The biggest goal of Noah Plenn’s life lasted only four days.
The Saint Augustine Preparatory School sophomore had scored the game-winning goal in the Non-Public A state semifinal May 28 to send the Hermits into the state championship. Four days later, he did it again – on an even bigger stage.
PHOTO GALLERY: St. Augustine vs. Delbarton in lacrosse championship
Plenn’s goal with 3:57 remaining snapped a deadlocked game and gave Saint Augustine a 6-5 win over Delbarton in the Non-Public A state championship game June 1 at Hopewell Valley High School.
It was the first lacrosse state title for the Hermits in school history after reaching the championship game in 2010 and 2011. It undoubtedly became the new biggest goal in Plenn’s life.
“I just knew I wanted to work my tail off for the last quarter and give this team everything I had,” Plenn said. “Because these seniors gave everything they had. They were great mentors, and I wanted to do it for them.”
Three seniors, including Gennaro Petrongolo, Ryan Demato and Luke Scarpello scored a goal in the state final while junior Billy Hughes struck twice. Demato and Scarpello helped the Hermits build a 2-0 lead before Delbarton scored the next three. Hughes tied it up less than a minute before halftime, and the Hermits regained the lead with goals by Petrongolo and Hughes in the third quarter. Delbarton knotted the game at 5-5 with 11:11 left in the game, which set up Plenn’s heroics.
“It was a great game,” Scarpello said. “Delbarton has such a great history, and they are a tough team. We knew what it was going to take to beat them, and we had to give it our all at the end. A lot of guys were running on low fuel at the end, and we just had to fight through it.”
A lot was spent in the Hermits’ dramatic 9-8 semifinal round win against Seton Hall Prep four days earlier. They found a little extra in the tank for the encore.
“This group has been so strong for us,” coach JC Valore said. “The balance we have is unbelievable. Our program has been going hard for a long time, and a lot of groups have built toward this. These guys took all of that, found the fuel to make a great playoff run and really brought one home for themselves, for the families, for the community and for our alums. And there’s a ton of them [here today]. It was huge.”
Scarpello said the team was well-prepared for the game, but not for the emotion of winning it.
“There’s no feeling to describe this,” Scarpello said. “We knew coming into this season how much it was going to take for us [to win], staying after practice late. Every lift we did, every practice, every film session, it took so much just to get here, and it took even more to win it.”
As a sophomore, Plenn doubts anything can top scoring the clincher in the program’s first state championship game, but he has two more years to try.
“I do. That is right,” he said with a laugh. “But this is great. I can’t be more happy than I am right now. I’m so thankful.”
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