By David Steinbacher
Herald Staff Report
(From the issue of 4/29/04)

The Bishop O’Connell boys lacrosse team has improved as the season has progressed. The Knights, coached by former O’Connell standout Brian Rosenberger, currently have an overall record of 6-7 (2-4 in WCAC play).

The Knights started the season 1-5, but have won five of their past seven games. They are currently one of the hottest teams in the conference. The Knights combined to win only 12 games the previous two seasons. This year, the Knights have defeated Annandale, Ireton, Christian Brothers Academy, Carroll, Sidwell Friends and Catonsville, Md.

The typical starting lineup includes standout senior goalie Ricardo Vargas as well as defensemen David Dannemiller, Brian Dilley and Pat McGann.

"Ricardo has 172 saves on the season. He is a great goalie. He is on pace to break the school record for saves in a season as well as a career," said Rosenberger.

"Communication on defense is key. It is important to get the middies back on defense," said Dannemiller.

Either senior Colin Davis or Ed Lynch handles the faceoff duties. Lynch is one of the few Knights in O’Connell history to have lettered in football, wrestling and lacrosse.

"I’m thinking all of the time out there where I want to place the ball," said Davis. Either verbally or through eye contact I let my teammates know where I’m going to place the ball."

The typical starting midfield includes Davis as well as senior Liam O’Connell and junior Brandon Adams. Starting attackers include juniors Joe Cargiulo, Peter Farag and David Kent. Gargiulo, Vargas, Dannemiller and Davis are the 2004 captains.

"Team wise, it is important to get possession of the ball and to keep it on the offensive side of the field. The more we can work the ball around offensively, the more we can give our defense a rest. Individually, sometimes I try to do a little bit too much," said Gargiulo.

Key reserves include senior midfielders Peter Glaws and Andrew Healy, senior attack Brian Hurley and junior midfielders Danny Houk and Andrew Borek.

Gargiulo leads the team with 86 ground balls, 46 goals and 10 assists. The three-year junior starter is already second all-time in goals scored for O’Connell with nearly 110.

Farag (16 goals/15 assists), Kent (14/6), O’Connell (10/3) and Davis (3/10) also contribute significantly to the O’Connell scoring parade.

"We’ve been playing with more intensity this year than we did last year," said Vargas. "We’re one of the scrappiest teams around. We’ve had some close wins and close losses this season. The Paul VI game kind of got away. We want to finish the season with a bunch of wins."

"Overall, we’re peaking at the right time," said Rosenberger. "We’ve got huge WCAC games this Tuesday (Good Counsel) and Thursday (St. John’s). It is getting down to crunch time. We’ve been playing better lately. We need to really compete in this final regular season games."

PVI, Ireton and O’Connell will compete in the WCAC tournament beginning May 4.