highlight collegiate game of Widener University vs. Cabrini College.

“We are once again overwhelmed with the outpouring of support that The HEADstrong Foundation continues to receive,” said HEADstrong President Cheryl Colleluori. “This was our first high school event which included both JV and varsity games, and from all indicators it was a huge success.” Colleluori also honored the 2010 “Nick Colleluori Award Winners” during her speech before the Cabrini-Widener game. Each head coach chose a player from each team that best exemplifies Nick’s courage, leadership skills and relentless attitude.

The winners were:
Neshaminy: Sophomore midfielder Connor Bishop
Pennsbury: Junior defenseman Sean Rinko
Sun Valley: Junior attackman Kyle Gillam
Unionville: Junior defenseman Rich O’Neill
Emmaus: Senior attackman Stephen Ward
Easton: Senior midfielder Peter Hronis
La Salle: Junior goaltender Victor Garcia
St. Joseph’s Prep: Senior defenseman Aleks Kucas
Strath Haven: Junior midfielder Sean Walsh
Ridley: Senior defenseman Casey Decker

A recap of the games:
Pennsbury 17, Neshaminy 2 (Suburban One National); Unionville 13, Sun Valley 11 (Ches-Mont), Emmaus 13, Easton 1 (Lehigh Valley); and Ridley 9, Strath Haven 5 (Central). Each of the rivals also played JV games.

The La Salle-St. Joe’s game drew much interest since the teams perennially play for the league title and last year’s championship game saw La Salle win by one goal in a thriller.

In Other Scholastic Games:
Unionville 13, Sun Valley 11
James Moss had the game winning goal with 1:30 left to play to lift the Indians (2-2) past the Vanguards (2-2). Tyler Simigran had eight saves in goal while Mike Nowoswiat (four goals, two assists), Richard Kaiser (three goals,, two assists), James Moss (two goals, one assist) and Max Kelly (two goals) led the attack for Unionville. Bobby Clemens led Sun Valley with three goals and three assists and Frankie Jackson pumped in four goals while Tyler Brun was strong in goal with 17 saves.

Emmaus 13, Easton 1
Dan Kinek collected three goals and two assists and Stephen Ward had three goals and an assist to power the Green Hornets (2-2) past the Rovers (1-2).

Pennsbury 17, Neshaminy 2
Calvin Hopkins scored four goals and the Falcons remained perfect at 4-0 overall. Ryan Hutchinson scored twice for the Redskins (1-1).

Ridley 9, Strath Haven 5
Jim Gormley, Kevin Garling and Tyler Johnston each scored two goals for the Green Raiders (3-1). Pat Fisher had two goals and an assist for the Panthers (1-3).

Another highlight was a non-conference men’s college game between Philly powers as Cabrini defeated host Widener, 15-5.

The No. 17 Cavaliers (17-3) captured their fourth straight win, rolling past the local rival Pride (3-5) as Casey Grugan (Ridley), Brian Hill (Ridley) and Andrew Protenic (West Chester East) each recorded a team-best three points. Grugan and Protenic both netted three goals, while Hill paired one score with two assists. Cory Malampy (Ridley) led Widener with two goals and an assist.