Junior Ian Reilly took the field for his first game as Haddonfield Memorial High School boys’ lacrosse’s starting goalie last Wednesday against Clearview. Yet before he even made his first save of the season, Reilly had done something no Bulldawg had done before.
Last fall, Reilly made a verbal commitment to attend the New Jersey Institute of Technology. In doing so, he became the first Haddonfield boys’ lacrosse player to commit to a Division I school.
“I wanted to try my best to improve myself and be a D-1 player,” Reilly said. “I wanted to go somewhere where I could see myself, and it all worked out.”
Reilly’s achievement isn’t just a token one. He plays for SouthShore Lacrosse, a year-round lacrosse program based out of Richland, as well as a few other camps to gain additional experience and exposure.
Haddonfield head coach Damon Legato is looking to the first-year starter to be one of his key contributors in 2015.
“He’s really the anchor of our defense,” Legato said. “It’s the most difficult position you can play in lacrosse.”
While last Wednesday’s season-opening game resulted in a 14–6 loss to powerhouse Clearview, Reilly’s importance to the team was still apparent. After a slow start where Clearview peppered the net for five goals in the game’s first five minutes, Reilly settled down and began turning away shots. He finished the game with 13 saves on 27 shots on goal.
“When he makes big saves like that, emotionally it gets our team back on a flow,” Legato said. “This game has a lot of ebb and flow to it. When Ian can get in there and make huge saves like he did today, it gives us more of a chance to get in a flow.”
Even though Reilly is a first-year starter, Legato expects him to be a leader for the Bulldawgs this season.
One of the ways Reilly does this is through breaking down plays from the crease. He is one of the most vocal players on the field, directing defenders around him and making sure his teammates account for all of the surrounding attackers.
Reilly also has an ability to set up plays downfield. On numerous occasions last Wednesday, he helped his teammates find open midfielders and attackers. Reilly’s ability to see the entire field and break down plays quickly impressed Legato.
“To have someone like Ian who understands the game as well as he does and direct traffic and control our defense out there, that’s what goalies aspire to be like,” Legato said. “They aspire to not just be a player who can save the ball, but can control a defense and essentially coach everybody.”
Reilly is embracing the role as a leader. He said his teammates respond to him when he has suggestions and give him advice. He leans on his teammates as well, many of whom picked him up after Clearview’s early flurry.
“I kind of just go off my teammates,” Reilly said. “I can see them listening to me. I can direct them easily.”
Haddonfield has a young team, but Reilly feels it has potential. He may have been the first Division I commit in program history, but he believes there will be many more on the way.
“I see all of the potential we have in our young guys,” Reilly said. “Even if I’m not here, I still want to see kids doing well and maybe have future D1 commits and help the program.”
